A gamma-ray signature of energetic sources of cosmic-ray nuclei

TL;DR

This paper proposes that gamma-ray emissions from cosmic-ray nuclei undergoing excitation and decay outside astrophysical sources can produce detectable spectral features, aiding in identifying cosmic accelerators.

Contribution

It introduces a novel gamma-ray signature from excited heavy nuclei, providing a new method to detect and study cosmic-ray nuclei acceleration in astrophysical sources.

Findings

Spectrum of Centaurus A matches predictions for accelerated nuclei.

A 5-10 GeV gamma-ray shoulder can indicate nuclear acceleration.

Method can set upper limits on nuclear acceleration in sources.

Abstract

Astrophysical sources of nuclei are expected to produce a broad spectrum of isotopes, many of which are unstable. An unstable nucleus can beta-decay outside the source into a single-electron ion. Heavy one-electron ions, thus formed, can be excited in their interactions with cosmic microwave background photons, in which case they relax to the ground state with the emission of a gamma ray. Repetitive cycles of excitation and gamma-ray emission can produce an observable feature in the gamma-ray spectrum with a maximum around 8 GeV (for iron). We find that the observed spectrum of Centaurus A is consistent with a substantial flux of nuclei accelerated to 0.1 EeV. A characteristic 5--10 GeV (iron) shoulder in the gamma-ray spectra of various sources can help identify astrophysical accelerators of nuclei or set upper limits on nuclear acceleration.