Dissecting cosmic-ray electron-positron data with Occam’s razor: the role of known pulsars

We argue that both the positron fraction measured by PAMELA and the peculiar spectral features reported in the total electron-positron flux measured by ATIC have a very natural explanation in electron-positron pairs produced by nearby pulsars. While this possibility was pointed out a long time ago, the greatly improved quality of current data potentially allow to reverse-engineer the problem: given the regions of pulsar parameter space favored by PAMELA and by ATIC, are there known pulsars that explain the data with reasonable assumptions on the injected electron-positron pairs? In the context of simple benchmark models for estimating the electron-positron output, we consider all known pulsars, as listed in the most complete available catalogue. We find that it is unlikely that a single pulsar be responsible for both the PAMELA positron fraction anomaly and for the ATIC excess, although two single sources are in principle enough to explain both experimental results. The PAMELA excess positrons likely come from a set of mature pulsars (age ～ × 10⁶ yr), with a distance of 0.8–1 kpc, or from a single, younger and closer source like Geminga. The ATIC data require a larger (and less plausible) energy output, and favor an origin associated to powerful, more distant (1–2 kpc) and younger (age ～ × 5 × 10⁵ yr) pulsars. We list several candidate pulsars that can individually or coherently contribute to explain the PAMELA and ATIC data. Although generally suppressed, we find that the contribution of pulsars more distant than 1–2 kpc could contribute for the ATIC excess. Finally, we stress the multi-faceted and decisive role that Fermi-LAT will play in the very near future by (1) providing us with an exquisite measurement of the electron-positron flux, (2) unveiling the existence of as yet undetected gamma-ray pulsars, and (3) searching for anisotropies in the arrival direction of high-energy electrons and positrons.     

Shape coexistence in 76Se within the neutron–proton interacting boson model

We have investigated the low-lying energy spectrum and electromagnetic transition strengths in even–even ⁷⁶Se using the proton–neutron interacting boson model (IBM-2). The theoretical calculation for the energy levels and E2 and M1 transition strengths is in good agreement with the experimental data. Specifically, the excitation energy and E2 transition of ${0}_{2}^{+}$ state, which is intimately associated with shape coexistence, can be accurately reproduced. The analysis on low-lying states and the key structure indicators R₁, R₂, R₃ and R₄ and M1 transitions indicates that there is a coexistence between spherical shape and γ-soft shape in ⁷⁶Se.     

Prospective study on observations of γ-ray sources in the Galaxy using the HADAR experiment

The High Altitude Detection of Astronomical Radiation (HADAR) experiment is a refracting terrestrial telescope array based on the atmospheric Cherenkov imaging technique. It focuses the Cherenkov light emitted by extensive air showers through a large aperture water-lens system for observing very-high-energy γ-rays and cosmic rays. With the advantages of a large field-of-view (FOV) and low energy threshold, the HADAR experiment operates in a large-scale sky scanning mode to observe galactic sources. This study presents the prospects of using the HADAR experiment for the sky survey of TeV γ-ray sources from TeVCat and provids a one-year survey of statistical significance. Results from the simulation show that a total of 23 galactic point sources, including five supernova remnant sources and superbubbles, four pulsar wind nebula sources, and 14 unidentified sources, were detected in the HADAR FOV with a significance greater than 5 standard deviations (σ). The statistical significance for the Crab Nebula during one year of operation reached 346.0 σ and the one-year integral sensitivity of HADAR above 1 TeV was ~1.3%–2.4% of the flux from the Crab Nebula.     

近地雷暴电场与羊八井地面宇宙线关联的模拟研究

雷暴期间地面宇宙线强度变化的研究对理解大气电场加速宇宙线次级带电粒子的物理机理具有重要意义. 分析西藏羊八井ARGO实验中2012年大气电场的数据后发现, 近地雷暴电场的强度可达1000 V/cm甚至更高. 用Monte Carlo方法模拟研究了近地雷暴电场与羊八井地面宇宙线强度的关联. 当雷暴电场强度(取1500 V/cm)大于逃逸电场时, 宇宙线次级粒子中正、负电子的数目呈指数增长, 在大气深度约520 g/cm²处达到极大值, 与Gurevich等提出的相对论电子逃逸雪崩机理和Dwyer理论相符. 当雷暴电场强度小于逃逸电场时, 在所有负电场范围和大于600 V/cm的正电场范围, 总电子数目随电场强度的增大而增加; 当正电场小于400 V/cm时, 总电子数目均出现一定幅度的下降; 在电场为400–600 V/cm范围内, 总电子数目的变化与原初粒子的能量有关, 原初能量小于80 GeV时, 其次级粒子中总电子数目增加, 原初能量在80–120 GeV 范围内时, 总电子数目变化不明显, 原初能量大于120 GeV时, 总电子数目出现下降, 下降幅度约4%. 模拟结果可对羊八井ARGO实验的观测结果给予合理的解释.     

Interpretations of the cosmic ray secondary-to-primary ratios measured by DAMPE

Precise measurements of the boron-to-carbon and boron-to-oxygen ratios by DAMPE show clear hardenings around 100 GeV/n, which provide important implications on the production, propagation, and interaction of Galactic cosmic rays. In this work we investigate a number of models proposed in literature in light of the DAMPE findings. These models can roughly be classified into two classes, driven by propagation effects or by source ones. Among these models discussed, we find that the re-acceleration of cosmic rays, during their propagation, by random magnetohydrodynamic waves may not reproduce sufficient hardenings of B/C and B/O, and an additional spectral break of the diffusion coefficient is required. The other models can properly explain the hardenings of the ratios. However, depending on simplifications assumed, the models differ in their quality in reproducing the data in a wide energy range. The models with significant re-acceleration effect will under-predict low-energy antiprotons but over-predict low-energy positrons, and the models with secondary production at sources over-predict high-energy antiprotons. For all models high-energy positron excess exists.     

Gamma rays and positrons from a decaying hidden gauge boson

We study a scenario that a hidden gauge boson constitutes the dominant component of dark matter and decays into the standard model particles through a gauge kinetic mixing. Interestingly, gamma rays and positrons produced from the decay of hidden gauge boson can explain both the EGRET excess of diffuse gamma rays and the HEAT anomaly in the positron fraction. The spectra of the gamma rays and the positrons have distinctive features; the absence of line emission of the gamma ray and a sharp peak in the positron fraction. Such features may be observed by the FGST and PAMELA satellites.     

Experimental observation of a copious yield of electrons with small transverse momenta in pp collisions at high energies

Inclusive electron and positron emission have been observed for θ_cm = 30° and S = 2800 GeV² at the CERN Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR). Over the transverse momentum interval 0.2 GeV/c < p_T < 1.5 GeV/c, electrons and positrons, which are equal in number within the experimental accuracies, appear to grow with respect to other particles (pions) approximately like 1/p_T. We are unable to explain their number and p_T-dependence in terms of “conventional” mechanisms.     

Preferential attachment network model with aging and initial attractiveness

In this paper, we generalize the growing network model with preferential attachment for new links to simultaneously include aging and initial attractiveness of nodes. The network evolves with the addition of a new node per unit time, and each new node has m new links that with probability Π_i are connected to nodes i already present in the network. In our model, the preferential attachment probability Π_i is proportional not only to k_i + A, the sum of the old node i's degree k_i and its initial attractiveness A, but also to the aging factor ${\tau }_{i}^{-\alpha }$, where τ_i is the age of the old node i. That is, ${{\rm{\Pi }}}_{i}\propto ({k}_{i}+A){\tau }_{i}^{-\alpha }$. Based on the continuum approximation, we present a mean-field analysis that predicts the degree dynamics of the network structure. We show that depending on the aging parameter α two different network topologies can emerge. For α < 1, the network exhibits scaling behavior with a power-law degree distribution P(k) ∝ k^−γ for large k where the scaling exponent γ increases with the aging parameter α and is linearly correlated with the ratio A/m. Moreover, the average degree k(t_i, t) at time t for any node i that is added into the network at time t_i scales as $k({t}_{i},t)\propto {t}_{i}^{-\beta }$ where 1/β is a linear function of A/m. For α > 1, such scaling behavior disappears and the degree distribution is exponential.     

双势阱产生正负电子对过程中的正电子波干涉与克莱因隧穿现象

通过将狄拉克场量子化并且数值求解狄拉克方程的方法研究在一维情况下双势阱激发正负电子对产生的过程.研究发现双势阱激发的正电子波在双势阱之间会出现干涉现象,过程中伴随着克莱因隧穿效应,并且在双势阱之间的距离取正电子波对应的驻波条件时,在双势阱之间会表现出驻波形式的正电子干涉波.并且驻波的出现对正负电子对的产生过程也存在相应的影响,驻波最终会通过克莱因隧穿效应衰减消失.     

Spatial dependent diffusion of cosmic rays and the excess of primary electrons derived from high precision measurements by AMS-02

The precise spectra of Cosmic Ray(CR) electrons and positrons have been published by the measurement of AMS-02. It is reasonable to regard the difference between the electron and positron spectra(?Φ = Φ_(e-)-Φ_(e+)) as being dominated by primary electrons. The resulting electron spectrum shows no sign of spectral softening above 20 GeV, which is in contrast with the prediction of the standard model of CR propagation. In this work, we generalize the analytic one-dimensional two-halo model of diffusion to a three-dimensional realistic calculation by implementing spatial variant diffusion coefficients in the DRAGON package. As a result, we can reproduce the spectral hardening of protons observed by several experiments, and predict an excess of high energy primary electrons which agrees with the measurement reasonably well. Unlike the break spectrum obtained for protons, the model calculation predicts a smooth electron excess and thus slightly over-predicts the flux from tens of GeV to 100 GeV. To understand this issue, further experimental and theoretical studies are necessary.     

Capabilities of the Gamma-400 Gamma-ray Telescope for Observation of Electrons and Positrons in the TeV Energy Range

The space-based GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope will measure the fluxes of gamma rays in the energy range from ∼20 MeV to several TeV and cosmic-ray electrons and positrons in the energy range from several GeV to several TeV to investigate the origin of gamma-ray sources, sources and propagation of the Galactic cosmic rays and signatures of dark matter. The instrument consists of an anticoincidence system, a converter-tracker (thickness one radiation length, 1 X₀), a time-of-flight system, an imaging calorimeter (2 X₀) with tracker, a top shower scintillator detector, an electromagnetic calorimeter from CsI(Tl) crystals (16 X₀) with four lateral scintillation detectors and a bottom shower scintillator detector. In this paper, the capability of the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope for electron and positron measurements is analyzed. The bulk of cosmic rays are protons, whereas the contribution of the leptonic component to the total flux is ∼10⁻³ at high energy. The special methods for Monte Carlo simulations are proposed to distinguish electrons and positrons from proton background in the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope. The contribution to the proton rejection from each detector system of the instrument is studied separately. The use of the combined information from all detectors allows us to reach a proton rejection of up to ∼1 × 10⁴.

     

Quantum Fisher information of a qubit-qutrit system in Garfinkle–Horowitz–Strominger dilation space–time

We investigate the quantum Fisher information(QFI) of a qubit-qutrit system in the background of Garfinkle–Horowitz–Strominger dilation black hole. After deriving the analytical expression of the QFI, we examine its dynamics with respect to the dilation parameter D and the state parameter γ of the system. Our results show that the QFI for the estimation of γ is a fixed value,which is independent of the parameters D and γ. And the QFI for the estimation of D varies with the parameters D and γ. Additionally, we propose an effective strategy to steer the QFI by introducing weak measurement reversal. We find that the QFI can be remarkably enhanced by adjusting the appropriate reversing measurement strengths. Our findings might provide some useful insights for the study on parameter estimation of hybrid systems in the framework of relativity theory.     

Out-of-time-order correlators in the one-dimensional XY model

We study the behavior of information spreading in the XY model, using out-of-time-order correlators(OTOCs). The effects of anisotropic parameter γ and external magnetic field λon OTOCs are studied in detail within thermodynamical limits. The universal form which characterizes the wavefront of information spreading still holds in the XY model. The butterfly speed vBdepends on(γ, λ). At a fixed location, the early-time evolution behavior of OTOCs agrees with the results of the Hausdorff–Baker–Campbell expansion. For long-time evolution,OTOCs with local operators decay as for power law t-1, but those with nonlocal operators show different and nontrivial power law behaviors. We also observe temperature dependence for OTOCs when(γ=0, λ=1). At low temperature, the OTOCs with nonlocal operators show divergence over time.     

On the positronium yield enhancement in polyethylene in high electric fields

The enhancement of the positronium (Ps) formation in polyethylene on the application of an electric field above 0.35 MV cm^-1, measured by Bisi et al., is discussed in terms of the spur model of Ps formation. Apparently, two effects can explain the results, namely (1) Ps formation by positron reaction with electrons injected in the charging processes at a high field, and (2) field dependent thermionic emission of excess electrons and positron trapped in the positron spur. The Ps enhancement in high fields does not disprove the spur model, even if the heating up of the positrons in high fields is assumed to take place.     

An Alternative Approach to Understanding the Observed Positron Fraction

Space-based observations by PAMELA (Adriani et al., Nature 458, 607, 2009), Fermi-LAT (Ackerman et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 01103, 2012), and AMS (Aguilar et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 141102, 2013) have demonstrated that the positron fraction (e+/total-e) increases with increasing energy above about 10 GeV. According to the propagation model for Galactic cosmic rays in widespread use (Moskalenko & Strong, Astrophys. J. 493, 693, 1998), the production of secondary positrons from interaction of cosmic-ray protons and heavier nuclei with the interstellar medium gives a generally falling positron fraction between 10 and 100 GeV, with secondary positrons accounting for only ～20 % of the observed positron fraction at 100 GeV; so some other physical phenomena have been proposed to explain the data. An alternative approach to interpreting the positron observations is to consider these data as presenting an opportunity for re-examining models of Galactic cosmic-ray propagation. Following release of the PAMELA data, three groups published propagation models (Shaviv, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 111302, 2009, Cowsik and Burch, Phys. Rev. D. 82, 023009, 2010, Katz et al., Mon. Not. R. Aston. Soc. 405, 1458 2010) in which the observed positron fraction is explained entirely by secondary positrons produced in the interstellar medium. In May of this year, stimulated by the AMS extension of the positron data to higher energy with excellent statistics, two of those groups presented further development of their calculations (Cowsik et al. 2013, Blum et al. 2013), again concluding that the observed positrons can be understood as secondaries. None of the authors of these five papers was registered for the 33rd International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC). Although I am not an author of any of these papers, I have some close familiarity with one of these recent papers, so the conference organizers invited me to bring this alternative approach to the attention of the conference. The present paper is a summary of the material I presented, along with a brief comment about reaction at the conference to this approach.     

Cosmic ray electron spectrum due to the dispersion of injection spectrum

The cosmic-ray total electron spectrum(electrons plus positrons) has been measured precisely up to Te V energies,with more interesting features found.Exhaustive analyses of the electron spectrum strongly support a spectral hardening above 100 GeV,rather than a featureless single power-law,which is confirmed by the most recent observations.Meanwhile,the measurements of the DAMPE satellite have verified the presence of a knee-like structure around 1 TeV in the electron spectrum,resembling the cosmic-ray knee.In this paper,we establish a physical model in which the observed electron spectrum is composed of a superposition of CR sources with various spectral indices and high-energy cutoffs.The dispersion of the power index is assumed to be Gaussian,while the cutoff energy Ec follows a power-law distribution.These simple ideas can account naturally for both the hundred-GeV excess and the TeV spectral break.     

Shadows and observational appearance of a new family of Ayón-Beato-García black holes

In this paper, we study the shadows and observational appearance of the Ayón-Beato-García (ABG) black hole, which is surrounded by a thin disk accretion. For a four-dimensional ABG black hole, as the charge q increases, the event horizon r₊, radius r_p and impact parameter b_p of the photon sphere decrease, while the maximum value of effective potential V_eff increases. However, as the term γ associated with nonlinear electrodynamics increases, the related physical quantities r₊, r_p and b_p increase, but the maximum value of V_eff decreases. When the light ray reaches the vicinity of the ABG black hole, one can observe the trajectories of the light rays appearing as three types, i.e., direct emission, lens ring and photon ring. Furthermore, the shadows and the observational appearance of the ABG black hole are studied. The results show that the charge q and the term γ have a great influence on the shape and intensity of the black hole shadow. When the relevant state parameters change or the emission model changes, it can be argued that it is the direct emission that plays a decisive role in the total observed intensity of the ABG black hole, while the contribution of the lens ring to the total observed intensity is small and the photon ring makes almost no contribution.     

超短超强激光产生正电子的蒙特卡罗模拟

通过理论分析,建立了超短超强激光与固体靶作用产生正电子的蒙特卡罗模拟模型及Geant4模拟程序。模拟研究了靶材料、靶厚度及超热电子温度等对正电子产额的影响,结果表明:对铝、铜、锡、钽、金、铅6种靶材料,金靶的正电子产额最高,是优秀的正电子产生靶;不同超热电子温度下存在不同的最佳靶厚度,在最佳靶厚度以下,正电子产额随靶厚度增长而增大,靶厚度取3 mm较为合适;超热电子温度越高,正电子产额也越高,提高激光强度是增加正电子产额的有效途径。模拟研究给出了正电子角分布及其能谱,结果显示,正电子发射明显前倾,从大于90方向范围发射的正电子数量极少,且超热电子温度越高前倾特点越明显,能量呈类麦克斯韦分布,靶背法线方向出射的正电子的温度随超热电子温度升高而升高。     

Features of the Mechanism of Formation of the Radiation Belt of High-Energy Electrons and Positrons

New results of the PAMELA experiment revealed significant difference in the electron and positrons flux and fraction between trapped particles of the radiation belt and quasitrapped particles. A decrease in the ratio of the electron-to-positron fluxes both with increasing altitude and with decreasing energy was observed for the inner radiation belt, but this does not fit in currently used models. The residual atmosphere density in the trapping region for L ~ 1.15?1.2 is estimated on the basis of calculations of trapped-particle trajectories in the Earth’s magnetosphere. It is shown that processes leading to the energy loss for trapped electrons and positrons in the interactions with residual-atmosphere atoms play an important role in the formation of fluxes of these particles, but these processes cannot cause the reduction of the positron fraction in the total flux at energies below some 100 MeV. The role of the process of δ-electron production in the formation of the belt of trapped electrons and positrons is considered. Allowance for this process makes it possible to explain the above reduction at least partly.