arXiv subjects

F. W. Stecker

Publications and source records attributed to F. W. Stecker.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Secluded and Putative Flipped Dark Matter and Stueckelberg Extensions of the Standard Model

We consider here three dark matter models with the gauge symmetry of the standard model plus an additional local $U(1)_D$ factor. One model is truly secluded and the other two models begin flipped, but end up secluded. All of these models include one dark fermion and one vector boson that gains mass via the Stueckelberg mechanism. We show that the would be flipped models provide an example dark matter composed of "almost least interacting particles" (ALIPs). Such particles are therefore compatible with the constraints obtained from both laboratory measurements and astrophysical observations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Coincidence of a high-fluence blazar outburst with a PeV-energy neutrino event

The discovery of extraterrestrial very-high-energy neutrinos by the IceCube collaboration has launched a quest for the identification of their astrophysical sources. Gamma-ray blazars have been predicted to yield a cumulative neutrino signal exceeding the atmospheric background above energies of 100 TeV, assuming that both the neutrinos and the gamma-ray photons are produced by accelerated protons in relativistic jets. Since the background spectrum falls steeply with increasing energy, the individual events with the clearest signature of being of an extraterrestrial origin are those at PeV energies. Inside the large positional-uncertainty fields of the first two PeV neutrinos detected by IceCube, the integrated emission of the blazar population has a sufficiently high electromagnetic flux to explain the detected IceCube events, but fluences of individual objects are too low to make an unambiguous source association. Here, we report that a major outburst of the blazar PKS B1424-418 occurred in temporal and positional coincidence with the third PeV-energy neutrino event (IC35) detected by IceCube. Based on an analysis of the full sample of gamma-ray blazars in the IC35 field and assuming a photo-hadronic emission model, we show that the long-term average gamma-ray emission of blazars as a class is in agreement with both the measured all-sky flux of PeV neutrinos and the spectral slope of the IceCube signal. The outburst of PKS B1424-418 has provided an energy output high enough to explain the observed PeV event, indicative of a direct physical association.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

Secluded WIMPs, QED with massive photons, and the galactic center gamma-ray excess

We propose to investigate a secluded WIMP dark matter model consisting of neutral fermions as the dark matter candidate and a Proca-Wentzel (PW) field as a mediator. In the model that we consider here, dark matter WIMPs interact with standard model (SM) particles only through the PW field of ~ MeV -- multi-GeV mass particles. The interactions occur via an U(1)' mediator, V_μ', which couples to the SM by kinetic mixing with U(1) hypercharge bosons, B_μ. One important difference between our model and other such models in the literature is the absence of an extra singlet scalar, so that the parameter with dimension of mass M^2_V is not related to a spontaneous symmetry breaking. This QED based model is also renormalizable. The mass scale of the mediator and the absence of the singlet scalar can lead to interesting astrophysical signatures. The dominant annihilation channels are different from those usually considered in previous work. We show that the GeV-energy gamma-ray excess in the galactic center region, as derived from Fermi-LAT Gamma-ray Space Telescope data, can be attributed to such secluded dark matter WIMPs, given parameters of the model that are consistent with the cosmological dark matter density. Secluded WIMP models are also consistent with suggested upper limits on the DM contribution to the cosmic-ray antiproton flux.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Constraints on Lorentz Invariance Violation from Fermi-Large Area Telescope Observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts

We analyze the MeV/GeV emission from four bright Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) observed by the Fermi-Large Area Telescope to produce robust, stringent constraints on a dependence of the speed of light in vacuo on the photon energy (vacuum dispersion), a form of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) allowed by some Quantum Gravity (QG) theories. First, we use three different and complementary techniques to constrain the total degree of dispersion observed in the data. Additionally, using a maximally conservative set of assumptions on possible source-intrinsic spectral-evolution effects, we constrain any vacuum dispersion solely attributed to LIV. We then derive limits on the "QG energy scale" (the energy scale that LIV-inducing QG effects become important, E_QG) and the coefficients of the Standard Model Extension. For the subluminal case (where high energy photons propagate more slowly than lower energy photons) and without taking into account any source-intrinsic dispersion, our most stringent limits (at 95% CL) are obtained from GRB090510 and are E_{QG,1}>7.6 times the Planck energy (E_Pl) and E_{QG,2}>1.3 x 10^11 GeV for linear and quadratic leading order LIV-induced vacuum dispersion, respectively. These limits improve the latest constraints by Fermi and H.E.S.S. by a factor of ~2. Our results disfavor any class of models requiring E_{QG,1} \lesssim E_Pl.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

On the Physics Connecting Cosmic Rays and Gamma Rays: Towards Determining the Interstellar Cosmic Ray Spectrum

Secondary nuclear production physics is receiving increased attention given the high-quality measurements of the gamma-ray emissivity of local interstellar gas between ~50 MeV and ~40 GeV, obtained with the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi space observatory. More than 90% of the gas-related emissivity above 1 GeV is attributed to gamma-rays from the decay of neutral pions formed in collisions between cosmic rays and interstellar matter, with lepton-induced processes becoming increasingly important below 1 GeV. The elementary kinematics of neutral pion production and decay are re-examined in light of two physics questions: does isobaric production follow a scaling behavior? and what is the minimum proton kinetic energy needed to make a gamma-ray of a certain energy formed through intermediate pi0 production? The emissivity spectrum will allow the interstellar cosmic-ray spectrum to be determined reliably, providing a reference for origin and propagation studies as well as input to solar modulation models. A method for such an analysis and illustrative results are presented.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

White Paper on Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays

A fundamental question that can be answered in the next decade is: WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE HIGHEST ENERGY COSMIC PARTICLES? The discovery of the sources of the highest energy cosmic rays will reveal the workings of the most energetic astrophysical environments in the recent universe. Candidate sources range from the birth of compact objects to explosions related to gamma-ray bursts or generated around supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. In addition to beginning a new era of high-energy astrophysics, the study of ultra-high energy cosmic rays will constrain the structure of the Galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. The propagation of these particles from source to Earth also probes the cosmic background radiation and gives insight into particle interactions at orders of magnitude higher energy than can be achieved in terrestrial laboratories. Next generation observatories designed to study the highest energy cosmic rays will have unprecedented sensitivity to ultra-high energy photons and neutrinos, which will further illuminate the workings of the universe at the most extreme energies. For this challenge to be met during the 2010-2020 decade, a significant increase in the integrated exposure to cosmic rays above 6 1019 eV will be necessary. The technical capabilities for answering this open question are at hand and the time is ripe for exploring Charged Particle Astronomy.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Lorentz Invariance Violation and the Observed Spectrum of Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays

There has been much interest in possible violations of Lorentz invariance, particularly motivated by quantum gravity theories. It has been suggested that a small amount of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) could turn off photomeson interactions of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with photons of the cosmic background radiation and thereby eliminate the resulting sharp steepening in the spectrum of the highest energy CRs predicted by Greisen Zatsepin and Kuzmin (GZK). Recent measurements of the UHECR spectrum reported by the HiRes and Auger collaborations, however, indicate the presence of the GZK effect. We present the results of a detailed calculation of the modification of the UHECR spectrum caused by LIV using the formalism of Coleman and Glashow. We then compare these results with the experimental UHECR data from Auger and HiRes. Based on these data, we find a best fit amount of LIV of $4.5^{+1.5}_{-4.5} \times 10^{-23}$,consistent with an upper limit of $6 \times 10^{-23}$. This possible amount of LIV can lead to a recovery of the cosmic ray spectrum at higher energies than presently observed. Such an LIV recovery effect can be tested observationally using future detectors.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

The Likely Cause of the EGRET GeV Anomaly and its Implications

Analysis of data from the EGRET gamma-ray detector on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory indicated an anomaly in the form of an excess diffuse galactic flux at GeV energies over that which was theoretically predicted. Various explanations for this anomaly have been put forth, including the invocation of supersymmetric dark matter annihilation. We reexamine these explanations here, including a new discussion of the possible systematic errors in the sensitivity determination of the EGRET detector. We conclude that the most likely explanation of the EGRET ``GeV anomaly'' was an error in the estimation of the of the EGRET sensitivity at energies above ~1 GeV. We give reasons why such a situation could have occurred. We find evidence from our new all-sky analysis which is inconsistent with the assumption that the anomaly can be a signal of supersymmetric dark matter annihilation. We also reconfirm the original results of the EGRET team on the extragalactic gamma-ray background spectrum. There are important implications of our analysis for the upcoming Gamma Ray Large Area Telescope (GLAST) mission.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

The Spectrum of 1ES0229 + 200 and the Cosmic Infrared Background

We examine the effect of gamma-ray absorption by the extragalactic infrared radiation on intrinsic spectra predicted for 1ES0229+200 and compare our results with the observational data. We find agreement with our previous results on the shape of the IR spectral energy distribution (SED), contrary to the recent assertion of the HESS group. Our analysis indicates that 1ES0229+200 has a very hard intrinsic spectrum with a spectral index between 1.1 +/- 0.3 and 1.5 +/- 0.3 in the energy range between ~0.5 TeV and ~15 TeV. Under the assumptions that (1) the SED models of Stecker, Malkan & Scully (2006) are reasonable as derived from numerous detailed IR observations, and (2) spectral indexes in the range 1 < Γ< 1.5 have been shown to be obtainable from relativistic shock acceleration under the astrophysical conditions extant in blazar flares (Stecker, Baring & Summerlin 2007), the fits to the observations of 1ES0229+200 using our previous IR SEDs are consistent with both the IR and gamma-ray observations. Our analysis presents evidence indicating that the energy spectrum of relativistic particles in 1ES0229+200 is produced by relativistic shock acceleration, producing an intrinsic gamma-ray spectrum with index 1 < Γ< 1.5 and with no evidence of a peak in the SED up to energies ~15 TeV.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Digging for the Truth: Photon Archeology with GLAST

Stecker, Malkan and Scully, have shown how ongoing deep surveys of galaxy luminosity functions, spectral energy distributions and backwards evolution models of star formation rates can be used to calculate the past history of intergalactic photon densities for energies from 0.03 eV to the Lyman limit at 13.6 eV and for redshifts out to 6 (called here the intergalactic background light or IBL). From these calculations of the IBL at various redshifts, they predict the present and past optical depth of the universe to high energy gamma-rays owing to interactions with photons of the IBL and the 2.7 K CMB. We discuss here how this proceedure can be reversed by looking for sharp cutoffs in the spectra of extragalactic gamma-ray sources such as blazars at high redshifts in the multi-GeV energy range with GLAST. By determining the cutoff energies of sources with known redshifts, we can refine our determination of the IBL photon densities in the past, i.e., the "archeo-IBL", and therefore get a better measure of the past history of the total star formation rate. Conversely, observations of sharp high energy cutoffs in the gamma-ray spectra of sources at unknown redshifts can be used instead of spectral lines to give a measure of their redshifts.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Corrected Table for the Parametric Coefficients for the Optical Depth of the Universe to Gamma-rays at Various Redshifts

Table 1 in our paper, ApJ 648, 774 (2006) entitled "Intergalactic Photon Spectra from the Far IR to the UV Lyman Limit for 0 < z < 6 and the Optical Depth of the Universe to High Energy Gamma-Rays" had erroneous numbers for the coefficients fitting the parametric form for the optical depth of the universe to gamma-rays. The correct values for these parameters as described in the original text are given here in a corrected table for various redshifts for the baseline model (upper row) and fast evolution (lower row) for each individual redshift. The parametric approximation is good for optical depths between 0.01 and 100 and for gamma-ray energies up to ~2 TeV for all redshifts but also for energies up to ~10 TeV for redshifts less than 1.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Exploring the Edge of the Stellar Universe with Gamma-Ray Observations

The determination of the densities of intergalactic photons from the FIR to the UV produced by stellar emission and dust reradiation at various redshifts can provide an independent measure of the star formation history of the universe. High energy gamma-rays can annihilate with FIR-UV photons to produce electron-positron pairs which result in high-end absorption cutoffs in the gamma-ray spectra of extragalactic sources. Future measurements of such absorption in the spectra of extragalactic high energy gamma-ray sources at higher redshifts from detectors such as the (soon to be launched) GLAST space telescope can be used to determine intergalactic photon densities in the distant past, thereby shedding light on the history of star formation and galaxy evolution. (abridged),

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

A Simple Analytic Treatment of the Intergalactic Absorption Effect in Blazar Gamma-ray Spectra

We derive a new and user friendly simple analytic approximation for determining the effect of intergalactic absorption in the energy range 0.2-2 TeV and the redshift range 0.05-0.4. In these ranges, the form of the absorption coeeficient is approximately logarithmic in energy. The effect of this energy dependence is to steepen intrinsic source spectra such that a source with an approximate power-law intrinsic spectrum in this energy range with spectral index $Γ_{s}$ is steepened to a power-law with an observed spectral index $Γ_{o} = $Γ_{s} + $ΔΓ(z)$ where $ΔΓ(z)$ is a linear function of z in the redshift range 0.05-0.4. We apply this approximation to the spectra of seven TeV blazars.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Upper Limits to Fluxes of Neutrinos and Gamma-Rays from Starburst Galaxies

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Are Diffuse High Energy Neutrinos and Gamma-Rays from Starburst Galaxies Observable?

Loeb and Waxman have argued that high energy neutrinos from the decay of pions produced in interactions of cosmic rays with interstellar gas in starburst galaxies would be produced with a large enough flux to be observable. Their model is reexamined here and we obtain an upper limit to the diffuse neutrino flux from starburst galaxies. The upper limit obtained here is a factor of ~5 lower than the flux which they predict. Our predicted neutrino flux would be below the atmospheric neutrino foreground flux at energies below \~300 TeV and therefore would be unobservable. PeV neutrinos from starburst galaxies are also unlikely to be detected. Compared with predicted fluxes from other extragalactic high energy neutrino sources, starburst neutrinos with ~PeV energies would have a flux considerably below that predicted for AGN models. We also estimate an upper limit for the diffuse GeV gamma-ray flux from starburst galaxies to be about two orders of magnitude below the observed gamma-ray background, much less than the background from blazars and more than an order of magnitude below that calculated by Thompson et al.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Testing Relativity at High Energies Using Spaceborne Detectors

(ABRIDGED) The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) will measure the spectra of distant extragalactic sources of high energy gamma-rays. GLAST can look for energy dependent propagation effects from such sources as a signal of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV). Such sources should also exhibit high energy spectral cutoffs from pair production interactions with low energy photons. The properties of such cutoffs can also be used to test LIV. Detectors to measure gamma-ray polarization can look for the depolarizing effect of space-time birefingence predicted by loop quantum gravity. A spaceborne detector array looking down on Earth to study extensive air showers produced by ultrahigh energy cosmic rays can study their spectral properties and look for a possible deviation from the predicted GZK effect as another signal of LIV.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Intergalactic Photon Spectra from the Far IR to the UV Lyman Limit for $0 < z < 6$ and the Optical Depth of the Universe to High Energy Gamma-Rays

We calculate the intergalactic photon density as a function of both energy and redshift for 0 < z < 6 for photon energies from .003 eV to the Lyman limit cutoff at 13.6 eV in a Lambda-CDM universe with $Ω_Λ = 0.7$ and $Ω_{m} = 0.3$. Our galaxy evolution model gives results which are consistent with Spitzer deep number counts and the spectral energy distribution of the extragalactic background radiation. We use our photon density results to extend previous work on the absorption of high energy gamma-rays in intergalactic space owing to interactions with low energy photons and the 2.7 K cosmic background radiation. We calculate the optical depth of the universe, tau, for gamma-rays having energies from 4 GeV to 100 TeV emitted by sources at redshifts from ~0 to 5. We also give an analytic fit with numerical coefficients for approximating $τ(E_γ, z)$. As an example of the application of our results, we calculate the absorbed spectrum of the blazar PKS 2155-304 at z = 0.117 and compare it with the spectrum observed by the H.E.S.S. air Cherenkov gamma-ray telescope array.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Cosmogenic Neutrinos from the propagation of Ultra High Energy Nuclei

We calculate the flux of neutrinos generated by the propagation of ultra-high energy nuclei over cosmological distances. The propagation takes into account the interactions with cosmic background radiations including the CMB and the most recent estimates of higher energy (infra-red, optical, and ultra violet) backgrounds. We assume that the composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) at the source is the same as the observed one at low energies. This assumption fits well the present data at the highest energies. We compare the cosmogenic neutrino flux from mixed composition sources to pure proton sources. We find that the neutrino flux in the mixed composition case has a high energy peak, mainly due to photopion production off CMB photons, of similar shape and amplitude to the proton case. At low energies both composition cases have significant neutrino flux with a peak around 1014.5 eV due to the higher energy backgrounds. The mixed composition case induces a higher flux of neutrinos at energies below 1013 eV due to the neutron decay component that extends down to low energies. Detection of diffuse neutrino fluxes at ultra high energies can strongly constrain the source distribution of UHECR whereas fluxes at lower energies could be used to constrain confinement of VHE and UHE cosmic rays if combined with composition analysis from cosmic ray experiments.

astro-ph↗