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Dimitrios Kantzas

Publications and source records attributed to Dimitrios Kantzas.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Cosmic rays, gamma rays and neutrinos from discrete black hole X-ray binary ejecta

The origin of cosmic rays from outside the Solar system are unknown, as they are deflected by the interstellar magnetic field. Supernova remnants are the main candidate for cosmic rays up to PeV energies but due to lack of evidence, they cannot be concluded as the sources of the most energetic Galactic CRs. We investigate discrete ejecta produced in state transitions of black hole X-ray binary systems as a potential source of cosmic rays, motivated by recent $>100$ TeV $\gamma$-ray detections by LHAASO. Starting from MAXI J1820+070, we examine the multi-wavelength observations and find that efficient particle acceleration may take place (i.e. into a robust power-law), up to $\sim2\times 10^{16}\mu^{-1/2}$ eV, where $\mu$ is the ratio of particle energy to magnetic energy. From these calculations, we estimate the global contribution of ejecta to the entire Galactic spectrum to be $\sim1\%$, with the cosmic ray contribution rising to $\sim5\%$ at PeV energies, assuming roughly equal energy in non-thermal protons, non-thermal electrons and magnetic fields. In addition, we calculate associated $\gamma$-ray and neutrino spectra of the MAXI J1820+070 ejecta to investigate new detection methods with CTAO, which provide strong constraints on initial ejecta size of order $10^7$ Schwarzschild radii ($10^{-5}$ pc) assuming a period of adiabatic expansion.

astro-ph.HE

Cosmic-ray cooling by dark matter in astrophysical jets

Astrophysical jets from powerful active galactic nuclei (AGN) have recently been proposed as promising probes of dark matter (DM) in the sub-GeV mass range. AGN launch relativistic jets that accelerate cosmic rays (CRs) to very high energies, which can then interact with their surroundings and produce multiwavelength (MW) emission spanning from radio frequencies to TeV $\gamma$ rays. If DM consists of light particles, their interactions with CRs could lead to an additional cooling mechanism that modifies the expected MW emission. In this work, we analyse the MW spectrum of Markarian 421, a well-studied AGN, using a multizone leptonic jet model that includes the interactions between CR electrons and DM particles. For the first time, we account for the uncertainties in the astrophysical jet dynamics, which have been previously neglected when constraining the CR-DM interactions. By fitting simultaneously jet parameters and DM-electrons interactions, we use the MW data from \mkn to set constraints on the DM-induced CR cooling. We obtain 5$\sigma$ upper limit $\sigma_\text{DM-e} \lesssim 1 \times 10^{-34}~\text{cm}^2$ for a DM mass of $1~{\rm MeV}$. We demonstrate that this is about a factor of 2--10 stronger than traditional approaches depending on DM mass. This improvement originates from having indeed considered the full multi-wavelength emission from the source, instead if a simplified approach. Properly accounting for degeneracies between jet dynamics and DM interactions is also key to deriving robust constraints on DM interactions.

hep-ph

Axion-like particle limits from multi-messenger sources

High-energy neutrino observation from the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068 offers new insights into the non-thermal processes of active galactic nuclei. Simultaneous gamma-rays emitted by such sources can possibly oscillate into axion-like particles (ALPs) when propagating through astrophysical magnetic fields, potentially modifying the observed spectrum. To probe for ALP-induced signals, a robust understanding of the emission processes at the source is necessary. In this work, we perform a dedicated multi-messenger analysis by modeling a jet in the innermost vicinity of the central supermassive black hole of NGC 1068. We model in particular the neutrino and gamma-ray emission originating in lepto-hadronic collisions between jet accelerated particles and background particles from the corona, reproducing both the Fermi-LAT and IceCube data. These source models serve as a baseline for ALP searches, and we derive limits on the ALP-photon coupling by marginalizing over motivated ranges of astrophysical parameters. We find $g_{a\gamma} \lesssim 7 \times 10^{-11}$GeV$^{-1}$ for $m_a \lesssim 10^{-9}$ eV. These limits may be weaker than existing constraints, but they demonstrate the potential of multi-messenger observations to probe new physics. We conclude by discussing how additional upcoming multi-messenger sources and improved observational precision can enhance ALP sensitivity.

hep-ph

Quiescent black hole X-ray binaries as multi-messenger sources

The origin of Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) is unknown even though they have traditionally been connected to supernovae based on energetic arguments. In the past decades, Galactic black holes in X-ray binaries (BHXBs) have been proposed as candidate sources of CRs, which revises the CR paradigm. BHXBs launch two relativistic jets during their outbursts, but recent observations suggested that these jets may be launched even during quiescence. A0620-00 is a well-studied object that shows indications of jet emission. We study the simultaneous radio-to-X-ray spectrum of this source that was detected while the source was in quiescence to better constrain the jet dynamics. Because most BHXBs spend their lifetimes in quiescence (qBHXBs), we used the jet dynamics of A0620-00 to study a population of $10^5$ such sources distributed throughout the Galactic disc, and a further 104 sources that are located in the boxy bulge around the Galactic centre. While the contribution to the CR spectrum is suppressed, we find that the cumulative intrinsic emission of qBHXBs from both the boxy bulge and from the Galactic disc adds to the diffuse emission that various facilities detected from radio to TeV gamma rays. We examined the contribution of qBHXBs to the Galactic diffuse emission and investigated the possibility of SKA, INTEGRAL, and CTAO to detect individual sources in the future. Finally, we compare the predicted neutrino flux to the recently presented Galactic diffuse neutrino emission by IceCube.

astro-ph.HE

Possible contribution of X-ray binary jets to the Galactic cosmic ray and neutrino flux

For over a century, the identification of high-energy cosmic ray (CR) sources remains an open question. For Galactic CRs with energy up to $10^{15}$ eV, supernova remnants (SNRs) have traditionally been thought the main candidate source. However, recent TeV gamma-ray observations have questioned the SNR paradigm. Propagating CRs are deflected by the Galactic magnetic field, hence, gamma-rays and neutrinos produced via inelastic hadronic interactions are the only means for unveiling the CR sources. In this work, we study the gamma-ray and neutrino emission produced by CRs accelerated inside Galactic jets of stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binaries (BHXBs). We calculate the intrinsic neutrino emission of two prototypical BHXBs, Cygnus X-1 and GX 339-4, for which we have high-quality, quasi-simultaneous multiwavelength spectra. Based on these prototypical sources, we discuss the likelihood of the 35 known Galactic BHXBs to be efficient CR accelerators. Moreover, we estimate the potential contribution to the CR spectrum of a viable population of BHXBs that reside in the Galactic plane. When these BHXBs go into outburst, they may accelerate particles up to 100s of TeV that contribute to the diffuse gamma-ray and neutrino spectra while propagating in the Galactic medium. Using HERMES, an open-source code that calculates the hadronic processes along the line of sight, we discuss the contribution of BHXBs to the diffuse gamma-ray and neutrino fluxes, and compare these to their intrinsic gamma-ray and neutrino emissions. Finally, we discuss the contribution of BHXBs to the observed spectrum of Galactic CRs.

astro-ph.HE

Exploring the role of composition and mass-loading on the properties of hadronic jets

Astrophysical jets are relativistic outflows that remain collimated for remarkably many orders of magnitude. Despite decades of research, the origin of cosmic rays (CRs) remains unclear, but jets launched by both supermassive black holes in the centre of galaxies and stellar-mass black holes harboured in X-ray binaries (BHXBs) are among the candidate sources for CR acceleration. When CRs accelerate in astrophysical jets, they initiate particle cascades that form {\gamma}-rays and neutrinos. In the so-called hadronic scenario, the population of accelerated CRs requires a significant amount of energy to properly explain the spectral constraints similarly to a purely leptonic scenario. The amount of energy required often exceeds the Eddington limit, or even the total energy available within the jets. The exact energy source for the accelerated protons is unclear, but due to energy conservation along the jets, it is believed to come from the jet itself via transfer of energy from the magnetic fields, or kinetic energy from the outflow. To address this hadronic energy issue and to self-consistently evolve the energy flux along the flows, we explore a novel treatment for including hadronic content, in which instabilities along the jet/wind border play a critical role. We discuss the impact of the different jet composition on the jet dynamics for a pair dominated and an electron-proton jet, and consequently the emitted spectrum, accounting for both leptonic and hadronic processes. Finally, we discuss the implications of this mass-loading scenario to address the proton energy issue.

astro-ph.HE

Early-time signatures of γ-ray emission from supernovae in dense circumstellar media

We present our results on the γ-ray emission from interaction-powered supernovae (SNe), a recently discovered SN type that is suggested to be surrounded by a circumstellar medium (CSM) with densities 10^7-10^12~ cm^-3. Such high densities favor inelastic collisions between relativistic protons accelerated in the SN blast wave and CSM protons and the production of γ-ray photons through neutral pion decays. Using a numerical code that includes synchrotron radiation, adiabatic losses due to the expansion of the source, photon-photon interactions, proton-proton collisions and proton-photon interactions, we calculate the multi-wavelength non-thermal photon emission soon after the shock breakout and follow its temporal evolution until 100-1000 days. Focusing on the γ-ray emission at >100 MeV, we show that this could be detectable by the Fermi-LAT telescope for nearby (<10 Mpc) SNe with dense CSM (>10^11 cm^-3).

astro-ph.HE