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.

     

Ultra high energy cosmic rays: Identification of possible sources, energy spectra, and propagation

This review is devoted to the problem of the origin of cosmic rays (CR) with energy E >4 × 10¹⁹ eV. The review mainly deals with the hypothesis of CR acceleration in active galactic nuclei (AGN). The review consists of the following five sections: Introduction, three chapters, and Conclusions. The following points are considered in Introduction: shower arrays for detecting ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECR), the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff, and the hypotheses of the UHECR origin. Since CRs are of extraterrestrial origin, some astrophysical data used in CR physics are presented in a special section. The identification of UHECR sources with energies E > 4 × 10¹⁹ eV is analyzed in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 deals with CR acceleration in sources and CR escape from sources. Chapter 4 is devoted to particle propagation in intergalactic space with allowance for CR interaction with the microwave background radiation and energy losses (blackbody or GZK cutoff). The propagation of UHECR protons is analyzed and their spectra at the Earth are calculated numerically. In Conclusions, we formulate the results and list the nuclear data needed to develop the model in more detail, namely, to study the propagation of CR nuclei in intergalactic space and to analyze the UHECR composition at the Earth.     

Scientific tasks and present status of the GAMMA-400 project

The GAMMA-400 telescope is designed to investigate discrete high-energy gamma-ray sources in the energy range of 0.1–3000 GeV, to measure the energy spectra of galactic and extragalactic diffuse gammaray emissions, and to study gamma-ray bursts and gamma-ray emissions from an active Sun. The gamma-ray telescope has an angular resolution of ～0.01°, an energy resolution of ～1%, and a proton rejection factor of ～10⁶. Its special assignment is to measure fluxes of gamma rays, electrons, and positrons that could be associated with the annihilation or decay of dark matter particles.     

Characteristics of the energy spectra of cosmic rays and a single source model

As the accuracy of measuring the energy spectra of different nuclei in the primary cosmic ray flux and their ratios grows, more evidence appears for the nonpower character of these spectra at energies below the knee at 3–4 PeV. Irregularities in the spectra are the natural consequence of the nonuniformity of the cosmic ray source distributions: their types, ages and distances to the Earth; the nonuniformity of the interstellar medium; and the different densities, temperatures, and natures of magnetic fields. In particular, the flattening of the proton and helium energy spectra, the growth of the fraction of positrons in the total flux of positrons and electrons, and the constancy of the ratio of antiprotons to protons at sub-PeV energies could be due to the contribution from nearby and young sources emitting harder energy spectra of particles. It is shown that the recent measurements of the ratio of the boron and carbon nuclei performed in the AMS-02 experiment could also indicate that there is a contribution from a single comparatively young and nearby source.     

A Statistic Model for Galactic Cosmic Rays

Supposed that all of cosmic ray particles of energy below 3×10¹⁸eV are mainly originated and accelerated in an individual explosion of the galactic supernovae(SNs).By using an isotropic diffusion propagation model,non-steady state density of the iron nucleus is investigated.Considering the effect of extra-galactic cosmic rays and the variety of the galactic cosmic ray nuclei,the statistic model of galactic cosmic rays with a reasonable distribution of the SNs in space and time can account for the spectrum of cosmic ray in the energy range of 10¹²—10²⁰eV quitewell.     

Some highlights of the first four years of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly called GLAST, measures the cosmic gamma-ray flux in the energy range 8 keV to 〉 300 GeV. In addition to breakthrough capabilities in energy coverage and localization, the very large field of view enables observations of 20~ of the sky at any instant, and the entire sky on a timescale of a few hours. With its launch in 2008, Fermi opens a new and important window on a wide variety of phenomena, including pulsars, black holes and active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, supernova remnants and the origins of cosmic rays, and searches for hypothetical new phenomena such as particle dark matter annihilations. A brief overview and selected science highlights from the first four years are provided.     

Violation of the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff: a tempest in a (magnetic) Teapot? Why cosmic ray energies above 10(20) eV may not require new physics

The apparent lack of suitable astrophysical sources for the observed highest energy cosmic rays within approximately 20 Mpc is the "Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) paradox." We constrain representative models of the extragalactic magnetic field structure by Faraday rotation measurements; limits are at the microG level rather than the nG level usually assumed. In such fields, even the highest energy cosmic rays experience large deflections. This allows nearby active galactic nuclei (possibly quiet today) or gamma ray bursts to be the source of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays without contradicting the GZK distance limit.     

Influence of background radiation on the composition of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays in propagating from their source to an earth-based facility

The composition of cosmic rays as they propagate from their source is noticeably distorted due to the photodisintegration of nuclei against the background cosmic radiation. We analyze the propagation of different nuclei groups of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays on the way from their source to an earth-based facility. Two types of sources are considered: “nearby” (within an area having a radius of ≈40 Mpc) and “remote” (at distances of hundreds of Mpc) active galactic nuclei. We show that within the accepted model, the composition of the particles incident on the facility depends on the source type.     

宇宙线研究进展评述与展望

近年来,宇宙线探测技术发展迅速,天基和地基宇宙线实验均取得了多项重要成果,打破了宇宙线研究领域多年来的沉寂．多手段复合观测是精确测量宇宙线能谱和成分的必要途径,甚高能伽玛射线天文学成为探索宇宙线起源这一世纪之谜的最有效手段．高海拔宇宙线观测站(LHAASO)计划将以最高的超高能伽玛射线探测灵敏度和甚高能伽玛射线巡天灵敏度以及最宽的宇宙线能量覆盖范围探索领域的基本问题．     

Cosmic ray constraints on the annihilations of relic particles in the galactic halo

We re-evaluate the fluxes of cosmic ray antiprotons, positrons and gamma rays to be expected from the annihilations of relic particles in the galactic halo. We stress the importance of observational constraints on the possible halo density of relic particles, and specify their annihilation cross sections by the requirement that their cosmological density close the Universe. We use a Monte Carlo programme adapted to fit e⁺e⁻ data to calculate the p̄, e⁺ and γ spectra for some supersymmetric relic candidates. We find significantly smaller p̄ fluxes than previously estimated, and conclude that present upper limits on cosmic ray p̄ and e⁺ do not exclude any range of sparticle masses. We discuss the prospects for possible future constraints on sparticles from cosmic γ rays.     

揭秘宇宙线起源：LHAASO的使命、挑战与展望

高海拔宇宙线观测站(LHAASO)是人类研究宇宙线最大的实验装置之一,其核心科学目标是寻找宇宙线的起源,不但要探测超高能伽马射线源,也致力于精确测量地球附近带电宇宙线的成分和能谱,系统地研究宇宙线的加速过程及传播机制。从发现12个超高能伽马源(标志着超高能伽马天文学领域的开启),到第一个星表的发布(展现出银河系丰富多彩的宇宙线加速源的候选天体),LHAASO已经为发现宇宙线起源奠定了良好的基础。此外,这些成果为后续的宇宙线加速机理和传播效应的研究指明了方向,同时也为现有理论与模型提供了精确检验的机会与挑战。文章概述了LHAASO项目的开展背景、望远镜主要结构及其在宇宙线物理学中的重大意义,并对其未来的研究方向进行了展望。     

Inverse problem for the equation of ultrahigh energy cosmic ray transport

The propagation of ultrahigh energy nuclei in an expanding universe filled with background electromagnetic radiation is considered. A numerical method for solving the inverse problem for the equation of cosmic ray transport is developed. The method allows us to determine a source spectrum from the cosmic ray spectrum observed near Earth. The spectra of injected protons and nuclei of iron were found in extragalactic sources under the assumption that these types of particles predominate in the composition of the sources. The method of calculation is illustrated using observational data obtained in the Auger and Telescope Array experiments.     

The TeV-scale cosmic ray proton and helium spectra: Contributions from the local sources

Recent measurements of cosmic ray proton and helium spectra show a hardening above a few hundreds of GeV. This excess is hard to understand in the framework of the conventional models of galactic cosmic ray production and propagation. Here, we propose to explain this anomaly by the presence of local sources. Cosmic ray propagation is described as a diffusion process taking place inside a two-zone magnetic halo. We calculate the proton and helium fluxes at the Earth between 50 GeV and 100 TeV. Improving over a similar analysis, we consistently derive these fluxes by taking into account both local and remote sources for which a unique injection rate is assumed. We find cosmic ray propagation parameters for which the proton and helium spectra remarkably agree with the PAMELA and CREAM measurements over four decades in energy.     

TeV Electrons and Positrons Measured by PAMELA Spectrometer

Abstract-The PAMELA magnetic spectrometer was launched onboard the Resurs-DK1 satellite to the Earth polar orbit with altitude of 350–600 km to study the fluxes of cosmic ray particles and antiparticles in a wide energy range. Starting science operation in July 2006, PAMELA spectrometer performed continuous observation without major interruption till January 2016 collected about 10 billion trigger events. New analysis included data for all period of observations in 2006–2016 with improved selection efficiency and it allows to extend measurements of total electron and positron flux in TeV region with better statistic accuracy. In this paper, the observed energy spectrum of electrons and positrons is presented and compared with the other modern measurements.

     

511 keV photons from color superconducting dark matter

We discuss the possibility that the recent detection of 511 keV gamma rays from the galactic bulge, as observed by the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, can be naturally explained by the supermassive very dense droplets (strangelets) of dark matter. These droplets are assumed to be made of ordinary light quarks (or antiquarks) condensed in a nonhadronic color superconducting phase. The droplets can carry electrons (or positrons) in the bulk or/and on the surface. The e(+)e(-) annihilation events take place due to the collisions of electrons from the visible matter with positrons from dark matter droplets which may result in the bright 511 keV gamma-ray line from the bulge of the Galaxy.     

Recent Results in Cosmic Ray Physics and Their Interpretation

The last decade has been dense with new developments in the search for the sources of Galactic cosmic rays. Some of these developments have confirmed the tight connection between cosmic rays and supernovae in our Galaxy, through the detection of gamma rays and the observation of thin non-thermal X-ray rims in supernova remnants. Some others, such as the detection of features in the spectra of some chemicals, opened new questions on the propagation of cosmic rays in the Galaxy and on details of the acceleration process. Here, I will summarize some of these developments and their implications for our understanding of the origin of cosmic rays. I will also discuss some new avenues that are being pursued in testing the supernova origin of Galactic cosmic rays.     

Diffusive and Shock-Drift Acceleration in Relativistic Shocks

It is accepted that the shock acceleration mechanism can explain the non-thermal cosmic rays in supernova remnants, active galactic nuclei and gamma ray bursts. Especially, the importance of relativistic shock acceleration of cosmic rays in extragalactic sources is an important subject of study. In this work we will discuss the shock acceleration mechanism and will review the properties of non-relativistic and relativistic shocks, particularly focusing on relativistic Monte Carlo simulation studies.     

Gamma Ray Astronomy and the Origin of Cosmic Rays

The classical production processes for high energy gamma radiation in the interstellar medium are discussed and confronted with recent satellite observations. It is shown that gamma ray data in their present form do not provide definite conclusions on the origin of cosmic rays. Some current ideas on the nature of gamma ray point sources are presented.     

大型强子对撞机时代的宇宙线实验

随着大型强子对撞机（LHC）对撞实验的深入进行,宇宙线实验中许多不确定因素将在实验中确定下来,而大型的、多种探测手段的联合观测将把宇宙线实验研究推入精确测量的时代,对可能的宇宙线起源模型的限制将增强,对电子、各种核乃至γ光子和中微子的精确测量,将增加揭开宇宙线起源这一世纪谜团、甚至于寻找到暗物质源的可能性,而亟待解决的基本问题是利用高山地面实验装置,通过与空间直接测量的相互标定,确定能量标度并传递到能谱截断的极高能区,实现完整、一致、单一和可靠的宇宙线能谱、成分和到达方向各向异性度的测量.     

Two-decade experience of application of plastic nuclear track detectors to cosmic ray research on satellites and orbital space stations

The work generalizes the results obtained during the last two decades in our spaceborne experiments aimed at studying galactic cosmic rays and cosmic ray anomalous component and carried out using solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD) mounted mostly outside spacecraft. The experimental equipment and the techniques for identifying cosmic ray ions and for calculating particle flux values are described. The experimental data are used to construct a modified model for the fluxes and spectra of cosmic ray protons and heavy nuclei to be calculated to within a higher accuracy compared with the earlier models.