Extragalactic electromagnetic cascades as a possible instrument for the study of background radio emission

We analyzed the diffuse gamma-ray emission generated in the interactions between cosmic rays of ultrahigh energies and the background radiation in extragalactic space. The intensity of gamma-ray emission was calculated within a simplified model for energies E ≈ 10¹⁴ eV in different assumptions concerning the cosmic ray sources with the use of different estimates of nonthermal background radiation. It was shown that the gamma-ray radiation intensity in this energy range depends on the background radio emission and that under different assumptions concerning the radio background it can differ tens of times. It was concluded that gamma-ray emission can serve as a test for the models of background radio-frequency radiation.     

Searches for gamma-quanta from local sources by a wide-angle imaging telescope

Summary A new Cherenkov imaging telescope SHALON equipped with a very high-definition camera (144 pixels, imaging 7.2⁰×7.2⁰) takes data since 1993 at a mountain altitude of 3338 m. We discuss some results of the observations of the indicated gamma-ray sources and the discrimination methods between gamma-rays and protons. Selection of showers produced by gamma-quanta from a background of showers produced by protons has been made according to the following criteria: 1) alpha<20⁰; 2) length/width>1.6 for γ; 3) Cherenkov light intensity in pixels with max light to the light in the light pixels near around is >0.2 for γ and <0.6 for p; 4) Cherenkov light intensity in pixels with max light to all light in imaging excluding in centre is >0.8 for γ and <0.8 for p; 5) distance for γ is <3.5 pixels.I _Crab=(0.95±0.18)·10⁻¹² cm⁻²c⁻¹.I _Mark421=(0.98±0.36)·10⁻¹² cm⁻²c⁻¹. Paper presented at the Special Session on ground-based gamma-ray astronomy of the XXIV International Cosmic-Ray Conference, Rome, August 28–September 8, 1995.     

TeV activity of Cygnus X-3 high mass binary system

Cygnus X-3 is a high mass X-ray binary and microquasar, with a compact object, which is either a neutron star or may be a black hole, and a companion object, which is a Wolf-Rayet star. The nature of the compact object is still uncertain. Cygnus X-3 galactic binary system has been regularly observed since a 1995 by SHALON Atmospheric Cherenkov telescope with the average gamma-ray flux (6.8 ± 0.7) × 10⁻¹³ cm⁻² s⁻¹. The observations of very high-energy gamma-radiation from the sources of this type would be important for understanding the nature of this astrophysical object.     

Cosmic ray muons at a depth of 754 hg/cm2 in the Kolar gold Mines

A telescope of area 4 m², consisting of horizontal layers of plastic scintillators, neon flash tubes and absorbers was operated at a depth of 754 hg/cm² in the Kolar Gold Mines. New values for the vertical intensities of muons have been obtained from observations of the angular distribution over the slant depths ∼ 750–2300 hg/cm² and are compared with the existing measurements. From the angular distribution observed, we conclude that muons are produced wholly through the decay of pions and kaons up to energies of the order of 1 TeV. A value of 0.3±0.2 is estimated for theK/π ratio at production, for muon energies around 500 GeV. A decoherence distribution has been obtained for parallel muon events up to distances of the order of 10 m. From this we conclude that the averageP _t of the parents of muons of energy ∼ 250 GeV is of the order of 0.3 GeV/c. From an analysis of rock showers, we obtain the cross section for inelastic interaction of muons of mean energy 100 GeV as (3.8±1.5)×10⁻³⁰ cm²/nucleon.     

Gamma-ray direct observations from space

Summary This paper is devoted to problems of gamma-ray astronomy in the energy range <10¹¹ eV. Measurements of spectra and fluxes in this energy range are carried out by means of direct observations from space. Most of the discussed results have been performed with the four telescopes of the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. The main topics of the paper are: diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission, point-like galactic gamma-ray sources, gamma-ray line emission, gamma-ray bursts and active galactic nuclei. Rapporteur talk given at the XXIV International Cosmic-Ray Conference, Rome, August 28–September, 8, 1995.     

Ultra-narrow-linewidth continuous-wave THz sources based on multiplier chains

We demonstrate two different sources at 1.3 THz based on multiplier chains (72nd harmonic generation), which exhibit linewidths at the level of 2×10⁻¹² in relative units. The multiplication processes are shown not to contribute significantly to this linewidth. The phase noise of one of the sources and the fractional power in the carrier (76%) were determined. The application of these sources as references for quantum cascade THz lasers and for spectroscopy of ultracold molecules is suggested. Thus, rotational spectroscopy with few Hz resolution at 1.3 THz is possible with the present easy-to-use sources. An approach for reducing the linewidth by a factor on the order of 10³ to the 1×10⁻¹⁵ level using optical technology is proposed.     

GZK photons as ultra-high-energy cosmic rays

We calculate the flux of “GZK photons,” namely, the flux of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) consisting of photons produced by extragalactic nucleons through the resonant photoproduction of pions, the so-called GZK effect. We show that for primary nucleons, the GZK-photon fraction of the total UHECR flux is between 10⁻⁴ and 10^–2 above 10¹⁹ eV and up to the order of 0.1 above 10²⁰ eV. The GZK-photon flux depends on the assumed UHECR spectrum, the slope of the nucleon flux at the source, and the distribution of sources and intervening backgrounds. Detection of this photon flux would open the way for UHECR gamma-ray astronomy. Detection of a larger photon flux would imply the emission of photons at the source or new physics. We compare the photon fractions expected for GZK photons and the minimal fractions predicted by top-down models. We find that the photon fraction above 10¹⁹ eV is a crucial test for top-down models. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Compound nucleus cooling through early gamma-ray emission seen in neutron-gamma coincidences

Neutron-gamma coincidences have been studied following ¹²C+¹⁵⁹Tb reactions at 100 MeV. The coincident neutron spectra show a steeper exponential fall-off for higher gamma-ray energies. We conclude that for gamma-ray energies above 10 MeV photon emission predominantly precedes neutron evaporation.     

Possible observation of electromagnetic cascades in extragalactic space

Arrival directions of gamma-ray-initiated showers with energies over 10¹⁴ eV detected by the Bolivian and Tien Shan high-altitude arrays have been analyzed. Their distribution over the celestial sphere is nonuniform, and in the range of galactic latitudes b⩽30° it is similar to the distribution of Seyfert galaxies, which are at distances ∼1.5–200 Mpc from us, if the Hubble constant is 75 km/s·Mpc. Assuming that Seyfert galaxies are sources of protons with energies higher than 3×10¹⁹ eV, the gamma-rays can be generated in collisions of extragalactic protons with relict photons and in subsequent electromagnetic cascades in the extragalactic space. The upper limit on the extragalactic magnetic field, B≪10⁻⁹ G, is derived. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 385–397 (February 1998)     

Identification of extragalactic cosmic-ray sources using data from various detection facilities

Showers with energies E>3.2×10¹⁹ eV and E≥10²⁰ eV detected at the AGASA (Akeno, Japan), Haverah Park, and Yakutsk arrays are investigated. The question of how the identification of sources depends on the error in determining the shower arrival directions is analyzed. Confirmation is obtained for the conclusion in the author’s earlier work, that the principal sources of shower-driven particles are Seyfert galaxies with red shifts z≤0.0092, which are weak emitters in the x-ray and radio ranges. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 1121–1130 (October 1999)     

Large transverse momentum particle production at 90° in proton-proton collisions at the ISR

Total charged particle fluxes above 1.2 GeV/c transverse momentum at 90° have been measured at the CERN Intersecting Storage Rings for c.m. energies between 23.2 and 52.7 GeV. In addition, charged pion spectra above 3 GeV/c have been obtained at 44.4 and 52.7 GeV, as well as gamma-ray spectra at the same energies. The upper limit to produce a single electron above 3 GeV/c at 90° is less than 1.2 × 10^?33cm²/sr at 90% confidence level.     

Characteristics of the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope for searching for dark matter signatures

The GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope currently under development is designed to measure fluxes of gamma rays and electron-positron cosmic-ray components, which could be associated with the annihilation or decay of dark matter particles, and to survey in detail the celestial sphere in order to search for and investigate discrete gamma-ray sources; to measure the energy spectra of Galactic and extragalactic dif- fuse gamma-ray emissions; and to study gamma-ray bursts and the gamma-ray emissions of active Sun. The GAMMA-400 energy range is 100 MeV to 3000 GeV. The gamma-ray telescope has an angular resolution of ～0.01°, an energy resolution of ～1%, and a proton rejection factor of ～10⁶. The GAMMA-400 will be installed on Russia’s Navigator space platform. Observations are planned to commence in 2018.     

A search for high-energy cosmic gamma-ray bursts

Summary A search has been made for excesses of cosmic-ray counting rates at primary energiesE ₀₁>5 GeV andE ₀₄>2·10⁴ GeV over the time scalet=(1÷100) ms. The measurement was performed by means of a small extensive air shower array operating at mountain altitude (3500 m a.s.l.). During the running time 111 cosmic gamma-ray bursts were detected by satellites; 10 of them certainly (55 probably) above the horizon of the detector. No significant counting rate excess has been recorded out of the statistical fluctuations. Also the search for correlations with satellite events has given a negative result. The upper limit for high-energy cosmic gamma-ray flux in bursts isϕ ₁(E>E ₀₁)<4·10⁻⁵ (t = time scale in ms),ϕ ₄(E>E ₀₄)<1.6·10⁻⁵erg/cm². Paper presented at the 2^o Convegno Nazionale di Fisica Cosmica, held at L'Aquila, 29 May–2 June 1984.     

Gamma-ray bursts from evaporating primordial black holes

It is believed that the detection of gamma-ray bursts from evaporating primordial black holes is highly improbable in the near future since the expected photon flux, consisting mainly of photons with energies ≳ GeV, is too low. Contrary to this point of view, we show that a large fraction of the black hole power at the final stage of evaporation (the last 10³ s) can be liberated as a burst of soft γ-ray emission of duration 10⁻¹–10³ s and luminosity 10²⁸–10³¹ erg/s in the energy range 0.1–1 MeV. According to our calculations of the black hole evaporation rate (within the Standard Model of elementary particles), when the black hole temperature exceeds approximately 10 GeV, the charged particle outflow from a black hole forms a well-defined plasma and can be described in the hydrodynamic approximation. In this case more than half of the rest energy of a black hole can be converted into soft gamma-rays due to the presence of the magnetic field with energy density comparable to that of charged particles. We consider various mechanisms leading to such transformation and estimate their efficiency. It is shown that, at least, some of the gamma-ray bursts detected by BATSE can be associated with evaporating black holes. Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 36–45, January, 1998.     

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.

     

Possible sources of ultrahigh-energy cosmic protons

The arrival directions of showers with energies above 3.2·10¹⁹ eV, recorded by the Akeno and AGASA detectors, are analyzed. Their distributions over the celestial sphere are compared with the distributions of possible sources of protons of such high energies. An analysis using three standard deviations of uncertainty in the determination of the arrival directions of the showers shows that the sources of the protons initiating the showers are nuclei of active galaxies with red shifts z≤0.0092, i.e. their distance from us does not exceed 40 Mpc, assuming the Hubble constant is H=75 km/s·Mpc. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 2, 71–75 (25 July 1996)     

Methodological Issues of Gamma-Ray and Neutrino Searches at the Yakutsk Array

The method used to perform searches for extensive air showers (EAS) generated by neutral particles, such as high-energy gamma rays and astrophysical neutrinos, and the results of such searches are presented. A comprehensive analysis of relevant data, including those on EAS electrons, muons, and Cherenkov light and their time responses in scintillation and Cherenkov detectors, is performed for this purpose. An upper limit on the gamma-ray flux at the energies of 3 × 10¹⁸, 10¹⁹, and 3 × 10¹⁹ eV is set. A multivariate analysis of EAS properties of neutrino-induced air showers does not reveal neutrino-induced showers.     

Application of BaF2 scintillator to off-line gamma-ray spectroscopy

Total cross sections of the monitoring reaction²⁷Al(d, 3p 2n)²⁴Na at 3·0 AGeV and 3·65 AGeV were determined from direct gamma-ray counting of irradiated targets with a spectrometer using a large volume BaF₂ scintillation crystal. Cross sections of 14·1 ± 1·3 mb and 14·7 ±± 1·2 mb are compared with previous data at other energies.     

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays: Possible origin and spectrum

The complicated shape of the cosmic ray spectrum recorded by giant arrays in the energy range 10¹⁷–10²⁰ eV is analyzed. It is shown that in the energy region ∼10¹⁸–10¹⁹ eV the spectrum probably coincides with the injection spectrum whose exponent is equal approximately to 3.2–3.3. The flatter component in the energy region (3.2–5.0)×10¹⁹ eV is due to braking of extragalactic protons on primordial photons (the cosmic background radiation). At energies exceeding 3.2×10¹⁹ eV the spectrum does not have a blackbody cutoff. The possibility of determining the distances at which cosmic rays originate and investigating the evolution of their sources on the basis of ultrahigh-energy cosmic ray data is discussed. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 12–20 (January 1998)     

Directional distribution of high-energy gamma rays from hot 125, 127Cs and 171Lu compound nuclei

Gamma-gamma directional correlations have been measured following ¹²C + ^113,115In and ¹⁵⁹Tb reactions at 100 MeV. Directional distribution coefficients have been determined for the gamma-ray spectrum between 2 and 16 MeV. For energies above 10 MeV the results for both reactions are in disagreement with interpretations in terms of the decay of the giant dipole resonance statistically excited either in a permanently deformed prolate compound nucleus undergoing collective rotation or an oblate nucleus with the angular momentum along the axis of symmetry. For the reaction on Tb indications of a quadrupole component at energies around 10 MeV are presented.