arXiv subjects

Jane H. MacGibbon

Publications and source records attributed to Jane H. MacGibbon.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2010

Do Evaporating 4D Black Holes Form Photospheres and/or Chromospheres?

Several authors have claimed that the observable Hawking emission from a microscopic black hole is significantly modified by the formation of a photosphere or chromosphere around the black hole due to QED or QCD interactions between the emitted particles. Analyzing these models we identify a number of physical and geometrical effects which invalidate them. In all cases, we find that the observational signatures of a cosmic or Galactic background of black holes or an individual black hole remain essentially those of the standard Hawking model, with little change to the detection probability.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Generalized Second Law Limits on the Variation of Fundamental Constants

The theoretical maximum time variation in the electronic charge permitted by the Generalized Second Law of Thermodynamics applied to black holes radiating and accreting in the cosmic microwave background matches the measured cosmological variation in the fine structure constant claimed by Webb et al.. Such black holes cannot respond adiabatically to a varying fine structure constant.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2010

Sensitivity of the FERMI Detectors to Gamma-Ray Bursts from Evaporating Primordial Black Holes (PBHs)

Primordial Black Holes (PBHs), which may have been created in the early Universe, are predicted to be detectable by their Hawking radiation. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope observatory offers increased sensitivity to the gamma-ray bursts produced by PBHs with an initial mass of $\sim 5\times 10^{14}$ g expiring today. PBHs are candidate progenitors of unidentified Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) that lack X-ray afterglow. We propose spectral lag, which is the temporal delay between the high and low energy pulses, as an efficient method to identify PBH evaporation events with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT).

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2008

Do Evaporating Black Holes Form Photospheres?

Several authors, most notably Heckler, have claimed that the observable Hawking emission from a microscopic black hole is significantly modified by the formation of a photosphere around the black hole due to QED or QCD interactions between the emitted particles. In this paper we analyze these claims and identify a number of physical and geometrical effects which invalidate these scenarios. We point out two key problems. First, the interacting particles must be causally connected to interact, and this condition is satisfied by only a small fraction of the emitted particles close to the black hole. Second, a scattered particle requires a distance ~ E/m_e^2 for completing each bremsstrahlung interaction, with the consequence that it is improbable for there to be more than one complete bremsstrahlung interaction per particle near the black hole. These two effects have not been included in previous analyses. We conclude that the emitted particles do not interact sufficiently to form a QED photosphere. Similar arguments apply in the QCD case and prevent a QCD photosphere (chromosphere) from developing when the black hole temperature is much greater than Lambda_QCD, the threshold for QCD particle emission. Additional QCD phenomenological arguments rule out the development of a chromosphere around black hole temperatures of order Lambda_QCD. In all cases, the observational signatures of a cosmic or Galactic halo background of primordial black holes or an individual black hole remain essentially those of the standard Hawking model, with little change to the detection probability. We also consider the possibility, as proposed by Belyanin et al. and D. Cline et al., that plasma interactions between the emitted particles form a photosphere, and we conclude that this scenario too is not supported.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Bremsstrahlung Effects around Evaporating Black Holes

We discuss a variety of bremsstrahlung processes associated with charged particles emitted by evaporating black holes. We show that such particles produce a negligible number of bremsstrahlung photons from their scattering off each other, though at low frequencies inner bremsstrahlung photons dominate over the direct Hawking emission of photons. This analysis and the further analysis of the accompanying paper invalidate Heckler's claim that sufficiently hot evaporating black holes form QED photospheres.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

High Energy Tau Neutrinos

The intrinsic tau neutrino flux from cosmological and astrophysical sources has usually been considered negligible in comparison to the electron and muon neutrino fluxes. However, the inclusion of the tau neutrino component coming from hadronic decay at the source can significantly modify the tau neutrino spectrum expected at Earth. We report our results on the high energy tau neutrino production and its implications for the observation of high energy neutrino events.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

High Energy Neutrino, Photon and Cosmic Ray Fluxes from VHS Cosmic Strings

Decaying topological defects, in particular cosmic strings, can produce a significant flux of high energy neutrinos, photons and cosmic rays. According to the prevailing understanding of cosmic string dynamics in an expanding Universe, the network of long strings loses its energy first into string loops, which in turn give off most of their energy as gravitational radiation. However, it has been suggested by Vincent et al. (VHS) that particle emission may be the dominant energy loss channel for the long string network. In this case, the predicted flux of high energy particles would be much larger. Here we calculate the predicted flux of high energy gamma rays, neutrinos and cosmic ray antiprotons and protons as a function of the scale of symmetry breaking at which the strings are produced and as a function of the initial energy m_J of the particle jets which result from the string decay. Assuming the validity of the VHS scenario, we find that due to the interactions with the cosmic radiation backgrounds all fluxes but the neutrino flux are suppressed at the highest energies. This indicates that the observed events above the GZK cutoff can only be accounted for in this scenario if the primary particle is a neutrino and the scale of the symmetry breaking is somewhat less than the GUT scale. The domain of parameter space corresponding to GUT-scale symmetry breaking is excluded also by the current observations below the GZK cutoff. A new aspect of this work is the calculation of the spectrum of the tau neutrinos directly produced in the decay of the X-particles. This significantly increases the tau neutrino signal at high energies in all cosmic string scenarios.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

Tau Neutrinos from Astrophysical and Cosmological Sources

Previous work on the neutrino spectra from high energy sources has not included the tau neutrinos directly produced by the decays in the source. Here we consider the tau neutrino component and discuss how its inclusion modifies the expected neutrino spectra. We discuss implications for interpreting any observed tau neutrino component in TeV - UHE events as evidence of nu_mu --> nu_tau oscillations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1999

Diffuse $γ$-ray background and primordial black hole constraints on the spectral index of density fluctuations

We calculate the flux of $γ$-rays emitted from primordial black holes (PBHs) which are formed by a ``blue'' power-law spectrum of density fluctuations in the early universe. Gamma-ray emission from such PBHs may contribute significantly to the observed extragalactic diffuse $γ$-ray background (DGB). Using the observed DGB flux from the imaging Compton Telescope (COMPTEL) and the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) as the upper limit of $γ$-ray flux from PBHs, we derive the upper limit on the spectral index $n$ of the density fluctuations. The range of initial PBH masses which can contribute to the DGB is $2\times 10^{13}\g - 5\times 10^{14}\g$, corresponding to a cosmic reheating temperature of $7\times 10^{7}\gev - 4\times 10^{8} \gev$. In this range, we find the upper limit to be $n \lsim 1.23-1.25$. This limit is stronger than those derived from the energy density in PBHs or PBH relics and matches the value of $n$ required to explain the cosmic microwave background anisotropy.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1998

Astrophysical Constraints on Primordial Black Hole Formation from Collapsing Cosmic Strings

Primordial Black Holes (PBH) may have formed from the collapse of cosmic string loops. The spectral shape of the PBH mass spectrum can be determined by the scaling argument for string networks. Limits on the spectral amplitude derived from extragalactic gamma-ray and galactic gamma-ray and cosmic ray flux observations as well as constraints from the possible formation of stable black holes remnants are reanalyzed. The new constraints are remarkably close to those derived from the normalization of the cosmic string model to the cosmic microwave background anisotropies.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1997

Limits on Black Hole Formation from Cosmic String Loops

In theories with cosmic strings, a small fraction of string loops may collapse to form black holes. In this Letter, various constraints on such models involving black holes are considered. Hawking radiation from black holes, gamma and cosmic ray flux limits and constraints from the possible formation of stable black hole remnants are reanalyzed. The constraints which emerge from these considerations are remarkably close to those derived from the normalization of the cosmic string model to the cosmic microwave background anisotropies.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1992

Gamma Ray Signatures from Ordinary Cosmic Strings

We calculate the flux of ultra high energy photons from individual ordinary (i.e. non-superconducting) cosmic strings and compare the results with the sensitivity of current and proposed TeV and EeV telescopes. Our calculations give only upper limits for the gamma ray flux, since the source of the photons, jets from particle production at cusps, may be weakened by back reaction effects. For the usual cosmic distribution of strings, the predicted bursts from strings with the value of mass per unit length associated with galaxy formation or light strings may just be detectable. A diffuse gamma ray background from light strings may also be seen by the Fly's Eye detector at above $7 \times 10^{10}$ GeV.

astro-ph↗