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arXiv · 1104.5172

Gamma-ray halos as a measure of intergalactic magnetic fields: a classical moment problem

Markus Ahlers
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Abstract

The presence of weak intergalactic magnetic fields can be studied by their effect on electro-magnetic cascades induced by multi-TeV gamma-rays in the cosmic radiation background. Small deflections of secondary electrons and positrons as the cascade develops extend the apparent size of the emission region of distant TeV gamma-ray sources. These gamma-ray halos can be resolvable in imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and serve as a measure of the intergalactic magnetic field strength and coherence length. We present a method of calculating the gamma-ray halo for isotropically emitting sources by treating magnetic deflections in the cascade as a diffusion process. With this ansatz the moments of the halo follow from a set of simple diffusion-cascade equations. The reconstruction of the angular distribution is then equivalent to a classical moment problem. We present a simple solution using Pade approximations of the moment's generating function.

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Markus Ahlers. 2011-04-27. Gamma-ray halos as a measure of intergalactic magnetic fields: a classical moment problem. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.84.063006

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