Gamma Rays from Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays in Cygnus A
Astrophysics
2009-11-13 v2
Abstract
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) accelerated in the jets of active galactic nuclei can accumulate in high magnetic field, ~100 kpc-scale regions surrounding powerful radio galaxies. Photohadronic processes involving UHECRs and photons of the extragalactic background light make ultra-relativistic electrons and positrons that initiate electromagnetic cascades, leading to the production of a gamma-ray synchrotron halo. We calculate the halo emission in the case of Cygnus A and show that it should be detectable with the Fermi Gamma ray Space Telescope and possibly detectable with ground-based gamma-ray telescopes if radio galaxies are the sources of UHECRs.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0808.0161,
title = {Gamma Rays from Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays in Cygnus A},
author = {Armen Atoyan and Charles D. Dermer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0808.0161},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
9 pages, 2 figures, extended calculations, added references; ApJL, in press