Understanding hadronic $\gamma$-ray emission from supernova remnants

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether the gamma-ray emission from supernova remnants is caused by hadronic processes, focusing on how the surrounding medium and magnetic fields influence particle acceleration and emission predictions.

Contribution

It introduces a phenomenological model linking the circumstellar environment and magnetic field amplification to hadronic gamma-ray emission in supernova remnants.

Findings

Magnetic field amplification significantly impacts particle spectra.

The circumstellar medium's nature affects gamma-ray emission evolution.

A consistent scenario aligns with current gamma-ray observations.

Abstract

We aim to test the plausibility of a theoretical framework in which the $\gamma-$ray emission detected from supernova remnants is of hadronic origin, i.e., due to the decay of neutral pions produced in nuclear collisions involving relativistic nuclei. In particular, we investigate how the nature of the circumstellar medium affects the evolution of a remnant and of its $\gamma-$ray emission, stressing the role of magnetic field amplification in the prediction of expected particle spectra. A phenomenological scenario consistent with both the underlying Physics and the larger and larger amount of observational data provided by the present generation of $\gamma-$ray experiments is finally outlined and critically discussed.