arXiv subjects

C. D. Dermer

Publications and source records attributed to C. D. Dermer.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2003

High-Energy Cosmic Rays from Galactic and Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Bursts

A model for high-energy (>10^14 eV) cosmic rays (HECRs) from galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is summarized. Relativistic outflows in GRBs are assumed to inject power-law distributions of CR protons and ions to the highest (>10^20 eV) energies. A diffusive propagation model for HECRs from a single recent GRB within 1 kpc from Earth explains the CR spectrum near and above the knee. The CR spectrum at energies above 10^18 eV is fit with a component from extragalactic GRBs. By normalizing the energy injection rate to that required to produce the CR flux from extragalactic sources observed locally, we determine the amount of energy a typical GRB must release in the form of nonthermal hadrons. Our interpretation of the HECR spectrum requires that GRBs are hadronically dominated, which would be confirmed by the detection of HE neutrinos from GRBs.

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arXiv2003

Nonthermal Particles and Radiation Produced by Cluster Merger Shocks

We have developed a numerical model for the temporal evolution of particle and photon spectra resulting from nonthermal processes at the shock fronts formed in merging clusters of galaxies. Fermi acceleration is approximated by injecting power-law distributions of particles during a merger event, subject to constraints on maximum particle energies. We consider synchrotron, bremsstrahlung, Compton, and Coulomb processes for the electrons, nuclear, photomeson, and Coulomb processes for the protons, and knock-on electron production during the merging process. The broadband radio through gamma-ray emission radiated by nonthermal protons and primary and secondary electrons is calculated both during and after the merger event. Using ROSAT observations to establish typical parameters for the matter density profile of clusters of galaxies, we find that typical merger shocks are weak and accelerate particles with relatively soft spectra. We consider the prospects for detecting nonthermal radio and gamma-ray emission from clusters of galaxies and implications for the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays and the diffuse gamma-ray background. Our results suggest that only a few of the isotropically-distributed unidentified EGRET sources are due to shocks formed in cluster mergers, and that only a minor contribution to the diffuse extragalactic gamma-ray background can originate from cluster merger shocks. Cluster merger shocks can accelerate protons to $\lesssim 10^{19}$ eV for the standard parameters considered here. We predict that {\it GLAST} will detect several cluster mergers and, depending on the mean magnetic fields in the intracluster medium, the Low Frequency Array could detect anywhere from several to several hundred.

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arXiv2002

Transformation Properties of External Radiation Fields, Energy-Loss Rates and Scattered Spectra, and a Model for Blazar Variability

We treat transformation properties of external radiation fields in the proper frame of a plasma moving with constant speed. The specific spectral energy densities of external isotropic and accretion-disk radiation fields are derived in the comoving frame of relativistic outflows, such as those thought to be found near black-hole jet and gamma-ray burst sources. Nonthermal electrons and positrons Compton-scatter this radiation field, and high-energy protons and ions interact with this field through photomeson and photopair production. We revisit the problem of the Compton-scattered spectrum associated with an external accretion-disk radiation field, and clarify a past treatment by the authors. Simple expressions for energy-loss rates and Thomson-scattered spectra are given for ambient soft photon fields consisting either of a surrounding external isotropic monochromatic radiation field, or of an azimuthally symmetric, geometrically thin accretion-disk radiation field. A model for blazar emission is presented that displays a characteristic spectral and variability behavior due to the presence of a direct accretion-disk component. The disk component and distinct flaring behavior can be bright enough to be detected from flat spectrum radio quasars with {\it GLAST}. Spectral states of blazars are characterized by the relative importance of the accretion-disk and scattered radiation fields and, in the extended jet, by the accretion disk, inner jet, and cosmic microwave background radiation fields.

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arXiv2002

Gamma Ray Bursts and Cosmic Ray Origin

This paper presents the theoretical basis of the fireball/blast wave model, and some implications of recent results on GRB source models and cosmic-ray production from GRBs. BATSE observations of the prompt gamma-ray luminous phase, and Beppo-SAX and long wavelength afterglow observations of GRBs are briefly summarized. Derivation of spectral and temporal indices of an adiabatic blast wave decelerating in a uniform surrounding medium in the limiting case of a nonrelativistic reverse shock, both for spherical and collimated outflows, is presented as an example of the general theory. External shock model fits for the afterglow lead to the conclusion that GRB outflows are jetted. The external shock model also explains the temporal duration distribution and clustering of peak energies in prompt spectra of long-duration GRBs, from which the redshift dependence of the GRB source rate density can be derived. Source models are reviewed in light of the constant energy reservoir result of Frail et al. that implies a total GRB energy of a few times 10^{51} ergs and an average beaming fraction of ~1/500 of full sky. Paczynski's isotropic hypernova model is ruled out. The Vietri-Stella model two-step collapse process is preferred over a hypernova/collapsar model in view of the X-ray observations of GRBs and the constant energy reservoir result. Second-order processes in GRB blast waves can accelerate particles to ultra-high energies. GRBs may be the sources of UHECRs and cosmic rays with energies above the knee of the cosmic ray spectrum. High-energy neutrino and gamma-ray observations with GLAST and ground-based gamma-ray telescopes will be crucial to test GRB source models.

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arXiv2001

Transient Absorption Features in GRBs and Their Implications for GRB Progenitors

The recent detection of a transient absorption feature in the prompt emission of GRB 990705 has sparked multiple attempts to fit this feature in terms of photoelectric absorption or resonance scattering out of the line of sight to the observer. However, the physical conditions required to reproduce the observed absorption feature turn out to be rather extreme compared to the predictions of current GRB progenitor models. In particular, strong clumping of ejecta from the GRB progenitor seems to be required. Using detailed 3D hydrodynamic simulations of supernova explosions as a guideline, we have investigated the dynamics and structure of pre-GRB ejecta predicted in various GRB progenitor models. Based on our results, combined with population synthesis studies relevant to the He-merger model, we estimate the probability of observing X-ray absorption features as seen in GRB 990705 to << 1 %. Alternatively, if the supranova model is capable of producing highly collimated long-duration GRBs, it may be a more promising candidate to produce observable, transient X-ray absorption features.

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arXiv2001

High-Energy Neutrinos from Photomeson Processes in Blazars

An important radiation field for photomeson neutrino production in blazars is shown to be the radiation field external to the jet. Assuming that protons are accelerated with the same power as electrons and injected with a -2 number spectrum, we predict that km^2 neutrino telescopes will detect about 1-to-several neutrinos per year from flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) such as 3C 279. The escaping high-energy neutron and photon beams transport inner jet energy far from the black-hole engine, and could power synchrotron X-ray jets and FR II hot spots and lobes.

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arXiv2001

An evolutionary scenario for blazar unification

Blazar subclasses ranging from flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) through low-frequency-peaked BL Lac objects (LBLs) to high-frequency-peaked BL Lac objects (HBLs) exhibit a sequence of increasing spectral hardness with decreasing luminosity that cannot be explained solely by orientation effects. Using an analytic model for the synchrotron, synchrotron-self-Compton, and Compton-scattered external radiation from blazar jets, we propose an evolutionary scenario that links these blazar subclasses in terms of a reduction of the black-hole accretion power with time. As the circumnuclear material accretes to fuel the central engine, less gas and dust is left to scatter accretion-disk radiation and produce an external Compton-scattered component in blazar spectra. This evolutionary trend produces the sequence FSRQ -> LBL -> HBL. Such a scenario may also link radio-loud AGNs with ultraluminous infrared galaxies and optical QSOs, if the latter constitute the high Eddington-ratio epoch of supermassive black hole growth, as suggested by the observed anti-correlation between radio and soft X-ray activity in some Galactic black-hole candidates.

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arXiv2001

Annihilation Radiation in the Galaxy

Observations of annihilation radiation in the Galaxy are briefly reviewed. We summarize astrophysical mechanisms leading to positron production, and recent estimates for production rates from nova and supernova nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy. The physical processes involved in the production of annihilation radiation in the interstellar medium are described. These include positron thermalization, charge exchange, radiative recombination, and direct annihilation. Calculations of 2γand 3γspectra and the positronium (Ps) fraction due to the annihilation of positrons in media containing H and He at different temperatures and ionization states are presented. Quenching of Ps by high temperature plasmas or dust could account for differences between 0.511 MeV and 3γPs continuum maps. These results are presented in the context of the potential of INTEGRAL to map sites of annihilation radiation in the Galaxy. Positron production by compact objects is also considered.

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arXiv2001

Pair Production and Radiation Effects in Clouds Illuminated by Gamma Ray Sources

Many classes of gamma-ray sources, such as gamma-ray bursts, blazars, Seyfert galaxies, and galactic black hole sources are surrounded by large amounts of gas and dust. X-rays and gamma-rays that traverse this material will be attenuated by Compton scattering and photoelectric absorption. One signature of an intervening scattering cloud is radiation-hardening by electrons that have been scattered and heated by the incident radiation, as illustrated by a Monte Carlo calculation. Compton scattering provides backscattered photons that will attenuate subsequent gamma rays through γγpair-production processes. We calculate the pair efficiency for a cloud illuminated by gamma-ray burst radiation. An analytic calculation of the flux of X-rays and gamma rays Thomson scattered by an intervening cloud is presented. Illuminated clouds near GRBs will form relativistic plasmas containing large numbers of electron-positron pairs that can be detected within ~1-2 days of the explosion before expanding and dissipating. Localized regions of pair annihilation radiation in the Galaxy could reveal gamma-ray sources embedded in dense clouds, or sites of past GRB explosions.

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arXiv2001

Accelerated Particles from Shocks Formed in Merging Clusters of Galaxies

Subcluster interactions within clusters of galaxies produce shocks that accelerate nonthermal particles. We treat Fermi acceleration of nonthermal electrons and protons by injecting power-law distributions of particles during the merger event, subject to constraints on maximum particle energies. The broadband nonthermal spectrum emitted by accelerated electrons and protons is calculated during and following the subcluster interaction for a standard parameter set. The intensity of gamma-ray emission from primary and secondary processes is calculated and discussed in light of detection capabilities at radio and gamma-ray energies.

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arXiv2001

High-Energy Neutrino Production through Photopion Processes in Blazars

The measured spectral energy distribution and variability time scale are used to determine the radiation and magnetic-field energy densities in the relativistic plasma that forms the gamma-ray emitting jet in the blazar 3C 279. Assuming that protons are accelerated as efficiently as electrons to a maximum energy determined by the size and magnetic field of the emitting region, we calculate the emissivity of neutrinos produced by protons that interact with the external radiation field intercepted by the jet. The external radiation field provides the most important target photons for photomeson production of high-energy neutrinos in flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs). Because of photomeson interactions with this field, km^2 neutrino telescopes are predicted to detect > 0.1-1 neutrinos per year from blazars such as 3C 279. BL Lac objects are weaker neutrino sources if, as widely thought, their gamma-ray emission is due to Compton-scattered synchrotron (SSC) radiation.

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arXiv2001

Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays and Neutron-Decay Halos from Gamma Ray Bursts

Simple arguments concerning power and acceleration efficiency show that ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRS) with energies >~ 10^{19} eV could originate from GRBs. Neutrons formed through photo-pion production processes in GRB blast waves leave the acceleration site and travel through intergalactic space, where they decay and inject a very energetic proton and electron component into intergalactic space. The neutron-decay protons form a component of the UHECRs, whereas the neutron-decay electrons produce optical/X-ray synchrotron and gamma radiation from Compton-scattered background radiation. A significant fraction of galaxies with GRB activity should be surrounded by neutron-decay halos of characteristic size ~ 100 kpc.

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arXiv2000

Proton and Electron Acceleration through Magnetic Turbulence in Relativistic Outflows

Low frequency electromagnetic turbulence is generated in relativistically outflowing plasma that sweeps up particles from the surrounding environment. Electrons are energized by stochastic gyroresonant acceleration with the turbulence produced by the isotropization of captured protons and charged dust. Protons are accelerated stochastically by the dust-induced turbulence. Analytical solutions for the proton and electron energy distributions are obtained and used to calculate broadband synchrotron emission. The solutions are compared with generic spectral behavior of blazars and gamma-ray bursts. Dust captured by a blast wave can generate turbulence that could accelerate protons to very high energies.

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arXiv2000

Spectral Energy Distributions of Gamma Ray Bursts Energized by External Shocks

Sari, Piran, and Narayan have derived analytic formulas to model the spectra from gamma-ray burst blast waves that are energized by sweeping up material from the surrounding medium. We extend these expressions to apply to general radiative regimes and to include the effects of synchrotron self-absorption. Electron energy losses due to the synchrotron self-Compton process are also treated in a very approximate way. The calculated spectra are compared with detailed numerical simulation results. We find that the spectral and temporal breaks from the detailed numerical simulation are much smoother than the analytic formulas imply, and that the discrepancies between the analytic and numerical results are greatest near the breaks and endpoints of the synchrotron spectra. The expressions are most accurate (within a factor of ~ 3) in the optical/X-ray regime during the afterglow phase, and are more accurate when epsilon_e, the fraction of swept-up particle energy that is transferred to the electrons, is <~ 0.1. The analytic results provide at best order-of-magnitude accuracy in the self-absorbed radio/infrared regime, and give poor fits to the self-Compton spectra due to complications from Klein-Nishina effects and photon-photon opacity.

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arXiv1999

Early GRB Afterglows from Relativistic Blast Waves in General Radiative Regimes

We present simple analytical expressions for the predicted spectral and temporal behavior of the early afterglow radiation from gamma-ray bursts in radiative regimes intermediate between the adiabatic and the fully radiative solutions of the blastwave hydrodynamic equations. Our expressions are valid as long as the relativistic electrons responsible for the observed synchrotron emission are in the fast cooling regime and the blast wave is relativistic. We show that even a slight deviation from a perfectly adiabatic evolution results in significant changes of the temporal characteristics of the afterglow emission.

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arXiv1999

A New Approach to Statistics of Cosmological Gamma-Ray Bursts

We use a new method of analysis to determine parameters of cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), assuming that their distribution follows the star-formation history of the universe. Spectral evolution is calculated from an external shock model for fireball/blast wave evolution, and used to evaluate the measured peak flux, duration, and $νF_ν$ peak photon energy for a GRB source occuring at a given redshift and with given values of total energy, baryon-loading and environmental parameters. We then fit model distributions of GRB sources to the observed peak flux, duration and $νF_ν$ peak photon energy distributions. We find that the observed width of the $E_p$ and duration distributions can not be explained by cosmological redshift and time dilation effects. Rather, broad distributions of total blastwave energies and bulk Lorentz factors are necessary to explain the observed distributions simultaneously within the framework of our unifying GRB model. We discuss implications for source parameter distributions and determine a range of burst parameters consistent with the data.

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arXiv1999

Correlated Spectral and Temporal Variability in the High-Energy Emission from Blazars

Blazar flare data show energy-dependent lags and correlated variability between optical/X-ray and GeV-TeV energies, and follow characteristic trajectories when plotted in the spectral-index/flux plane. This behavior is qualitatively explained if nonthermal electrons are injected over a finite time interval in the comoving plasma frame and cool by radiative processes. Numerical results are presented which show the importance of the effects of synchrotron self-Compton cooling and plasmoid deceleration. The use of INTEGRAL to advance our understanding of these systems is discussed.

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arXiv1998

Prompt and Delayed High-Energy Emission from Cosmological Gamma-Ray Bursts

In the cosmological blast-wave model for gamma ray bursts (GRBs), high energy (> 10 GeV) gamma-rays are produced either through Compton scattering of soft photons by ultrarelativistic electrons, or as a consequence of the acceleration of protons to ultrahigh energies. We describe the spectral and temporal characteristics of high energy gamma-rays produced by both mechanisms, and discuss how these processes can be distinguished through observations with low-threshold Cherenkov telescopes or GLAST. We propose that Compton scattering of starlight photons by blast wave electrons can produce delayed flares of GeV -- TeV radiation.

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