UHECR besides CenA: hints of galactic sources

TL;DR

This paper suggests that some ultra-high-energy cosmic rays originate from galactic sources like Vela, based on clustering patterns and composition analysis, indicating a local, fragile light nuclei component and potential secondary neutrino signals.

Contribution

It provides evidence for galactic sources of UHECRs, especially light nuclei like Vela, and discusses implications for secondary particles and future neutrino detection.

Findings

Identification of galactic source signatures in UHECR clustering

Support for light nuclei composition over proton models

Implications for secondary gamma and neutrino signals

Abstract

Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays, UHECR, maybe protons, as most still believe and claim, or nuclei; in particular lightest nuclei as we advocated recently. The first (Auger Collaboration) nucleon proposal (2007)[2] foresaw to trace clearly the UHECR GZK Universe reaching far (up to 100 Mpc) Super-Galactic-Plane, with little angular dispersion. On the contrary Lightest Nuclei model (2008)[3], inspired by observed composition and by nearest CenA clustering (almost a quarter of the AUGER events) explains a modest and narrow (few Mpc) Universe view, as well as the puzzling Virgo absence: lightest nuclei offer a fragile (and therefore very nearby) blurred Astronomy. Here we address to a part of the remaining scattered events in the new up-dated Auger map (March 2009-ICRC09). We found within rarest clustering the surprising imprint of a few galactic sources, a partial component of UHECR sources. In particular we recognize a first trace of Vela, brightest gamma and radio galactic source, and smeared sources along Galactic Plane and Center. The clustering may imply additional tails of fragments (by nuclei photo-dissociation) at half energies. The UHECR light-nuclei fragility and opacity may also reflect into a train of secondaries as gamma and neutrinos UHE events at tens-hundred PeVs. These UHE neutrinos might be detectable in a coming future within nearest AUGER and Array Fluorescence Telescope views,(few km distances) by fast fluorescence flashing of horizontal up-going tau Air-showers.