Production of gamma rays and neutrinos in the dark jets of the microquasar SS433

TL;DR

This paper models gamma-ray and neutrino emissions from SS433's dark jets, considering absorption effects and phase-dependent detection prospects, constraining jet power and predicting signals for current and future observatories.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed model of gamma-ray and neutrino production in SS433's dark jets, accounting for absorption and phase effects, and constrains jet power using HEGRA data.

Findings

Gamma-ray absorption is significant due to matter and radiation fields.

Detection chances vary with precessional phase, favoring certain intervals.

Constraints on jet power inform expectations for observatory detections.

Abstract

We study the spectral energy distribution of gamma rays and neutrinos in the precessing microquasar SS433 as a result of pp interactions within its dark jets. Gamma-ray absorption due to interactions with matter of the extended disk and of the star is found to be important, as well as absorption caused by the UV and mid-IR radiation from the equatorial envelopment. We analyze the range of precessional phases for which this attenuation is at a minimum and the chances for detection of a gamma-ray signal are enhanced. The power of relativistic protons in the jets, a free parameter of the model, is constrained by HEGRA data. This imposes limits on the gamma-ray fluxes to be detected with instruments such as GLAST, VERITAS and MAGIC II. A future detection of high energy neutrinos with cubic kilometer telescopes such as IceCube would also yield important information about acceleration mechanisms that may take place in the dark jets. Overall, the determination of the ratio of gamma-ray to neutrino flux will result in a key observational tool to clarify the physics of heavy jets.