Giant AGN Flares and Cosmic Ray Bursts

TL;DR

This paper predicts a new class of intense, short-lived AGN flares capable of producing ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, explaining observed cosmic ray statistics and suggesting detectable photon bursts, challenging previous source hypotheses.

Contribution

It introduces a novel class of AGN flares from tidal disruptions or disk instabilities as sources of UHECRs, with implications for cosmic ray origins and detectability of associated photon bursts.

Findings

Predicted AGN flares can account for UHECR flux and density.

Photon bursts from these flares may be detectable soon.

Continuous AGN jets are unlikely the sole source of UHECRs.

Abstract

We predict a new class of very intense, short-duration AGN flares capable of accelerating the highest energy cosmic rays, resulting from the tidal disruption of a star or from a disk instability. The rate and power of these flares readily explains the observed flux and density statistics of UHECRs. The photon bursts produced by the predicted AGN flares are discussed; they may soon be detectable. Observations are shown to exclude that continuous jets of powerful Active Galactic Nuclei are the sole source of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays; the stringent requirements for Gamma Ray Bursts to be the source are delineated.