arXiv subjects

Martin Lemoine

Publications and source records attributed to Martin Lemoine.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Detectability of ultrahigh energy cosmic ray signatures in gamma rays

The injection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays in the intergalactic medium leads to the production of a GeV-TeV gamma-ray halo centered on the source location, through the production of a high electromagnetic component in the interactions of the primary particles with the radiation backgrounds. This paper examines the prospects for the detectability of such gamma ray halos. We explore a broad range of astrophysical parameters, including the inhomogeneous distribution of magnetic fields in the large scale structure as well as various possible chemical compositions and injection spectra; and we consider the case of a source located outside clusters of galaxies. With respect to the gamma-ray flux associated to synchrotron radiation of ultra-high energy secondary pairs, we demonstrate that it does not depend strongly on these parameters and conclude that its magnitude ultimately depends on the energy injected in the primary cosmic rays. Bounding the cosmic ray luminosity with the contribution to the measured cosmic ray spectrum, we then find that the gamma-ray halo produced by equal luminosity sources is well below current or planned instrument sensitivities. Only rare and powerful steady sources, located at distances larger than several hundreds of Mpc and contributing to a fraction > 10% of the flux at 10^19 eV might be detectable. We also discuss the gamma-ray halos that are produced by inverse Compton/pair production cascades seeded by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. This latter signal strongly depends on the configuration of the extragalactic magnetic fields; it is dominated by the synchrotron signal on a degree scale if the filling factor of magnetic fields with B > 10^(-14) G is smaller than a few percents. Finally, we discuss briefly the case of nearby potential sources such as Centaurus A.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Generation of gravitational waves during early structure formation between cosmic inflation and reheating

In the pre-reheating era, following cosmic inflation and preceding radiation domination, the energy density may be dominated by an oscillating massive scalar condensate, such as is the case for quadratic chaotic inflation. We have found in a previous paper that during this period, a wide range of sub-Hubble scale perturbations are subject to a preheating instability, leading to the growth of density perturbations ultimately collapsing to form non-linear structures. We compute here the gravitational wave signal due to these structures in the linear limit and present estimates for emission in the non-linear limit due to various effects: the collapse of halos, the tidal interactions, the evaporation during the conversion of the inflaton condensate into radiation and finally the ensuing turbulent cascades. The gravitational wave signal could be rather large and potentially testable by future detectors.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Collapse of Small-Scale Density Perturbations during Preheating in Single Field Inflation

After cosmic inflation and before the transition to radiation domination, the cosmic energy density may have been dominated during an extended period by an oscillating massive scalar condensate. We show that during this period, sub-Hubble scale perturbations are subject to a metric preheating instability in the narrow resonance regime. We analyze in detail both, quadratic and quartic potentials. The instability leads to the growth of density perturbations which in many cases become non-linear already before the beginning of a radiation dominated Universe. This is particularly the case when requiring a phenomenologically preferred low reheat temperature. These early structures may lead to the emission of gravitational waves and the production of primordial black holes. Furthermore, it is not clear if they could modify the prediction of linear curvature perturbations on very large scales.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

On electromagnetic instabilities at ultra-relativistic shock waves

(Abridged) This paper addresses the issue of magnetic field generation in a relativistic shock precursor through micro-instabilities. The level of magnetization of the upstream plasma turns out to be a crucial parameter, notably because the length scale of the shock precursor is limited by the Larmor rotation of the accelerated particles in the background magnetic field and by the speed of the shock wave. We discuss in detail and calculate the growth rates of the following beam plasma instabilities seeded by the accelerated and reflected particle populations: for an unmagnetized shock, the Weibel and filamentation instabilities, as well as the Cerenkov resonant longitudinal and oblique modes; for a magnetized shock, the Weibel instability and the resonant Cerenkov instabilities with the longitudinal electrostatic modes, as well as the Alfven, Whisler and extraordinary modes. All these instabilities are generated upstream, then they are transmitted downstream. The modes excited by Cerenkov resonant instabilities take on particular importance with respect to the magnetisation of the downstream medium since, being plasma eigenmodes, they have a longer lifetime than the Weibel modes. We discuss the main limitation of the wave growth associated with the length of the precursor and the magnetisation of the upstream medium for both oblique and parallel shock waves. We also characterize the proper conditions to obtain Fermi acceleration. We recover some results of most recent particle-in-cell simulations and conclude with some applications to astrophysical cases of interest, pulsar winds and gamma-ray burst external shock waves in particular. (Abridged)

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Anisotropy vs chemical composition at ultra-high energies

This paper proposes and discusses a test of the chemical composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays that relies on the anisotropy patterns measured as a function of energy. In particular, we show that if one records an anisotropy signal produced by heavy nuclei of charge Z above an energy E_{thr}, one should record an even stronger (possibly much stronger) anisotropy at energies >E_{thr}/Z due to the proton component that is expected to be associated with the sources of the heavy nuclei. This conclusion remains robust with respect to the parameters characterizing the sources and it does not depend at all on the modelling of astrophysical magnetic fields. As a concrete example, we apply this test to the most recent data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Assuming that the anisotropy reported above 55EeV is not a statistical accident, and that no significant anisotropy has been observed at energies <10EeV, we show that the apparent clustering toward Cen A cannot be attributed to heavy nuclei. Similar conclusions are drawn regarding the apparent excess correlation with nearby active galactic nuclei. We then discuss a robust lower bound to the magnetic luminosity that a source must possess in order to be able to accelerate particles of charge Z up to 100EeV, L_B>10^{45}Z^{-2}erg/s. Using this bound in conjunction with the above conclusions, we argue that the current PAO data does not support the model of cosmic ray origin in active radio-quiet or even radio-loud galaxies. Finally, we demonstrate that the apparent clustering in the direction of Cen A can be explained by the contribution of the last few gamma-ray bursts or magnetars in the host galaxy thanks to the scattering of the cosmic rays on the magnetized lobes.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Constraints on moduli cosmology from the production of dark matter and baryon isocurvature fluctuations

We set constraints on moduli cosmology from the production of dark matter -- radiation and baryon -- radiation isocurvature fluctuations through modulus decay, assuming the modulus remains light during inflation. We find that the moduli problem becomes worse at the perturbative level as a significant part of the parameter space m_σ(modulus mass) -- σ_{inf} (modulus vev at the end of inflation) is constrained by the non-observation of significant isocurvature fluctuations. We discuss in detail the evolution of the modulus vev and perturbations, in particular the consequences of Hubble scale corrections to the modulus potential and the stochastic motion of the modulus during inflation. We show, in particular, that a high modulus mass scale m_σ> 100 TeV, which allows the modulus to evade big-bang nucleosynthesis constraints is strongly constrained at the perturbative level. We find that generically, solving the moduli problem requires the inflationary scale to be much smaller than 10^{13} GeV.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

The moduli problem at the perturbative level

Moduli fields generically produce strong dark matter -- radiation and baryon -- radiation isocurvature perturbations through their decay if they remain light during inflation. We show that existing upper bounds on the magnitude of such fluctuations can thus be translated into stringent constraints on the moduli parameter space m_σ(modulus mass) -- σ_{inf} (modulus vacuum expectation value at the end of inflation). These constraints are complementary to previously existing bounds so that the moduli problem becomes worse at the perturbative level. In particular, if the inflationary scale H_{inf}~10^{13} GeV, particle physics scenarios which predict high moduli masses m_σ> 10-100 TeV are plagued by the perturbative moduli problem, even though they evade big-bang nucleosynthesis constraints.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2008

On Fermi acceleration and MHD-instabilities at ultra-relativistic magnetized shock waves

Fermi acceleration can take place at ultra-relativistic shock waves if the upstream or downstream magnetic field has been remodeled so that most of the magnetic power lies on short spatial scales. The relevant conditions under which Fermi acceleration become efficient in the presence of both a coherent and a short scale turbulent magnetic field are addressed. Within the MHD approximation, this paper then studies the amplification of a pre-existing magnetic field through the streaming of cosmic rays upstream of a relativistic shock wave. The magnetic field is assumed to be perpendicular in the shock front frame, as generally expected in the limit of large shock Lorentz factor. In the MHD regime, compressive instabilities seeded by the net cosmic-ray charge in the shock precursor (as seen in the shock front frame) develop on the shortest spatial scales but saturate at a moderate level deltaB/B ~ 1, which is not sufficient for Fermi acceleration. As we argue, it is possible that other instabilities outside the MHD range provide enough amplification to allow successful Fermi acceleration.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Fermi Acceleration at relativistic Shocks

After a successful development of theoretical and numerical works on Fermi acceleration at relativistic shocks, some difficulties recently raised with the scattering issue, a crucial aspect of the process. Most pioneering works were developed assuming the scattering off magnetic fluctuations as given. Even in that case, when a mean field is considered, its orientation is mostly perpendicular to the shock normal in the front frame, and this tends to quench the scattering process. Solving this difficulty leads to address the issue of the generation of very intense magnetic fluctuations at short wave lengths. The relativistic motion of the shock front let the cosmic rays to visit upstream during a very short time only, making this generation of magnetic fluctuations very challenging. Anyway there is some hope to solve the problem. Thanks to a recent work by Spitkovsky (2008) \cite{AS}, we know that the process works without any mean field and now we have to investigate up to which intensity the mean field can be amplified for allowing Fermi process with appropriate fast instabilities. In this presentation, the collisionless shock structure in relativistic regime is sketched, the scattering issue is presented, and the instabilities that can provide the expected magnetic field amplification are presented as well. Although there exists observational evidence that particles are accelerated in relativistic flows and are distributed according to a power law suggesting a Fermi process, the drastic conditions for Fermi process to work are not always clearly fulfilled.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Curvaton Decay into Baryons, anti-Baryons and Radiation

This paper calculates the amount of baryon/radiation isocurvature fluctuation produced through the decay of a curvaton field. It is shown in particular that if curvaton decay preserves baryon number and the curvaton dominates the energy density at the time of decay, the initial curvaton/radiation isocurvature mode is entirely transfered into a baryon/radiation isocurvature mode. This situation is opposite to that previously studied in three fluid models of curvaton decay; this difference is related to the conservation of the pre-existing baryon asymmetry and to the efficiency of the annihilation of all baryon/anti-baryon pairs produced in the decay. We study in detail the relevant cases in which the curvaton decay preserves or not baryon number and provide analytical and numerical calculations for each situation.

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arXiv2008

The optical depth of the Universe to ultrahigh energy cosmic ray scattering in the magnetized large scale structure

This paper provides an analytical description of the transport of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays in an inhomogeneously magnetized intergalactic medium. This latter is modeled as a collection of magnetized scattering centers such as radio cocoons, magnetized galactic winds, clusters or magnetized filaments of large scale structure, with negligible magnetic fields in between. Magnetic deflection is no longer a continuous process, it is rather dominated by scattering events. We study the interaction between high energy cosmic rays and the scattering agents. We then compute the optical depth of the Universe to cosmic ray scattering and discuss the phenomological consequences for various source scenarios. For typical parameters of the scattering centers, the optical depth is greater than unity at 5x10^{19}eV, but the total angular deflection is smaller than unity. One important consequence of this scenario is the possibility that the last scattering center encountered by a cosmic ray be mistaken with the source of this cosmic ray. In particular, we suggest that part of the correlation recently reported by the Pierre Auger Observatory may be affected by such delusion: this experiment may be observing in part the last scattering surface of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays rather than their source population. Since the optical depth falls rapidly with increasing energy, one should probe the arrival directions of the highest energy events beyond 10^{20}eV on an event by event basis to circumvent this effect.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Inhomogeneous extragalactic magnetic fields and the second knee in the cosmic ray spectrum

Various experiments indicate the existence of a second knee around energy E=3.10^{17} eV in the cosmic ray spectrum. This feature could be the signature of the end of the galactic component and of the emergence of the extragalactic one, provided that the latter cuts off at low energies. Recent analytical calculations have shown that this cut-off could be a consequence of the existence of extragalactic magnetic fields: low energy protons diffuse on extragalactic magnetic fields and cannot reach the observer within a given time. We study the influence of inhomogeneous magnetic fields on the magnetic horizon, using a new semi-analytical propagation code. Our results indicate that, at a fixed value of the volume averaged magnetic field , the amplitude of the low energy cut-off is mainly controled by the strength of magnetic fields in the voids of the large scale structure distribution.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Neutralino Dark Matter and the Curvaton

We build a realistic model of curvaton cosmology, in which the energy content is described by radiation, WIMP dark matter and a curvaton component. We calculate the curvature and isocurvature perturbations, allowing for arbitrary initial density perturbations in all fluids, following all species and their perturbations from the onset of dark matter freeze-out onto well after curvaton decay. We provide detailed numerical evaluations as well as analytical formulae which agree well with the latter. We find that substantial isocurvature perturbations, as measured relatively to the total curvature perturbation, can be produced even if the curvaton energy density is well underdominant when it decays; high precision measurements of cosmic microwave background anisotropies may thus open a window on underdominant decoupled species in the pre-nucleosynthesis early Universe. We also find that in a large part of parameter space, curvaton decay produces enough dark matter particles to restore WIMP annihilations, leading to the partial erasure of any pre-existing dark matter - radiation isocurvature perturbation.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Natural gravitino dark matter in SO(10) gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking

It is shown that gravitinos with mass m_{3/2} ~ 0.1-1 MeV may provide suitable cold dark matter candidates in scenarios of gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking (GMSB) under SO(10) grand unification coupled to supergravity, which accommodate a messenger sector of mass scale M_X ~ 10^6 GeV. This is due to the combined effects of renormalizable loop-suppressed operators and generic non-renormalizable ones governing the dilution of a pre-existing equilibrium gravitino abundance via messenger decay. The above range of gravitino and messenger masses can be accommodated in indirect GMSB scenarios. The gravitino abundance does not depend on the post-inflationary reheat temperature and it is shown that leptogenesis can generate successfully the baryon asymmetry.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

On the efficiency of Fermi acceleration at relativistic shocks

It is shown that Fermi acceleration at an ultra-relativistic shock wave cannot operate on a particle for more than 1 1/2 Fermi cycle (i.e., u -> d -> u -> d) if the particle Larmor radius is much smaller than the coherence length of the magnetic field on both sides of the shock, as is usually assumed. This conclusion is shown to be in excellent agreement with recent numerical simulations. We thus argue that efficient Fermi acceleration at ultra-relativistic shock waves requires significant non-linear processing of the far upstream magnetic field with strong amplification of the small scale magnetic power. The streaming or transverse Weibel instabilities are likely to play a key role in this respect.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Gravitino, Axino, Kaluza-Klein Graviton Warm and Mixed Dark Matter and Reionisation

Stable particle dark matter may well originate during the decay of long-lived relic particles, as recently extensively examined in the cases of the axino, gravitino, and higher-dimensional Kaluza-Klein (KK) graviton. It is shown that in much of the viable parameter space such dark matter emerges naturally warm/hot or mixed. In particular, decay produced gravitinos (KK-gravitons) may only be considered cold for the mass of the decaying particle in the several TeV range, unless the decaying particle and the dark matter particle are almost degenerate. Such dark matter candidates are thus subject to a host of cosmological constraints on warm and mixed dark matter, such as limits from a proper reionisation of the Universe, the Lyman-alpha forest, and the abundance of clusters of galaxies.. It is shown that constraints from an early reionsation epoch, such as indicated by recent observations, may potentially limit such warm/hot components to contribute only a very small fraction to the dark matter.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Gravitino dark matter in gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking

This paper investigates the parameter space of theories with gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking leading to gravitino (cold) dark matter with mass m_{3/2}= 1keV - 10MeV. We pay particular attention to the cosmological role of messenger fields. Cosmology requires that these messengers decay to the visible sector if the lightest messenger mass M_X > 30TeV. We then examine the various possible messenger number violating interactions allowed by the symmetries of the theory and by phenomenology. Late messenger decay generally results in entropy production hence in the dilution of pre-existing gravitinos. We find that in SU(5) grand unification only specific messenger-matter couplings allow to produce the required amount of gravitino dark matter particles. Gravitino dark matter with the correct abundance is however expected in larger gauge groups such as SO(10) for generic non-renormalizable messenger-matter interactions and for arbritrarily high post-inflationary reheating temperatures.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Turbulence and particle acceleration in collisionless supernovae remnant shocks: I-Anisotropic spectra solutions

This paper investigates the nature of the MHD turbulence excited by the streaming of accelerated cosmic rays in a shock wave precursor. The two recognised regimes (non-resonant and resonant) of the streaming instability are taken into account. We show that the non-resonant instability is very efficient and saturates through a balance between its growth and non-linear transfer. The cosmic-ray resonant instability then takes over and is quenched by advection through the shock. The level of turbulence is determined by the non-resonant regime if the shock velocity $V_{\rm sh}$ is larger than a few times $ξ_{\rm CR} c$, where $ξ_{\rm CR}$ is the ratio of the cosmic-ray pressure to the shock kinetic energy. The instability determines the dependence of the spectrum with respect to $k_\parallel$ (wavenumbers along the shock normal). The transverse cascade of Alfvén waves simultaneously determines the dependence in $k_{\perp}$. We also study the redistribution of turbulent energy between forward and backward waves, which occurs through the interaction of two Alfvén and one slow magneto-sonic wave. Eventually the spectra at the longest wavelengths are found almost proportional to $k_{\parallel}^{-1}$. Downstream, anisotropy is further enhanced through the compression at shock crossing.

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