Microquasar remnants as reservoirs of PeV cosmic rays

TL;DR

This paper proposes that fossil remnants of microquasars, which have ceased activity, can serve as reservoirs of PeV cosmic rays and explain some of the ultra-high-energy gamma-ray sources detected by LHAASO.

Contribution

It introduces a time-dependent model of microquasar remnants as long-lived cosmic ray reservoirs, linking them to unidentified gamma-ray sources beyond 100 TeV.

Findings

Remnant cocoons can store PeV cosmic rays for extended periods.

Delayed gamma-ray emission occurs from interactions with surrounding dense material.

Microquasar remnants may explain some unidentified ultra-high-energy gamma-ray sources.

Abstract

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) has revealed a population of Galactic gamma-ray sources radiating beyond 100 TeV, but the nature of several of them is still uncertain. In this contribution, we explore the idea that some of these ultrahigh-energy emitters are not powered by currently active accelerators, but by the fossil remains of microquasars (MQs). We consider systems in which mass transfer onto the stellar-mass black hole has already stopped, so that the central engine and its jets are permanently quenched. During the active phase, powerful transrelativistic jets inflate a hot cocoon whose interior is filled with cosmic rays (CRs) accelerated at the jet termination shocks. Once the jets switch off, the cocoon enters a long afterlife stage in which it behaves as a large reservoir of PeV CRs. If the remnant lies in or near a star-forming region, these relic CRs can still interact with dense clumps and molecular clouds, inside the cocoon or in the surrounding interstellar medium, leading to delayed gamma-ray emission via inelastic pp collisions and the subsequent decay of neutral pions. We present a time-dependent model for the jet-cocoon system, follow the evolution of the CR population during and after the MQ phase, and discuss the conditions under which the resulting microquasar remnants can account for some of the unidentified LHAASO sources.