pith. sign in

arxiv: 1302.3307 · v1 · pith:744LOX2Mnew · submitted 2013-02-14 · 🌌 astro-ph.HE · astro-ph.GA

Detection of the Characteristic Pion-Decay Signature in Supernova Remnants

The Fermi-LAT Collaboration: M. Ackermann , M. Ajello , A. Allafort , L. Baldini , J. Ballet , G. Barbiellini , M. G. Baring , D. Bastieri
show 161 more authors
K. Bechtol R. Bellazzini R. D. Blandford E. D. Bloom E. Bonamente A. W. Borgland E. Bottacini T. J. Brandt J. Bregeon M. Brigida P. Bruel R. Buehler G. Busetto S. Buson G. A. Caliandro R. A. Cameron P. A. Caraveo J. M. Casandjian C. Cecchi \"O. \c{C}elik E. Charles S. Chaty R.C.G. Chaves A. Chekhtman C. C. Cheung J. Chiang G. Chiaro A. N. Cillis S. Ciprini R. Claus J. Cohen-Tanugi L. R. Cominsky J. Conrad S. Corbel S. Cutini F. D'Ammando A. De Angelis F. de Palma C. D. Dermer E. do Couto e Silva P. S. Drell A. Drlica-Wagner L. Falletti C. Favuzzi E. C. Ferrara A. Franckowiak Y. Fukazawa S. Funk P. Fusco F. Gargano S. Germani N. Giglietto P. Giommi F. Giordano M. Giroletti T. Glanzman G. Godfrey I. A. Grenier M.-H. Grondin J. E. Grove S. Guiriec D. Hadasch Y. Hanabata A. K. Harding M. Hayashida K. Hayashi E. Hays J. Hewitt A. B. Hill R. E. Hughes M. S. Jackson T. Jogler G. J\'ohannesson A. S. Johnson T. Kamae J. Kataoka J. Katsuta J. Kn\"odlseder M. Kuss J. Lande S. Larsson L. Latronico M. Lemoine-Goumard F. Longo F. Loparco M. N. Lovellette P. Lubrano G. M. Madejski F. Massaro M. Mayer M. N. Mazziotta J. E. McEnery J. Mehault P. F. Michelson R. P. Mignani W. Mitthumsiri T. Mizuno A. A. Moiseev M. E. Monzani A. Morselli I. V. Moskalenko S. Murgia T. Nakamori R. Nemmen E. Nuss M. Ohno T. Ohsugi N. Omodei M. Orienti E. Orlando J. F. Ormes D. Paneque J. S. Perkins M. Pesce-Rollins F. Piron G. Pivato S. Rain\`o R. Rando M. Razzano S. Razzaque A. Reimer O. Reimer S. Ritz C. Romoli M. S\'anchez-Conde A. Schulz C. Sgr\`o P. E. Simeon E. J. Siskind D. A. Smith G. Spandre P. Spinelli F. W. Stecker A. W. Strong D. J. Suson H. Tajima H. Takahashi T. Takahashi T. Tanaka J. G. Thayer J. B. Thayer D. J. Thompson S. E. Thorsett L. Tibaldo O. Tibolla M. Tinivella E. Troja Y. Uchiyama T. L. Usher J. Vandenbroucke V. Vasileiou G. Vianello V. Vitale A. P. Waite M. Werner B. L. Winer K. S. Wood M. Wood R. Yamazaki Z. Yang S. Zimmer
This is my paper
classification 🌌 astro-ph.HE astro-ph.GA
keywords protonsraysacceleratedgammapion-decaysnrsaccelerationcharacteristic
0
0 comments X
read the original abstract

Cosmic rays are particles (mostly protons) accelerated to relativistic speeds. Despite wide agreement that supernova remnants (SNRs) are the sources of galactic cosmic rays, unequivocal evidence for the acceleration of protons in these objects is still lacking. When accelerated protons encounter interstellar material, they produce neutral pions, which in turn decay into gamma rays. This offers a compelling way to detect the acceleration sites of protons. The identification of pion-decay gamma rays has been difficult because high-energy electrons also produce gamma rays via bremsstrahlung and inverse Compton scattering. We detected the characteristic pion-decay feature in the gamma-ray spectra of two SNRs, IC 443 and W44, with the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This detection provides direct evidence that cosmic-ray protons are accelerated in SNRs.

This paper has not been read by Pith yet.

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Forward citations

Cited by 1 Pith paper

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. IceCube Results and Perspective for Neutrinos from LHAASO Sources

    astro-ph.HE 2024-04 unverdicted novelty 2.0

    Reviews IceCube neutrino results, models Galactic plane flux from cosmic ray interactions with the interstellar medium, and discusses prospects for identifying PeVatrons via LHAASO sources.