Gamma-Ray Puzzles in Cygnus X: Implications for High-Energy Neutrinos
Abstract
The Cygnus X region contains giant molecular cloud complexes and populous associates of massive young stars. The discovery of spatially extended, hard gamma-ray emission in Cygnus X by both Milagro and Fermi indicates that Cygnus X is also a potential source of high-energy Galactic neutrinos. Here, we adapt our single-zone model for cosmic ray interactions in the central molecular zones of starburst galaxies for use in Cygnus X. We calculate the potential neutrino flux corresponding to the hard gamma-ray emission from the "Cygnus Cocoon" and to the soft, diffuse interstellar gamma-ray emission. We check our results by comparing the corresponding gamma-ray emission against the Fermi interstellar emission model and Milagro, ARGO-YBJ, and HAWC observations. In comparing our results against a recent IceCube analysis and the current sensitivity limits, we find that neutrino emission from the Cocoon has a large enough flux that it could plausibly be detected, provided hadronic interactions are occurring at sufficiently high energies. High-energy neutrinos from Cygnus X would provide direct evidence for the presence of as yet unidentified PeV energy accelerators in the Galactic disk.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1703.02590,
title = {Gamma-Ray Puzzles in Cygnus X: Implications for High-Energy Neutrinos},
author = {Tova M. Yoast-Hull and John S. Gallagher and Francis Halzen and Ali Kheirandish and Ellen G. Zweibel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1703.02590},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
accepted for publication in Phys Rev D, 9 pages, 5 figures