Electromagnetic Cascades as Probes of Cosmic Magnetism
Abstract
The existence of intergalactic magnetic fields (IGMFs) is an open problem in cosmology and has never been unambiguously confirmed. High-energy gamma rays emitted by blazars are unique probes of cosmic magnetism, as their interactions with pervasive radiation fields generate a short-lived charged component sensitive to intervening magnetic fields. Spatial and temporal properties of the secondary gamma rays generated in the electromagnetic cascade can provide information about the strength, power spectrum, and topology of IGMFs. To probe these fields, detailed simulations of gamma-ray propagation in the intergalactic medium are necessary. In this work the effects of magnetic fields on the spectrum and arrival directions of gamma rays are studied using three-dimensional simulations, emphasising the particular case of helical IGMFs.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1704.05137,
title = {Electromagnetic Cascades as Probes of Cosmic Magnetism},
author = {Rafael Alves Batista},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1704.05137},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
Proceedings of the 11th Workshop on Science with the New Generation of High Energy Gamma-ray Experiments (SciNeGHE 2016), 18-21 Oct 2016, Pisa, Italy