Life in the Bubble: How a Nearby Supernova Left Ephemeral Footprints on the Cosmic-Ray Spectrum and Indelible Imprints on Life

TL;DR

This paper links a nearby supernova event to observed cosmic-ray spectrum features, isotopic deposits on Earth, and potential impacts on early life evolution, providing a comprehensive multi-disciplinary analysis.

Contribution

It demonstrates that a single supernova can explain cosmic-ray features and terrestrial isotopic signatures, offering new insights into cosmic-ray origins and Earth's biological history.

Findings

Supernova responsible for $^{60}$Fe deposits explains cosmic-ray spectrum features.

Constraints on cosmic-ray energy and diffusion derived from spectral matching.

Implications for early Earth's mutation rates and evolution due to cosmic radiation variations.

Abstract

The Earth sits inside a 300pc-wide void that was carved by a series of supernova explosions that went off tens of millions of years ago, pushing away interstellar gas and creating a bubble-like structure. The $^{60}$Fe peak deposits found in the deep-sea crust have been interpreted by the imprints left by the ejecta of supernova explosions occurring about 2-3 and 5-6 Myr ago. It is likely that the $^{60}$Fe peak at about 2-3 Myr originated from a supernova occurring in the Upper Centaurus Lupus association in Scorpius Centaurus ($\approx$140 pc) or the Tucana Horologium association ($\approx$70 pc). Whereas, the $\approx$ 5-6 Myr peak is likely attributed to the solar system's entrance into the bubble. In this {\it Letter}, we show that the supernova source responsible for synthesizing the $^{60}$Fe peak deposits $\approx$ 2-3 Myr ago can consistently explain the cosmic-ray spectrum and the large-scale anisotropy between 100 TeV and 100 PeV. The cosmic-ray knee could then potentially be attributed entirely to a single nearby "Pevatron" source. Matching the intensity and shape of the cosmic-ray spectrum allows us to place stringent constraints on the cosmic-ray energy content from the supernova as well as on the cosmic-ray diffusion coefficient. Making use of such constraints we provide a robust estimate of the temporal variation of terrestrial ionizing cosmic radiation levels and discuss their implications in the development of early life on Earth by plausibly influencing the mutation rate and, as such, conceivably assisting in the evolution of complex organisms.