arXiv subjects

Ellis R. Owen

Publications and source records attributed to Ellis R. Owen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Effects of large-scale magnetic fields on the observed composition of ultra high-energy cosmic rays

Ultra high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays (CRs) from distant sources interact with intergalactic radiation fields, leading to their spallation and attenuation. They are also deflected in intergalactic magnetic fields (IGMFs), particularly those associated with Mpc-scale structures. These deflections extend the propagation times of CR particles, forming a magnetic horizon for each CR species. The cumulative cooling and interactions of a CR ensemble also modifies their spectral shape and composition observed on Earth. We construct a transport formulation to calculate the observed UHE CR spectral composition for 4 classes of source population. The effects on CR propagation brought about by IGMFs are modeled as scattering processes during transport, by centers associated with cosmic filaments. Our calculations demonstrate that IGMFs can have a marked effect on observed UHE CRs, and that source population models are degenerate with IGMF properties. Interpretation of observations, including the endorsement or rejection of any particular source classes, thus needs careful consideration of the structural properties and evolution of IGMFs. Future observations providing tighter constraints on IGMF properties will significantly improve confidence in assessing UHE CR sources and their intrinsic CR production properties.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Evolution and feedback of AGN Jets of different Cosmic-ray Composition

Jet feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) is one of the most promising mechanisms for suppressing cooling flows in cool-core clusters. However, the composition of AGN jets and bubbles remains uncertain; they could be thermally dominated, or dominated by cosmic-ray proton (CRp), cosmic-ray electron (CRe), or magnetic energy. In this work, we investigate the evolution and feedback effects of CRp and CRe dominated jets by conducting 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations of AGN jet-inflated bubbles in the intracluster medium using the FLASH code. We present the evolution of their energies, dynamics and heating, and model their expected cavity-power versus radio-luminosity relation ($P_{\rm cav}-L_R$). We find that bubbles inflated by CRe dominated jets follow a very similar dynamical evolution to CRp dominated bubbles even though CRe within bubbles suffer significantly stronger synchrotron and inverse-Compton cooling. This is because, as CRe lose their energy, the jet-inflated bubbles quickly become thermally dominated within $\sim 30$ Myr. Their total energy stops decreasing with CR energy and evolves similarly to CRp dominated bubbles. The ability of CRe and CRp dominated bubbles to heat the intracluster medium is also comparable; the cold gas formed via local thermal instabilities is well suppressed in both cases. The CRp and CRe bubbles follow different evolutionary trajectories on the $P_{\rm cav}-L_R$ plane, but the values are broadly consistent with observed ranges for FRI sources. We also discuss observational techniques that have potential for constraining the composition of AGN jets and bubbles.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Cosmic rays as a feedback agent in primordial galactic ecosystems

High-redshift primordial galaxies have recently been found with evolved stellar populations and complex star-formation histories reaching back to 250 Myr after the Big Bang. Their intense bursts of star-formation appear to be interspersed with sustained periods of strong quenching, however the processes underlying this evolutionary behaviour remain unclear. Unlike later epochs, galaxies in the early Universe are not located in large associations like clusters. Instead, they co-evolve with their developing circumgalactic halo as relatively isolated ecosystems. Thus, the mechanisms that could bring about the downfall of their star-formation are presumably intrinsic, and feedback processes associated with their intense starburst episodes likely play an important role. Cosmic rays are a viable agent to deliver this feedback, and could account for the star-formation histories inferred for these systems. The cosmic ray impact on galaxies may be investigated using the wealth of multi-wavelength data soon to be obtained with the armada of new and upcoming facilities. Complementary approaches to probe their action across the electromagnetic spectrum can be arranged into a distance ladder of cosmic ray feedback signatures. With a clear understanding of how cosmic ray activity in primordial systems can be traced, it will be possible to extend this ladder to high redshifts and map-out the role played by cosmic rays in shaping galaxy evolution over cosmic time.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Emission from hadronic and leptonic processes in galactic jet-driven bubbles

We investigate the multiwavelength emission from hadronic and leptonic cosmic rays (CRs) in bubbles around galaxies, analogous to the Fermi bubbles of the Milky Way. The bubbles are modeled using 3D magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations, and are driven by a 0.3 Myr intense explosive outburst from the nucleus of Milky Way-like galaxies. We compute their non-thermal emission properties at different stages throughout their evolution, up to 7 Myr, by post-processing the simulations. We compare the spectral and spatial signatures of bubbles with hadronic, leptonic and hybrid hadro-leptonic CR compositions. These each show broadly similar emission spectra, comprised of radio synchrotron, inverse Compton and non-thermal bremsstrahlung components. However, hadronic and hybrid bubbles were found to be brighter than leptonic bubbles in X-rays, and marginally less bright at radio frequencies, and in $γ$-rays between $\sim$ 0.1 and a few 10s of GeV, with a large part of their emission being driven by secondary electrons formed in hadronic interactions. Hadronic systems were also found to be slightly brighter in high-energy $γ$-rays than their leptonic counterparts, owing to the $π^0$ decay emission that dominates their emission between energies of 100s of GeV and a few TeV.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

The extragalactic $γ$-ray background: imprints from the physical properties and evolution of star-forming galaxy populations

Star-forming galaxies (SFGs) harbour an abundant reservoir of cosmic rays (CRs). At GeV energies, these CRs undergo interactions with their environment to produce $γ$-rays, and the unresolved $γ$-ray emission from populations of SFGs forms a component of the isotropic extragalactic $γ$-ray background (EGB). In this work, we investigate the contribution to the 0.01 - 50 GeV EGB from SFG populations located up to redshift $z=3$. We find this is dominated by starbursts, while the contribution from main sequence SFGs is marginal at all energies. We also demonstrate that most of the $γ$-ray contribution from SFGs emanates from low mass galaxies, with over 80 per cent of the emission originating from galaxies with stellar masses below $10^8 \;\!{\rm M}_{\odot}$. Many of these galaxies are located at relatively high redshift, with their peak EGB contribution arising $\sim$ 700 Myr before the noon of cosmic star-formation. We find that the precise redshift distributions of EGB sources at different energies imprint intensity signatures at different angular scales, which may allow their contribution to be distinguished using analyses of small-scale EGB intensity anisotropies, particularly if the diffuse EGB is dominated by hadronic CR-driven $γ$-ray emission from SFGs. We show that the EGB is sensitive to the evolution of low mass populations of galaxies, particularly around $z\sim2.5$, and that it provides a new means to probe the engagement of CRs in these galaxies before the high noon of cosmic star-formation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Multi-wavelength emission from leptonic processes in ageing galaxy bubbles

The evolutionary behavior and multi-wavelength emission properties of bubbles around galaxies, such as the \textit{Fermi} bubbles of the Milky Way, is unsettled. We perform 3D magnetohydrodynamical simulations to investigate the evolution of leptonic galaxy bubbles driven by a 0.3 Myr intense explosive outburst from the nucleus of Milky Way-like galaxies. Adopting an ageing model for their leptonic cosmic rays, we post-process our simulations to compute the multi-wavelength emission properties of these bubbles. We calculate the resulting spectra emitted from the bubbles from radio frequencies to $γ$-rays, and construct emission maps in four energy bands to show the development of the spatial emission structure of the bubbles. The simulated bubbles show a progression in their spectral properties as they age. In particular, the TeV $γ$-ray emission is initially strong and dominated by inverse Compton scattering, but falls rapidly after $\sim$ 1 Myr. By contrast, the radio synchrotron emission remains relatively stable and fades slowly over the lifetime of the bubble. Based on the emission properties of our post-processed simulations, we demonstrate that $γ$-ray observations will be limited in their ability to detect galaxy bubbles, with only young bubbles around nearby galaxies being within reach. However, radio observations with e.g. the up-coming Square Kilometer Array, would be able to detect substantially older bubbles at much greater distances, and would be better placed to capture the evolutionary progression and diversity of galaxy bubble populations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Outflows from starburst galaxies with various driving mechanisms and their X-ray properties

Outflows in starburst galaxies driven by thermal-mechanical energy, cosmic rays and their mix are investigated with 1D and 2D hydrodynamic simulations. We show that these outflows could reach a stationary state, after which their hydrodynamic profiles asymptotically approach previous results obtained semi-analytically for stationary outflow configurations. The X-rays from the simulated outflows are computed, and high-resolution synthetic spectra and broadband light curves are constructed. The simulated outflows driven by thermal mechanical pressure and CRs have distinguishable spectral signatures, in particular, in the sequence of the keV K$α$ lines of various ions and in the L-shell Fe emission complex. We demonstrate that broadband colour analysis in X-rays is a possible alternative means to probe outflow driving mechanisms for distant galaxies, where observations may not be able to provide sufficient photons for high-resolution spectroscopic analyses.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

The contribution of distant sources to the observed flux of ultra high-energy cosmic rays

Ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays (CRs) interact with cosmic background radiation through hadronic processes, and the Universe would become `opaque' to UHE CRs of energies $\sim$($10^{18}$- $10^{20}$) eV over about several tens of Mpc, setting the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min (GZK) horizon. We demonstrate that a non-negligible fraction of the UHE CRs arriving on Earth could originate from beyond the GZK horizon when heavy nuclear CRs, and the population and evolution of UHE CR sources are taken into account. We show how the multi-particle CR horizon is modified by different source populations, and discuss how this leads to the natural emergence of an isotropic flux component in the observed UHE CR background. This component would coexist with an anisotropic foreground component contributed by nearby sources within the GZK horizon.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Assessing the signatures imprinted by star-forming galaxies in the cosmic $γ$-ray background

In recent years, $γ$-ray emission has been detected from star-forming galaxies (SFGs) in the local universe, including M82, NGC 253, Arp 220 and M33. The bulk of this emission is thought to be of hadronic origin, arising from the interactions of cosmic rays (CRs) with the interstellar medium of their host galaxy. Distant SFGs are presumably also bright in $γ$-rays. Although they would not be resolvable as point sources, distant unresolved SFG populations contribute $γ$-rays to the extra-galactic $γ$-ray background (EGB). Despite the wealth of high-quality all-sky EGB data collected over more than a decade of operation with the \textit{Fermi}-LAT $γ$-ray space telescope, the exact contribution of SFGs to the EGB remains unsettled. In this study, we model the $γ$-ray emission from SFG populations and demonstrate that such emission can be characterized by just a small number of physically-motivated parameters. We further show that source populations would leave anisotropic signatures in the EGB, which could be used to yield information about the underlying properties, dynamics and evolution of CR-rich SFGs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Ultra high-energy cosmic rays from beyond the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min horizon

Ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays (CRs) of energies $\sim (10^{18}-10^{20})~{\rm eV}$, accelerated in violent astrophysical environments, interact with cosmic background radiation fields via photo-hadronic processes, leading to strong attenuation. Typically, the Universe would become `opaque' to UHE CRs after several tens of Mpc, setting the boundary of the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min (GZK) horizon. In this work, we investigate the contribution of sources beyond the conventional GZK horizon to the UHE CR flux observed on Earth, when photo-spallation of the heavy nuclear CRs is taken into account. We demonstrate this contribution is substantial, despite the strong attenuation of UHE CRs. A significant consequence is the emergence of an isotropic background component in the observed flux of UHE CRs, coexisting with the anisotropic foreground component that are associated with nearby sources. Multi-particle CR horizons, which evolve over redshift, are determined by the CR nuclear composition. Thus, they are dependent on the source populations and source evolutionary histories.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Empirical assessment of cosmic ray propagation in magnetized molecular cloud complexes

Molecular clouds are complex magnetized structures, with variations over a broad range of length scales. Ionization in dense, shielded clumps and cores of molecular clouds is thought to be caused by charged cosmic rays (CRs). These CRs can also contribute to heating the gas deep within molecular clouds, and their effect can be substantial in environments where CRs are abundant. CRs propagate predominantly by diffusion in media with disordered magnetic fields. The complex magnetic structures in molecular clouds therefore determine the propagation and spatial distribution of CRs within them, and hence regulate their local ionization and heating patterns. Optical and near-infrared (NIR) polarization of starlight through molecular clouds is often used to trace magnetic fields. The coefficients of CR diffusion in magnetized molecular cloud complexes can be inferred from the observed fluctuations in these optical/NIR starlight polarisations. Here, we present calculations of the expected CR heating patterns in the star-forming filaments of IC 5146, determined from optical/NIR observations. Our calculations show that local conditions give rise to substantial variation in CR propagation. This affects the local CR heating power. Such effects are expected to be severe in star-forming galaxies rich in CRs. The molecular clouds in these galaxies could evolve differently to those in galaxies where CRs are less abundant.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Characterising the signatures of star-forming galaxies in the extra-galactic $γ$-ray background

Galaxies experiencing intense star-formation episodes are expected to be rich in energetic cosmic rays (CRs). These CRs undergo hadronic interactions with the interstellar gases of their host to drive $γ$-ray emission, which has already been detected from several nearby starbursts. Unresolved $γ$-ray emission from more distant star-forming galaxies (SFGs) is expected to contribute to the extra-galactic $γ$-ray background (EGB). However, despite the wealth of high-quality all-sky data from the Fermi-LAT $γ$-ray space telescope collected over more than a decade of operation, the exact contribution of such SFGs to the EGB remains unsettled. We investigate the high-energy $γ$-ray emission from SFGs up to redshift $z=3$ above a GeV, and assess the contribution they can make to the EGB. We show the $γ$-ray emission spectrum from a SFG population can be determined from just a small number of key parameters, from which we model a range of possible EGB realisations. We demonstrate that populations of SFGs leave anisotropic signatures in the EGB, and that these can be accessed using the spatial power spectrum. Moreover, we show that such signatures will be accessible with ongoing operation of current $γ$-ray instruments, and detection prospects will be greatly improved by the next generation of $γ$-ray observatories, in particular the Cherenkov Telescope Array.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Observational signatures of cosmic ray interactions in molecular clouds

We investigate ionization and heating of gas in the dense, shielded clumps/cores of molecular clouds bathed by an influx of energetic, charged cosmic rays (CRs). These molecular clouds have complex structures, with substantial variation in their physical properties over a wide range of length scales. The propagation and distribution of the CRs is thus regulated accordingly, in particular, by the magnetic fields threaded through the clouds and into the dense regions within. We have found that a specific heating rate reaching $10^{-26}$ erg cm$^{-3}$ s$^{-1}$ can be sustained in the dense clumps/cores for Galactic environments, and this rate increases with CR energy density. The propagation of CRs and heating rates in some star-forming filaments identified in IC 5146 are calculated, with the CR diffusion coefficients in these structures determined from magnetic field fluctuations inferred from optical and near-infrared polarizations of starlight, which is presumably a magnetic-field tracer. Our calculations indicate that CR heating can vary by nearly three orders of magnitude between different filaments within a cloud due to different levels of CR penetration. The CR ionization rate among these filaments is similar. The equilibrium temperature that could be maintained by CR heating alone is of order $1~{\rm K}$ in a Galactic environment, but this value would be higher in strongly star-forming environments, thus causing an increase in the Jeans mass of their molecular clouds.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

A hydrodynamical study of outflows in starburst galaxies with different driving mechanisms

Outflows from starburst galaxies can be driven by thermal pressure, radiation and cosmic rays. We present an analytic phenomenological model that accounts for these contributions simultaneously to investigate their effects on the hydrodynamical properties of outflows. We assess the impact of energy injection, wind opacity, magnetic field strength and the mass of the host galaxy on flow velocity, temperature, density and pressure profiles. For an M82-like wind, a thermally-dominated driving mechanism is found to deliver the fastest and hottest wind. Radiation-driven winds in typical starburst-galaxy configurations are unable to attain the higher flow velocities and temperatures associated with thermal and cosmic ray-driven systems, leading to higher wind densities which would be more susceptible to cooling and fragmentation at lower altitudes. High opacity winds are more sensitive to radiative driving, but terminal flow velocities are still lower than those achieved by other driving mechanisms at realistic opacities. We demonstrate that variations in the outflow magnetic field can influence its coupling with cosmic rays, where stronger fields enable greater streaming but less driving near the base of the flow, instead with cosmic rays redirecting their driving impact to higher altitudes. The gravitational potential is less important in M82-like wind configurations, and substantial variations in the flow profiles only emerge at high altitude in massive haloes. This model offers a more generalised approach to examine the large scale hydrodynamical properties for a wide variety of starburst galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Charge exchange emission and cold clumps in multi-phase galactic outflows

Large-scale outflows from starburst galaxies are multi-phase, multi-component fluids. Charge-exchange lines which originate from the interfacing surface between the neutral and ionised components are a useful diagnostic of the cold dense structures in the galactic outflow. From the charge-exchange lines observed in the nearby starburst galaxy M82, we conduct surface-to-volume analyses and deduce that the cold dense clumps in its galactic outflow have flattened shapes, resembling a hamburger or a pancake morphology rather than elongated shapes. The observed filamentary H$α$ features are therefore not prime charge-exchange line emitters. They are stripped material torn from the slow moving dense clumps by the faster moving ionised fluid which are subsequently warmed and stretched into elongated shapes. Our findings are consistent with numerical simulations which have shown that cold dense clumps in galactic outflows can be compressed by ram pressure, and also progressively ablated and stripped before complete disintegration. We have shown that some clumps could survive their passage along a galactic outflow. These are advected into the circumgalactic environment, where their remnants would seed condensation of the circumgalactic medium to form new clumps. The infall of these new clumps back into the galaxy and their subsequent re-entrainment into the galactic outflow form a loop process of galactic material recycling.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Starburst and post-starburst high-redshift protogalaxies: The feedback impact of high energy cosmic rays

Quenching of star-formation has been identified in many starburst and post-starburst galaxies, indicating burst-like star-formation histories (SFH) in the primordial Universe. We have investigated the role of high energy cosmic rays (CRs) in such environments, particularly how they could contribute to this burst-like SFH via quenching and feedback. These high energy particles interact with the baryon and radiation fields of their host via hadronic processes to produce secondary leptons. The secondary particles then also interact with ambient radiation fields to generate X-rays through inverse-Compton scattering. In addition, they can thermalise directly with the semi-ionised medium via Coulomb processes. Heating at a rate of $\sim 10^{-25} \; \text{erg}~\text{cm}^{-3}~\text{s}^{-1}$ can be attained by Coulomb processes in a star-forming galaxy with one core-collapse SN event per decade, and this is sufficient to cause quenching of star-formation. At high-redshift, a substantial amount of CR secondary electron energy can be diverted into inverse-Compton X-ray emission. This yields an X-ray luminosity of above $10^{41}~\text{erg}~\text{s}^{-1}$ by redshift $z=7$ which drives a further heating effect, operating over larger scales. This would be able to halt inflowing cold gas filaments, strangulating subsequent star-formation. We selected a sample of 16 starburst and post-starburst galaxies at $7\lesssim z \lesssim 9$ and determine the star-formation rates they could have sustained. We applied a model with CR injection, propagation and heating to calculate energy deposition rates in these 16 sources. Our calculations show that CR feedback cannot be neglected as it has the strength to suppress star-formation in these systems. We also show that their currently observed quiescence is consistent with the suffocation of cold inflows, probably by a combination of X-ray and CR heating.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Hadronic Interactions of Energetic Charged Particles in Protogalactic Outflow Environments and Implications for the Early Evolution of Galaxies

We investigate the interactions of energetic hadronic particles with the media in outflows from star-forming protogalaxies. These particles undergo pion-producing interactions which can drive a heating effect in the outflow, while those advected by the outflow also transport energy beyond the galaxy, heating the circumgalactic medium. We investigate how this process evolves over the length of the outflow and calculate the corresponding heating rates in advection-dominated and diffusion-dominated cosmic ray transport regimes. In a purely diffusive transport scenario, we find the peak heating rate reaches $10^{-26}\;\! {\rm erg~cm}^{-3}\;\! {\rm s}^{-1}$ at the base of the outflow where the wind is driven by core-collapse supernovae at an event rate of 0.1 $\text{yr}^{-1}$, but does not extend beyond 2 kpc. In the advection limit, the peak heating rate is reduced to $10^{-28}\;\! {\rm erg~cm}^{-3}\;\! {\rm s}^{-1}$, but its extent can reach to tens of kpc. Around 10% of the cosmic rays injected into the system can escape by advection with the outflow wind, while the remaining cosmic rays deliver an important interstellar heating effect. We apply our cosmic ray heating model to the recent observation of the high-redshift galaxy MACS1149-JD1 and show that it could account for the quenching of a previous starburst inferred from spectroscopic observations. Re-ignition of later star-formation may be caused by the presence of filamentary circumgalactic inflows which are reinstated after cosmic ray heating has subsided.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

Interactions between Ultra-High-Energy Particles and Protogalactic Environments

We investigate the interactions of energetic hadronic particles (cosmic ray protons) with photons and baryons in protogalactic environments, where the target photons are supplied by the first generations of stars to form in the galaxy and the cosmological microwave background, while the target baryons are the interstellar and circumgalactic medium. We show that pair-production and photo-pion processes are the dominant interactions at particle energies above $10^{19}\;\! {\rm eV}$, while ${\rm pp}$-interaction pion-production dominates at the lower energies in line with expectations from, for example $γ$-ray observations of star-forming galaxies and dense regions of our own galaxy's interstellar medium. We calculate the path lengths for the interaction channels and determine the corresponding rates of energy deposition. We have found that protogalactic magnetic fields and their evolution can significantly affect the energy transport and energy deposition processes of cosmic rays. Within a Myr after the onset of star-formation the magnetic field in a protogalaxy could attain a strength sufficient to confine all but the highest energy particles within the galaxy. This enhances the cosmic ray driven self-heating of the protogalaxy to a rate of around $10^{-24}\;\! {\rm erg} \;\!{\rm cm}^{-3}\;\! {\rm s}^{-1}$ for a galaxy with strong star-forming activity that yields 1 core collapse SN event per year. This heating power exceeds even that due to radiative emission from the protogalaxy's stellar populations. However, in a short window before the protogalaxy is fully magnetised, energetic particles could stream across the galaxy freely, delivering energy into the circumgalactic and intergalactic medium.

astro-ph.HE↗