Antiprotons Produced in Supernova Remnants

TL;DR

This paper models the production of antiprotons in supernova remnants, showing their spectrum is flatter above 10 GeV and aligns with PAMELA data, indicating SNRs significantly contribute to cosmic ray antiprotons.

Contribution

It introduces a nonlinear kinetic model of antiproton production in SNRs, including reacceleration and nuclear collision processes, providing a comprehensive explanation of observed spectra.

Findings

Antiproton spectrum flattens above 10 GeV due to SNR production.

Predicted spectrum increases by a factor of five at TeV energies.

Model results are consistent with PAMELA and boron-to-carbon ratio data.

Abstract

We present the energy spectrum of antiproton cosmic ray (CR) component calculated on the basis of the nonlinear kinetic model of CR production in supernova remnants (SNR). The model includes reacceleration of already existing in interstellar medium antiprotons as well as creation of antiprotons in nuclear collisions of accelerated protons with gas nuclei and their subsequent acceleration by SNR shock. It is shown that antiprotons production in SNRs produces considerable effect in their resultant energy spectrum making it essentially flatter above 10 GeV so that the spectrum at TeV-energies increases by a factor of five. Calculated antiproton spectrum is well consistent with the PAMELA data, which correspond to energies below 100 GeV. As a consistency check we have also calculated within the same model the energy spectra of secondary nuclei and show that the measured boron-to-carbon ratio is consistent with the significant SNR contribution.