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Sarira Sahu

Publications and source records attributed to Sarira Sahu.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

EBL effect on the observation of multi-TeV flaring of 2009 from Markarian 501

Markarian 501 is a high-peaked BL Lacertae object and has undergone many major outburst since its discovery in 1996. As a part of the multiwavelength campaign, in the year 2009 this blazar was observed for 4.5 months from March 9 to August 1 and during the period April 17 to May 5 it was observed by both space and ground based observatories covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum. A very strong high energy $γ$-ray flare was observed on May 1 by Whipple telescope in the energy range 317 GeV to 5 TeV and the flux was about 10 times higher than the baseline flux. We use the photohadronic model complimented by the extragalactic background radiation (EBL) correction to this very high state flare and have shown that the EBL plays an important role in attenuating the very high energy flux even though Markarian 501 is in the local Universe.

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Multi-TeV flaring from blazars: Markarian 421 a case study

The TeV blazar Markarian 421 underwent multi-TeV flaring during April 2004 and simultaneously observed in x-ray and TeV energies. It was observed that the TeV outbursts had no counterparts in the lower energies, which implies that this might be an orphan flare. In the context of hadronic model, we have shown that this multi-TeV flaring can be produced due to the interaction of Fermi-accelerated protons of energy $\lesssim 168$ TeV with the background photons in the low energy tail of the synchrotron self-Compton spectrum of the blazar jet. We fit very well the flaring spectrum with this model. Based on this study, we speculate that Mrk 501 and PG 1553+113 are possible candidates for orphan flaring in the future.

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Blazar origin of some IceCube events

Recently ANTARES collaboration presented a time dependent analysis to a selected number of flaring blazars to look for upward going muon events produced from the charge current interaction of the muon neutrinos. We use the same list of flaring blazars to look for possible positional correlation with the IceCube neutrino events. In the context of photohadronic model we propose that the neutrinos are produced within the nuclear region of the blazar where Fermi accelerated high energy protons interact with the background synchrotron/SSC photons. Although we found that some objects from the ANTARES list are within the error circles of few IceCube events, the statistical analysis shows that none of these sources have a significant correlation.

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Photohadronic scenario in interpreting the February-March 2014 flare of 1ES 1011+496

The extraordinary multi-TeV flare from 1ES 1011 +496 during February-March 2014 was observed by MAGIC telescopes for 17 nights and the average spectrum of the whole period has a non-trivial shape. We have used the photohadronic model and a template EBL model to explain the average spectrum which fits well to the flare data. The spectral index $α$ is the only free parameter in our model. We have also shown that the non-trivial nature of the spectrum is due to the change in the behavior of the optical depth above $\sim 600$ GeV $γ$-ray energy accompanied with the high SSC flux.

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Chiral spin-3/2 particles in a medium

We consider the propagation of a chiral spin-3/2 particle in a background medium using the Thermal Field Theory (TFT) method, in analogy to the cases of a spin-1/2 fermion (e.g., a neutrino) and the photon. We present a systematic decomposition of the thermal self-energy, from which the dispersion relation of the modes that propagate in the medium are obtained. We find that there are several modes and in each case we obtain the equation for the dispersion relation as well as the corresponding spin-3/2 spinor. As an example of the general procedure and results, we consider a model in which the chiral spin-3/2 particle couples to a spin-1/2 fermion and a scalar particle, and propagates in a thermal background composed of such particles. The dispersion relations and corresponding spinors are detemined explcitly in this case from the 1-loop TFT expression for the self-energy. The results in this case share some resemblance and analogies with the photon and the chiral fermion cases but, as already noted, there are also differences. The present work provides the groundwork for considering problems related to the properties of chiral spin-3/2 particles in a medium, in analogy to the case of neutrinos for example, which can be relevant in physical contexts of current interest.

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Some possible sources of IceCube TeV-PeV neutrino events

The IceCube Collaboration has observed 37 neutrino events in the energy range $30\, TeV\leq E_ν \leq 2$ PeV and the sources of these neutrinos are unknown. Here we have shown that positions of 12 high energy blazars and the position of the FR-I galaxy Centaurus A, coincide within the error circles of ten IceCube events, the later being in the error circle of the highest energy event so far observed by IceCube. Two of the above blazars are simultaneously within the error circles of the Telescope Array hotspot and one IceCube event. We found that the blazar H2356-309 is within the error circles of three IceCube events. We propose that photohadronic interaction of the Fermi accelerated high energy protons with the synchrotron/SSC background photons in the nuclear region of these high energy blazars and AGN are probably responsible for some of the observed IceCube events.

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High energy neutrinos from choked GRBs and their flavor ratio measurement by the IceCube

The high energy neutrinos produced in a choked GRB can undergo matter oscillation before emerging out of the stellar envelope. Before reaching the detector on Earth, these neutrinos can undergo further vacuum oscillation and then Earth matter oscillation. In the context of IceCube we study the Earth matter effect on neutrino flux in the detector. For the calculation of track-to-shower ratio R in the IceCube, we have included the shadowing effect and the additional contribution from the muon track produced by the high energy tau lepton decay in the vicinity of the detector. We observed that R is different for different CP phases in vacuum but the matter effect suppresses these differences. We have also studied the behavior of R when the spectral index $α$ varies.

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Electromagnetic annihilation into charged leptons and scattering off nucleons of spin-3/2 Majorana particles

We compute the cross section for the electromagnetic annihilation into charged leptons, and the electromagnetic scattering off nucleons, of spin-3/2 self-conjugate (Majorana) particles using the general form of the electromagnetic vertex function that was obtained previously for such particles. In addition to the restrictions imposed by common principles such as electromagnetic gauge invariance and hermiticity, the vertex function incorporates the restriction due to the Majorana condition as well as the particular properties related to the spinors in the Rarita-Schwinger representation, and is the counterpart of the so-called anapole interaction of spin-1/2 Majorana particles. The formulas obtained for the cross sections share certain similarities with the corresponding results in the spin-1/2 case, but they also reveal some important differences which are pointed out and discussed. The results given here can be useful for applications involving the electromagnetic interactions of spin-3/2 or spin-1/2 Majorana particles in several contexts that have been of interest in the recent literature such as nucleosynthesis and dark matter.

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Detection of ultra high energy neutrinos by IceCube: Sterile neutrino scenario

The short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments, the excess of radiation from the measurement of the cosmic microwave background radiation, the necessity of the nonbaryonic dark matter candidate and the depletion of the neutrino flux in IceCube all seem to hint at new physics beyond the standard model. An economical way to address these issues is to invoke the existence of sterile neutrinos. We present simple extensions of the standard model with additional three sterile neutrinos and discuss the corresponding PMNS like neutrino flavor mixing matrix. The noteworthy features of the sterile neutrino scenario advocated here is that the lightest one is almost degenerate with one of the active neutrinos, the second sterile has mass of order eV and the heaviest one is in the keV range. In the present scenario, the short baseline anomaly is explained through $Δm^2\sim 1\, {\rm eV^2}$, the depletion of muon neutrino flux in IceCube is explained through $Δm^2\sim 4.0\times 10^{-16}\, {\rm eV^2}$ and the dark matter problem is addressed through $Δm^2\sim 1\, {\rm keV^2}$. Our proposed mixing matrix is also compatible with the observed neutrino oscillation data. We show that the high energy muon and the tau neutrino fluxes from Gamma Ray Bursts can be depleted in IceCube by as much as 38% and 43% respectively. These substantial depletion in both muon and tau neutrino fluxes is due to their small but sizable mixing with the sterile neutrinos.

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Hadronic-origin TeV flare of M87 in April 2010

M87 is a giant radio galaxy with FR-I morphology. It underwent three episodes of TeV flaring in recent years with the strongest one in April 2010 which was jointly monitored by MAGIC, VERITAS and H.E.S.S. We explain its spectral energy distribution in the energy range 0.3 TeV to 5 TeV by assuming that the flaring occurs in the innermost region of the jet. In this region the low energy SSC photons serve as the target for the Fermi-accelerated high energy protons of energy < 30 TeV to form a delta resonance. The TeV photons are produced from the subsequent decay of the delta resonance to neutral pions. In this scenario the observed TeV flux of the 2010 flare is fitted very well.

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Hadronic-Origin orphan TeV flare from the 1ES 1959+650

The 1ES 1959+650 is a high-peaked BL Lacertae object. On 4th of June, 2002, it exhibited a strong TeV flare without any low energy counterpart, providing for the first time an example of an orphan flare from a blazar. Observation of this orphan flare is in striking disagreement with the predictions of the leptonic models thus challenging the conventional synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) interpretation of the TeV emission. Here we propose that, the low energy tail of the SSC photons in the blazar jet serve as the target for the Fermi-accelerated high energy protons of energy . 100 TeV, within the jet to produce the TeV photons through the decay of neutral pions from the delta resonance. Our model explains very nicely the observed TeV flux from this orphan flare and we also estimate the high energy neutrino flux from this flaring event.

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Oscillation of high energy neutrinos in Choked GRBs

It is believed that choked gamma-ray bursts (CGRBs) are the potential candidates for the production of high energy neutrinos in GeV-TeV energy range. These CGRBs out number the successful GRBs by many orders. So it is important to observe neutrinos from these cosmological objects with the presently operating neutrino telescope IceCube. We study the three flavor neutrino oscillation of these high energy neutrinos in the presupernova star environment which is responsible for the CGRB. For the presupernova star we consider three different models and calculate the neutrino oscillation probabilities, as well as neutrino flux on the surface of these star. The matter effect modifies the neutrino flux of different flavors on the surface of the star. We have also calculated the flux of these high energy neutrinos on the surface of the Earth. We found that for neutrino energies below \le 10 TeV the flux ratio does not amount to 1:1:1, whereas for higher energy neutrinos it does.

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Hadronic-Origin TeV gamma-Rays and Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays from Centaurus A

Centaurus A (Cen A) is the nearest radio-loud AGN and is detected from radio to very high energy gamma-rays. Its nuclear spectral energy distribution (SED) shows a double-peak feature, which is well explained by the leptonic synchrotron + synchrotron self-Compton model. This model however cannot account for the observed high energy photons in the TeV range, which display a distinct component. Here we show that ~ TeV photons can be well interpreted as the neutral pion decay products from p-gamma interactions of Fermi accelerated high energy protons in the jet with the seed photons around the second SED peak at ~170 keV. Extrapolating the inferred proton spectrum to high energies, we find that this same model is consistent with the detection of 2 ultra-high-energy cosmic ray events detected by Pierre Auger Observatory from the direction of Cen A. We also estimate the GeV neutrino flux from the same process, and find that it is too faint to be detected by current high-energy neutrino detectors.

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Superluminal Neutrinos in a Pseudoscalar Potential

The superluminal propagation of neutrinos observed by OPERA collaboration can be interpreted as neutrinos traveling in a pseudoscalar potential which may be generated by a medium. The OPERA differential arrival time data set a constraint on the form of the pseudoscalar potential.

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Effect of Resonant Neutrino Oscillation on TeV Neutrino Flavor Ratio from Choked GRBs

In the collapsar scenario of the long duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), multi-TeV neutrino emission is predicted as the jet makes its way through the stellar envelope. Such a neutrino signal is also expected for more general ``failed'' GRBs in which a putative jet is ``choked'' by a heavy envelope. If the ν_e \rightarrow ν_μneutrino oscillation parameters are in the atmospheric neutrino oscillation range, we show that the resonant oscillation of ν_e\leftrightarrowν_{μ,τ} can take place within the inner high density region of the choked jet progenitor with a heavy envelope, altering the neutrino flavor ratio on its surface to Φ^s_{ν_e}:Φ^s_{ν_μ}:Φ^s_{ν_τ}=5:11:2. Considering vacuum oscillation of these neutrinos on their way to Earth, the final flavor ratio detected on Earth is further modified to either $1:1.095:1.095$ for the large mixing angle solution to the solar neutrino data, or 1:1.3:1.3 for maximal mixing among the muon and tau neutrinos in vacuum.

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Very High Energy Cosmic Rays from Centaurus A

Centaurus A is the nearest radio-loud AGN and is detected from radio to very high energy gamma-rays. Its nuclear spectral energy distribution shows two peaks, one in the far-infrared band and another at about 150 keV. By assuming the second peak is due to the electron synchrotron emission and the power index for the differential spectrum of the very high energy cosmic ray proton to be 2.7 we show that only pp interaction is responsible for the observed GeV-TeV emission from Centaurus A. We also found that indeed many very high energy cosmic ray protons from Centaurus A can arrive on Earth thus supporting the recent observation of two events by Pierre Auger Observatory.

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Propagation of Neutrinos through Magnetized Gamma-Ray Burst Fireball

The neutrino self-energy is calculated in a weakly magnetized plasma consists of electrons, protons, neutrons and their anti-particles and using this we have calculated the neutrino effective potential up to order $M^{-4}_W$. In the absence of magnetic field it reduces to the known result. We have also calculated explicitly the effective potentials for different backgrounds which may be helpful in different environments. By considering the mixing of three active neutrinos in the medium with the magnetic field we have derived the survival and conversion probabilities of neutrinos from one flavor to another and also the resonance condition is derived. As an application of the above, we considered the dense and relativistic plasma of the Gamma-Ray Bursts fireball through which neutrinos of 5-30 MeV can propagate and depending on the fireball parameters they may oscillate resonantly or non-resonantly from one flavor to another. These MeV neutrinos are produced due to stellar collapse or merger events which trigger the Gamma-Ray Burst. The fireball itself also produces MeV neutrinos due to electron positron annihilation, inverse beta decay and nucleonic bremsstrahlung. Using the three neutrino mixing and considering the best fit values of the neutrino parameters, we found that electron neutrinos are hard to oscillate to another flavors. On the other hand, the muon neutrinos and the tau neutrinos oscillate with equal probability to one another, which depends on the neutrino energy, temperature and size of the fireball. Comparison of oscillation probabilities with and without magnetic field shows that, they depend on the neutrino energy and also on the size of the fireball. By using the resonance condition, we have also estimated the resonance length of the propagating neutrinos as well as the baryon content of the fireball.

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Neutrino Oscillation in Magnetized Gamma-Ray Burst Fireball

Neutrinos of energy about 5-20 MeV are produced due to the stellar collapse or merger events that trigger the Gamma-Ray Burst. Also low energy MeV neutrinos are produced within the fireball due to electron positron annihilation and nucleonic bremsstrahlung. Many of these neutrinos will propagate through the dense and relativistic magnetized plasma of the fireball. We have studied the possibility of resonant oscillation of $ν_e\leftrightarrow ν_{μ,τ}$ by taking into account the neutrino oscillation parameters from SNO, SuperKamiokande and Liquid Scintillator Detector. Using the resonance condition we have calculated the resonance length for these neutrinos and also the fireball observables like lepton asymmetry and the baryon load are estimated based on the assumed fireball radius of 100 Km.

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