Searching for PeVatrons in the CTA Galactic Plane Survey

TL;DR

This paper proposes a spectral analysis method to identify potential PeV cosmic ray accelerators in the upcoming CTA Galactic Plane Survey, aiming to efficiently select PeVatron candidates for further study.

Contribution

It introduces a new broadband spectral analysis technique to identify PeVatron candidates during the CTA Galactic Plane Survey.

Findings

Method effectively distinguishes PeVatron candidates based on spectral features

Application to specific sources demonstrates potential for discovery

Enhances criteria for targeted follow-up observations

Abstract

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will perform a survey of the whole Galactic disk with unprecedented sensitivity at energies up to 300 TeV. One of the key science projects of the CTA consortium is the discovery of Galactic PeVatrons (cosmic ray accelerators to PeV energies). The determination of efficient criteria to identify PeVatron candidates during the Galactic plane survey observations is essential in order to trigger deeper observations. This contribution presents a method which relies on the broadband spectrum of the source to investigate high energy spectral features. The application of this method to specific sources will also be presented.