Implications of automatic photon quenching on compact gamma-ray sources

TL;DR

This paper explores how photon quenching limits gamma-ray luminosity in compact sources, analyzing the interplay of photon-photon annihilation and synchrotron radiation through analytic and numerical methods.

Contribution

It extends previous models of photon quenching by providing detailed analysis and applying it to real TeV observations of quasar 3C279, constraining source parameters.

Findings

Gamma-ray luminosity is capped by photon quenching effects.

TeV observations suggest either low magnetic field with modest Doppler factor or high magnetic field with high Doppler factor.

The model constrains source size, magnetic field, and Doppler factor based on observational data.

Abstract

Aims: We investigate photon quenching in compact non-thermal sources. This involves photon-photon annihilation and lepton synchrotron radiation in a network that can become non-linear. As a result the gamma-ray luminosity of a source cannot exceed a critical limit that depends only on the radius of the source and on the magnetic field. Methods: We perform analytic and numerical calculations that verify previous results and extend them so that the basic properties of photon quenching are investigated. Results: We apply the above to the 2006 TeV observations of quasar 3C279 and obtain the parameter space of allowed values for the radius of the emitting source, its magnetic field strength and the Doppler factor of the flow. We argue that the TeV observations favour either a modest Doppler factor and a low magnetic field or a high Doppler factor and a high magnetic field.