arXiv subjects

Maxim S. Pshirkov

Publications and source records attributed to Maxim S. Pshirkov.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Pulsar timing and polarimetry: results and perspectives

Pulsar timing, i.e. the analysis of the arrival times of pulses from a pulsar, is a powerful tool in modern astrophysics. It allows us to measure the time delays of an electromagnetic signal caused by a number of physical processes as the signal propagates from the source to the observer. Joint analysis of an ensemble of pulsars (Pulsar Timing Arrays, PTAs) can be used to address a variety of astrophysical challenges, including the problem of direct detection of space-time metric perturbations, in particular those induced by gravitational waves. Here we present a comprehensive review of the current state of research in the field of pulsar timing, with particular emphasis on recent advancements in the detection of stochastic background of nHz gravitational waves, reported by a number of international collaborations such as NANOGrav (North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves), European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA), Chinese Pulsar Timing Array (CPTA) and Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA), which are joining their efforts within the International PTA (IPTA). Additionally, this paper reviews contemporary constraints on scalar ultralight matter (pseudoscalar bosons), obtained from timing and polarimetry data of pulsars. The prospects for applying these tools to other problems in fundamental physics and cosmology are explored.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

May axion clusters be sources of fast radio bursts?

Fast radio bursts can be caused by some phenomena related to 'new physics'.One of the most prominent candidates of the kind are axion Bose stars which can engender bursts when undergoing conversion into photons in magnetospheres of neutron stars or during their collapse. In this short research note an importance of three observational criteria is outlined, namely total energetic, $\mathcal{O}$(ms) duration and non-monochromatic shape of the spectrum. It is shown that it is impossible to meet these criteria in simplified models of axion-neutron star interaction scenario and thorough investigation of more complex models which involve back-reaction and non-linear effects are needed in order to explain FRBs within this scenario.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Possibility of hypothetical stable micro black hole production at future 100 TeV collider

We study the phenomenology of TeV-scale black holes predicted in theories with large extra dimensions, under the further assumption that they are absolutely stable. Our goal is to present an exhaustive analysis of safety of the proposed 100 TeV collider, as it was done in the case of the LHC. We consider the theories with different number of extra dimensions and identify those for which a possible accretion to macroscopic size would have timescales shorter than the lifetime of the Solar system. We calculate the cross sections of the black hole production at the proposed 100 TeV collider, the fraction of the black holes trapped inside the Earth and the resulting rate of capture inside the Earth via an improved method. We study the astrophysical consequences of stable micro black holes existence, in particular its influence on the stability of white dwarfs and neutron stars. We obtain constraints for the previously unexplored range of higher-dimensional Planck mass values. Several astrophysical scenarios of the micro black hole production, which were not considered before, are taken into account. Finally, using the astrophysical constraints we consider the implications for future 100 TeV terrestrial experiments. We exclude the possibility of the charged stable micro black holes production.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Constraining the production of cosmic rays by pulsars

One of the possible sources of hadronic cosmic rays (CRs) are newborn pulsars. If this is indeed the case, they should feature diffusive gamma-ray halos produced by interactions of CRs with interstellar gas. In this paper we try to identify extended gamma-ray emission around young pulsars, making use of the 7-year Fermi-LAT data. For this purpose we select and analyze a set of eight pulsars that are most likely to possess detectable gamma-ray halos. We find extended emission that might be interpreted as a gamma-ray halo only in the case of PSR J0007+7303. Its luminosity accords with the total energy of injected cosmic rays $\sim 10^{50}$ erg, although other interpretations of this source are possible. Irrespectively of the nature of this source we put bounds on the luminosity of gamma-ray halos which suggest that pulsars' contribution to the overall energy budget of galactic CRs is subdominant in the GeV-TeV range.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Positron excess in the center of the Milky Way from short-lived $β^+$ emitting isotopes

Observations of the INTEGRAL satellite revealed the presence of yet unexplained excess in the central region of the Galaxy at the energies around 511 keV. These gamma-rays are produced in the process of positron annihilation, the needed rate is around $10^{42}~\mathrm{s^{-1}}$. In this short paper it is shown that \pos -emitting isotopes that are formed in interactions of subrelativistic cosmic rays (CRs) with light nuclei (CNONe) can account for a considerable fraction -- up to several tens of percent -- of $e^{+}$ production rate in the central region.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

New limits on extragalactic magnetic fields from rotation measures

We take advantage of the wealth of rotation measures data contained in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey catalogue to derive new, statistically robust, upper limits on the strength of extragalactic magnetic fields. We simulate the extragalactic magnetic field contribution to the rotation measures for a given field strength and correlation length, by assuming that the electron density follows the distribution of Lyman-$α$ clouds. Based on the observation that rotation measures from distant radio sources do not exhibit any trend with redshift, while the extragalactic contribution instead grows with distance, we constrain fields with Jeans' length coherence length to be below 1.7~nG at the $2σ$ level, and fields coherent across the entire observable Universe below 0.65~nG. These limits do not depend on the particular origin of these cosmological fields.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

The Fermi LAT view of the colliding wind binaries

Colliding wind binaries (CWBs) have been considered as a possible high energy $γ$-ray sources for some time, however no system other than $η$ Car has been detected. In the paper a sample of seven CWBs (WR 11, WR 70, WR 137, WR 140, WR 146, WR 147) which, by means of theoretic modelling, were deemed most promising candidates, was analyzed using almost 7 years of the Fermi-LAT data. WR 11 ($γ^2$ Vel) was detected at 6.1$σ$ confidence level with a photon flux in 0.1-100 GeV range $(1.8\pm0.6)\times10^{-9}~\mathrm{ph~cm^{-2}~s^{-1}}$ and an energy flux $(2.7\pm0.5)\times10^{-12}~~\mathrm{erg~cm^{-2}~s^{-1}}$. At the adopted distance $d=340$ pc this corresponds to a luminosity $L=(3.7\pm0.7)\times10^{31}~\mathrm{erg~s^{-1}}$. This luminosity amounts to $\sim6\times10^{-6}$ fraction of the total wind kinetic power and $\sim1.6\times10^{-4}$ fraction of the power injected into the wind-wind interaction region of this system. Upper limits were set on the high energy flux from the WR 70 and WR 140 systems.

astro-ph.HE↗