Neutrino and Cascade Gamma-Ray Emission from Magnetized Turbulent Coronae in Seyfert Galaxies

TL;DR

This paper explores how magnetized turbulence in Seyfert galaxy coronae accelerates protons, producing neutrinos and gamma rays, with MeV gamma rays serving as key observational probes for testing the hadronic corona model.

Contribution

It introduces a model linking coronal properties to neutrino and gamma-ray emissions, emphasizing the role of cascade gamma rays and potential detection with future MeV telescopes.

Findings

Neutrino luminosity correlates with X-ray luminosity.

Cascade gamma rays can escape the corona and be observed.

MeV gamma rays are promising probes for testing the model.

Abstract

Recent neutrino observations from the IceCube Collaboration suggest that Seyfert galaxies are promising candidate sources of neutrinos. Within the standard disk-corona model, we assume that protons are accelerated by a non-resonant acceleration mechanism driven by magnetized turbulence in the corona. These accelerated protons interact with ambient radiation or matter, producing high-energy neutrinos and gamma rays. In this scenario, gamma rays are largely absorbed within the corona. The neutrino luminosity depends primarily on the properties of the corona (such as the X-ray luminosity and radius) and the spectral energy distribution of the target photons. This study demonstrates the relation between the neutrino luminosity and the X-ray luminosity, and further discusses the contribution of cascade gamma rays to coronal radiation. Notably, MeV gamma rays can effectively escape the source, together with neutrinos, and serve as key observational probes for testing this model. Future MeV gamma-ray telescopes, such as AMEGO-X and e-ASTROGAM, are expected to detect such gamma-ray signatures, providing a critical multi-messenger test of the hadronic corona model.