arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Yousaf M. Butt.
I point out a correlation between gamma-ray emissivity and the historical star formation rate in the Large Magellanic Cloud ~12.5 Myr ago. This correlation bolsters the view that CRs in the LMC are accelerated by conglomerations of supernova remnants: i.e. superbubbles and supergiant shells.
Superbubbles (SBs) are amongst the greatest injectors of energy into the Galaxy, and have been proposed to be the acceleration site of Galactic cosmic rays. They are thought to be powered by the fast stellar winds and powerful supernova explosions of massive stars in dense stellar clusters and associations. Observations of the SB 'DEM L192' in the neighboring Large Magellenic Cloud (LMC) galaxy show that it contains only about one-third the energy injected by its constituent stars via fast stellar winds and supernovae. It is not yet understood where the excess energy is going, thus, the so-called 'energy crisis'. We show here that it is very likely that a significant fraction of the unaccounted for energy is being taken up in accelerating cosmic rays, thus bolstering the argument for the SB origin of cosmic rays.
The mysterious very high energy gamma-ray source, TeV J2032+4130, is coincident with the powerful Cygnus OB2 stellar association, though a physical association between the two remains uncertain. It is possible that the detected very high energy photons are produced via an overdensity of locally accelerated cosmic rays impinging on molecular clouds in the source region. In order to test this hypothesis, we used the Kitt Peak 12m, the Heinrich-Hertz Submillimeter Telescope (HH-SMT), and the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory (FCRAO), to obtain observations in the J=1-->0 and J=2-->1 lines of both 12CO and 13CO. We report here on the detection of significant molecular material toward the TeV source region which could be acting as the target of locally accelerated CRs. We also find evidence of compact molecular clumps, showing large line widths in the CO spectra, possibly indicative of energetic processes in this region of Cygnus OB2.
The HEGRA gamma-ray source TeV J2032+4130 is considered the prototypical 'dark accelerator', since it was the first TeV source detected with no firm counterparts at lower frequencies. The Whipple collaboration observed this source in 2003-5 and the emission hotspot appears displaced about 9 arcminutes to the northeast of the HEGRA position, though given the large positional uncertainties the HEGRA and Whipple positions are consistent. Here we report on Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), Very Large Array (VLA), Chandra and INTEGRAL data covering the locations of the Whipple and HEGRA hotspots. We confirm a dual-lobed radio source (also see Marti et al., 2007) coincident with the Whipple hotspot, as well as a weak, partially non-thermal shell-like object, with a location and morphology very similar to the HEGRA source, in our WSRT and mosaicked VLA datasets, respectively. Due to its extended nature, it is likely that the latter structure is a more plausible counterpart of the reported very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emissions in this region. If so, TeV J2032+4130 may not be a 'dark accelerator' after all. Further observations with the new generation of imaging Cherenkov telescopes are needed to pin down the precise location and morphology of the TeV emission region and thus clear up the confusion over its possible lower frequency counterparts.
TeV gamma-rays can result from the photo-de-excitation of PeV cosmic ray nuclei after their parents have undergone photo-disintegration in an environment of ultraviolet photons. This process is proposed as a candidate explanation of the recently discovered HESS source at the edge of Westerlund 2. The UV background is provided by Lyman-alpha emission within the rich O and B stellar environment. The HESS flux results if there is efficient acceleration at the source of lower energy nuclei. The requirement that the Lorentz-boosted ultraviolet photons reach the Giant Dipole resonant energy (~ 20 MeV) implies a strong suppression of the gamma-ray spectrum compared to an E_γ^{-2} behavior at energies below about 1 TeV. This suppression is not apparent in the lowest-energy Westerlund 2 datum, but will be probed by the upcoming GLAST mission.
A review of the possible relationship between gamma-ray sources and supernova remnants (SNRs) is presented. Particular emphasis is given to the analysis of the observational status of the problem of cosmic ray acceleration at SNR shock fronts. All positional coincidences between SNRs and unidentified gamma-ray sources listed in the Third EGRET Catalog at low Galactic latitudes are discussed on a case by case basis. For several coincidences of particular interest, new CO(J=1-0) and radio continuum maps are shown, and the mass content of the SNR surroundings is determined. The contribution to the gamma-ray flux observed that might come from cosmic ray particles (particularly nuclei) locally accelerated at the SNR shock fronts is evaluated. We discuss the prospects for future research in this field and remark on the possibilities for observations with forthcoming gamma-ray instruments.
We suggest that ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) and some of the variable low latitude EGRET gamma-ray sources may be two different manifestations of the same underlying phenomena: high-mass microquasars with relativistic jets forming a small angle with the line of sight (i.e. microblazars). Microblazars with jets formed by relatively cool plasma (Lorentz factors for the leptons up to a few hundreds) naturally lead to ULXs. If the jet contains very energetic particles (high-energy cutoff above Lorentz factors of several thousands) the result is a relatively strong gamma-ray source. As pointed out by Kaufman Bernado, Romero & Mirabel (2002), a gamma-ray microblazar will always have an X-ray counterpart (although it might be relatively weak), whereas X-ray microblazars might have no gamma-ray counterparts.
It might be thought that supernova remnants (SNRs) more distant than a few kiloparsec from Earth could not have been detected by the EGRET experiment. This work analyzes the observational status of this statement in the light of new CO studies of SNRs.
The jet axes and the orbital planes of microquasar systems are usually assumed to be approximately perpendicular, eventhough this is not currently an observational requirement. On the contrary, in one of the few systems where the relative orientations are well-constrained, V4641Sgr, the jet axis is known to lie not more than ~36 degrees from the binary plane. Such a jet, lying close to the binary plane, and traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light may periodically impact the secondary star initiating nuclear reactions on its surface. The integrated yield of such nuclear reactions over the age of the binary system (less the radiative mass loss) will detectably alter the elemental abundances of the companion star. This scenario may explain the anomalously high Li enhancements (roughly ~20-200 times the sun's photospheric value; or, equivalently, 0.1-1 times the average solar system value) seen in the companions of some black-hole X-ray binary systems. (Such enhancements are puzzling since Li nuclei are exceedingly fragile - being easily destroyed in the interiors of stars - and Li would be expected to be depleted rather than enhanced there.) Gamma-ray line signatures of the proposed process could include the 2.22 MeV neutron capture line as well as the 0.478 MeV 7Li* de-excitation line, both of which may be discernable with the INTEGRAL satellite if produced in an optically thin region during a large outburst. For very energetic jets, a relatively narrow neutral pion gamma-decay signature at 67.5 MeV could also be measurable with the GLAST satellite. We argue that about 10-20% of all microquasar systems ought to be sufficiently misaligned as to be undergoing the proposed jet-secondary impacts.
It is thought that Galactic cosmic ray (CR) nuclei are gradually accelerated to high energies (up to ~300 TeV/nucleon, where 1TeV=10^12eV) in the expanding shock-waves connected with the remnants of powerful supernova explosions. However, this conjecture has eluded direct observational confirmation^1,2 since it was first proposed in 1953 (ref. 3). Enomoto et al.^4 claim to have finally found definitive evidence that corroborates this model, proposing that the very-high-energy, TeV-range, gamma-rays from the supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7-3946 are due to the interactions of energetic nuclei in this region. Here we argue that their claim is not supported by the existing multiwavelength spectrum of this source. The search for the origin(s) of Galactic cosmic ray nuclei may be closing in on the long-suspected supernova-remnant sources, but it is not yet over.
The gamma-ray & neutrino visibility of cosmic ray (CR) accelerators will be dramatically increased by the presence of molecular material abutting such sites due to the increased probability of pion production -- and, in the case of neutral pions, subsequent gamma-decay. This was recognized by Pinkau, Montmerle, and Black & Fazio, and others in the 1970's. In an effort to examine the long-standing -- but unproven -- conjecture that galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) are indeed the sites of nucleonic CR acceleration to <~300TeV/n we have carried out a 3-way coincidence search between the SNRs in Green's (2001) catalog, the GeV range unidentified sources from the third EGRET catalog (Hartman et al.,1999), and molecular clouds, at low Galactic latitudes (|b|<~5 deg). In order to be quantitative regarding the distribution and amount of the ambient molecular masses we have extracted the CO(J=1->0) mm wavelength data from the compilation of Dame, Hartmann & Thaddeus (2001), at the best estimates of the various SNR distances. We outline the overall correlative study and examine the interesting case of SNR IC443, a likely accelerator of CR nuclei.
The non-thermal supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946 (G347.3-0.5) has recently been shown to be a site of cosmic ray (CR) electron acceleration to TeV energies (Muraishi et al. 2000). Here we present evidence that this remnant is also accelerating CR nuclei. Such nuclei can interact with ambient interstellar gas to produce high energy gamma-rays via the decay of neutral pions. We associate the unidentified EGRET GeV gamma- ray source 3EG J1714-3857 with a massive (~3*10 5 Mo) and dense (~500 nucleons cm -3) molecular cloud interacting with RX J1713.7-3946. Direct evidence for such interaction is provided by observations of the lowest two rotational transitions of CO in the cloud; as in other clear cases of interaction, the CO(J=2-1)/CO(J=1-0) ratio is significantly enhanced. Since the cloud is of low radio and X-ray brightness, CR electrons cannot be responsible for the bulk of its GeV emission there. A picture thus emerges where both electrons and nuclei are being accelerated by the SNR: whereas the CR electrons dominate the local non-thermal radio, X-ray and TeV emission, the shock accelerated CR protons and ions (hadrons) are revealed through their interactions in the adjacent massive cloud. Such a scenario had been anticipated by Aharonian, Drury and Volk (1994).
We present a correlative study between all unidentified EGRET sources at low Galactic latitudes and the newly discovered pulsars in the released portion of the Parkes multibeam radio survey. We note 14 positional coincidences: eight of these are ``Vela-like'' pulsars, with relatively small periods, small characteristic ages, and high spin-down luminosities. Three of these coincidences have been investigated by D'Amico et al. (2001) and Camilo et al. (2001). Among the others, we argue that PSR J1015-5719 may plausibly generate part of the high energy radiation observed from 3EG J1014-5705. Three additional interesting cases are: 3EG J1410-6147 and either of PSRs J1412-6145 or J1413-6141, if the pulsars are at the estimated distance of the coincident SNR G312.4-0.4; and 3EG J1639-4702/PSR J1637-4642. The remaining positional coincidences between the EGRET sources and the newly discovered pulsars are almost certainly spurious.
We present observations of the young, Oxygen-rich supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219 taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory during Chandra's Orbital Activation and Checkout phase. The boundary of the blast wave shock is clearly seen for the first time, allowing the diameter of the remnant and the mean blast wave velocity to be determined accurately. The prominent X-ray bright ring of material may be the result of the reverse shock encountering ejecta; the radial variation of O VII vs. O VIII emission indicates an ionizing shock propagating inwards, possibly through a strong density gradient in the ejecta. We compare the X-ray emission to Australia Telescope Compact Array 6 cm radio observations (Amy and Ball) and to archival Hubble Space Telescope [O III] observations. The ring of radio emission is predominantly inward of the outer blast wave, consistent with an interpretation as synchrotron radiation originating behind the blast wave, but outward of the bright X-ray ring of emission. Many (but not all) of the prominent optical filaments are seen to correspond to X-ray bright regions. We obtain an upper limit of ~9e33 erg/s (3 sigma) on any potential pulsar X-ray emission from the central region.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) was launched on July 23, 1999 and reached its final orbit on August 7, 1999. The CXO is in a highly elliptical orbit, approximately 140,000 km x 10,000 km, and has a period of approximately 63.5 hours (~ 2.65 days). It transits the Earth's Van Allen belts once per orbit during which no science observations can be performed due to the high radiation environment. The Chandra X-ray Observatory Center (CXC) currently uses the National Space Science Data Center's ``near Earth'' AP-8/AE-8 radiation belt model to predict the start and end times of passage through the radiation belts. However, our scheduling software uses only a simple dipole model of the Earth's magnetic field. The resulting B, L magnetic coordinates, do not always give sufficiently accurate predictions of the start and end times of transit of the Van Allen belts. We show this by comparing to the data from Chandra's on-board radiation monitor, the EPHIN (Electron, Proton, Helium Instrument particle detector) instrument. We present evidence that demonstrates this mis-timing of the outer electron radiation belt as well as data that also demonstrate the significant variablity of one radiation belt transit to the next as experienced by the CXO. We also present an explanation for why the dipole implementation of the AP-8/AE-8 model is not ideally suited for the CXO. Lastly, we provide a brief discussion of our on-going efforts to identify a model that accounts for radiation belt variability, geometry, and one that can be used for observation scheduling purposes.