The Fermi Bubble as a Source of Cosmic Rays in the Energy Range > 10E15 eV
Abstract
The {\it Fermi} Large Area Telescope has recently discovered two giant gamma-ray bubbles which extend north and south of the Galactic center with diameters and heights of the order of kpc. We suggest that the periodic star capture processes by the Galactic supermassive black hole Sgr A, with a capture rate of yr and an energy release of erg per capture, can result in hot plasma injecting into the Galactic halo at a wind velocity of cm s. The periodic injection of hot plasma can produce a series of shocks. Energetic protons in the bubble are re-accelerated when they interact with these shocks. We show that for energy larger than eV, the acceleration process can be better described by the stochastic second-order Fermi acceleration. We propose that hadronic cosmic rays (CRs) within the ``knee'' of the observed CR spectrum are produced by Galactic supernova remnants distributed in the Galactic disk. Re-acceleration of these particles in the Fermi Bubble produces CRs beyond the knee. With a mean CR diffusion coefficient in this energy range in the bubble cm s, we can reproduce the spectral index of the spectrum beyond the knee and within. The conversion efficiency from shock energy of the bubble into CR energy is about 10\%. This model provides a natural explanation of the observed CR flux, spectral indices, and matching of spectra at the knee.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1111.5127,
title = {The Fermi Bubble as a Source of Cosmic Rays in the Energy Range > 10E15 eV},
author = {K. S. Cheng and D. O. Chernyshov and V. A. Dogiel and C. M. Ko and W. H. Ip and Y. Wang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1111.5127},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
43 pages, 8 figues, to be published in the Astrophysical Journal; version 2, 45 pages, 8 figures, added references and corrected typos