Cosmic Gamma-ray Sources

by Cheng, K. S.; Romero, Gustavo E.

• ISBN13: 9781402022555
• ISBN10: 1402022557
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-01-31
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Pub

Summary

In the last 15 years gamma-ray astronomy has undergone a tremendous development, changing from a rather marginal and exotic field to a key discipline that probes the most extreme manifestations of the physical universe. Through successful observational experiments like the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory and modern Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes, several types of cosmic gamma-ray sources have been detected and are currently being subjected to intensive study. These sources include some of the most extraordinary objects known by human beings. Objects like accreting black holes, neutron stars and their winds, supernova remnants, distant gamma-ray bursts, and the central regions of quasars and blazars. This book presents the most updated review of our current knowledge of cosmic gamma-ray sources. Besides chapters devoted to each type of known gamma-ray emitting object, it provides a self-contained introduction to gamma-ray astrophysics, including a description of the relevant physical processes, a guide through the basic phenomenology, and the prospects for further advances. The book will be of interest for all active researchers in the field, for scientists interested in understanding the recent progress in gamma-ray astronomy, and for graduate students.

Table of Contents

Preface	v
Introduction	1	(20)
K.S. Cheng
Gustavo E. Romero
The early years of gamma-ray astronomy	2	(2)
The age of the spark chambers	4	(2)
The Compton gamma-ray observatory	6	(4)
Gamma-ray line astronomy	10	(2)
The development of ground-based high-energy gamma-ray astronomy	12	(2)
Cosmic gamma-ray sources	14	(1)
Suggested reading	15	(6)
Fundamentals of gamma-ray astrophysics	21	(26)
Gustavo E. Romero
K.S. Cheng
Basic concepts	22	(2)
Gamma-ray production: thermal mechanisms	24	(1)
Non-thermal gamma-ray production: particle--field interactions	25	(6)
Synchrotron radiation	25	(1)
Curvature radiation	26	(1)
Inverse Compton (IC) interactions	27	(2)
Photomeson production	29	(2)
Non-thermal gamma-ray production: particle-matter interactions	31	(6)
Relativistic Bremsstrahlung	31	(1)
Hadronic gamma-ray emission	32	(1)
π0-decays from proton-proton interactions	32	(4)
π0-decays from proton-antiproton annihilation	36	(1)
Electron-positron annihilation	36	(1)
Gamma-ray line production	37	(1)
Nuclear transitions	37	(1)
Fission	38	(1)
Gamma-ray absorption processes	38	(5)
Pair-creation in a Coulomb field	39	(1)
Photon-photon pair creation	39	(2)
Magnetic photon absorption	41	(1)
Direct Compton scattering	42	(1)
Doppler and gravitational shifts of gamma rays	43	(1)
Related physical processes	43	(4)
Electromagnetic cascades	43	(1)
Hadronic cascades	44	(1)
Diffusion of relativistic particles from the source	44	(3)
Galactic gamma-ray sources	47	(22)
Isabelle A. Grenier
Young sources in star-forming regions	49	(8)
Massive stars, OB associations, and SNOBs	49	(2)
Supernova remnants	51	(1)
Pulsars and their wind nebulae	52	(5)
Variable sources in the inner spiral arms	57	(6)
Faint sources in the Gould Belt	59	(4)
Variable sources in the halo	63	(6)
Perspective	65	(4)
Extragalactic gamma-ray sources	69	(36)
D.F. Torres
Low-, mid-, and high-latitude sources	69	(2)
The case for AGNs	71	(7)
Definitions	71	(1)
Gamma-ray emission from blazars	71	(2)
Models for γ-ray emission from blazars	73	(5)
EGRET observations of AGNs	78	(8)
Comparison of properties of AGNs and unidentified EGRET sources at high latitudes	79	(1)
The multiwavelength approach for the identification of EGRET blazars	80	(4)
Are all unidentified high-latitude γ-ray sources AGNs?	84	(2)
Microlensing of γ-ray blazars	86	(3)
Alternative origins of high-latitude γ-ray sources	89	(9)
Galaxy clusters	89	(1)
Normal galaxies	90	(3)
Starburst galaxies	93	(2)
Radio galaxies	95	(2)
Cold molecular clouds in the galactic halo	97	(1)
EGRET detections and cosmic rays	98	(1)
Concluding remarks	98	(1)
Acknowledgments	99	(6)
Non-thermal emission from early-type binaries	105	(22)
G. Rauw
Some basic considerations	107	(4)
Wind interactions in early-type binaries	107	(1)
Relativistic particles in stellar winds	108	(1)
The acceleration of relativistic particles	109	(1)
Magnetic fields	110	(1)
Non-thermal radio emission from early-type stars	111	(4)
Inverse Compton scattering	115	(7)
Non thermal X-ray emission from early-type stars?	117	(2)
A possible connection with unidentified γ-ray sources?	119	(2)
Variability	121	(1)
Other γ-ray emission mechanisms	122	(1)
Conclusions and future perspectives	122	(5)
Gamma-ray emission from supernova remnants	127	(22)
Gustavo E. Romero
Introduction	127	(1)
Structure and evolution of SNRs	128	(4)
Particle acceleration in supernova remnants	132	(2)
Gamma-ray emission from supernova remnants	134	(7)
Supernova remnants and unidentified gamma-ray sources	141	(3)
The future of high-energy studies of supernova remnants	144	(5)
Gamma ray pulsars	149	(20)
D.J. Thompson
Gamma-ray pulsar multiwavelength light curves	150	(3)
Gamma-ray pulsar multiwavelength energy spectra	153	(3)
Other candidate isolated neutron stars	156	(1)
Gamma-ray pulsars compared to the general pulsar population	157	(1)
Pulsars at the highest energies	157	(5)
Future pulsar observations at high energies	162	(4)
Summary	166	(3)
Theories of gamma-ray emission from pulsars	169	(36)
K.S. Cheng
Basic properties of pulsars	170	(3)
Gamma-ray observations associated with pulsars	173	(3)
Gamma-ray pulsars	173	(1)
Gamma-ray emission associated with pulsar wind	174	(1)
Unidentified gamma-ray sources detected by EGRET	175	(1)
Theories of gamma-ray emission from regions within the light cylinder	176	(16)
Outer-gap models	179	(2)
Emission morphologies and light curves	181	(1)
Phase-resolved spectra of the Crab pulsar	182	(3)
Gamma-ray efficiency	185	(4)
Gamma-ray emission from magnetars	189	(3)
Gamma-ray emission from regions beyond the light cylinder	192	(3)
High-energy emission from pulsar-wind nebulae	192	(1)
Gamma-ray emission from interaction between pulsar wind and companion stellar wind	193	(2)
Mature gamma-ray pulsars and unidentified gamma-ray sources in the Galaxy and in the Gould Belt	195	(3)
Discussion	198	(7)
High energy emission from microquasars	205	(20)
R. Fender
T. Maccarone
Introduction: what is a microquasar?	205	(4)
X-ray emission from jets?	209	(1)
X-rays from steady jets?	209	(1)
X-rays from transient relativistic jets?	210	(1)
High-energy γ-ray emission	210	(4)
Observations	213	(1)
Cygnus X-3	213	(1)
LS 5039	214	(1)
LS I +61 303	214	(1)
Unidentified EGRET sources in the galactic plane	214	(1)
Predictions	214	(1)
Synchrotron self-Comptonization models	215	(1)
External Comptonization models	215	(2)
Hadronic jet models	217	(1)
Gamma-ray lines	217	(2)
Why are there so few sources, and how do we find more?	219	(2)
Lower radio luminosities?	219	(1)
Rapid variability?	220	(1)
Beaming requirements?	220	(1)
Magnetic field differences?	220	(1)
Poorer observational coverage?	221	(1)
Conclusions	221	(4)
Gamma-ray bursts	225	(36)
T. Lu
Y.F. Huang
Z.G. Dai
D.M. Wei
The standard fireball shock model	230	(8)
Stellar level event	230	(1)
Fireball	231	(1)
Compactness problem	232	(1)
Ultra-relativistic expansion	233	(1)
External shock	233	(2)
Radiation	235	(1)
Spectra of afterglows	236	(1)
External-internal shock model	237	(1)
Post-standard effects	238	(11)
Non-relativistic limit	238	(2)
Collimation	240	(4)
Additional emission mechanism	244	(1)
X-ray flash	245	(1)
Environmental effects	246	(2)
Energy injection	248	(1)
Further topics	249	(12)
GRB-supernova connection	249	(1)
Origin of GRBs	250	(1)
Polarization	251	(1)
Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and high energy neutrinos	252	(1)
GRBs as a probe of cosmology	253	(8)
Clusters of galaxies at high energy gamma-rays	261	(18)
Olaf Reimer
Gamma-ray identification of individual galaxy clusters	266	(1)
Spatial-statistical correlation studies	267	(4)
Contribution of unresolved galaxy clusters to the EGDB	271	(8)
Diffuse gamma rays	279	(32)
Igor V. Moskalenko
Andrew W. Strong
Olaf Reimer
Gamma rays and cosmic rays connection	281	(3)
Cosmic rays	284	(2)
Galactic structure	286	(6)
Interstellar gas	287	(2)
Interstellar radiation field	289	(1)
Magnetic field and synchrotron emission	290	(2)
Diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission	292	(10)
Analysis of cosmic ray spectral fluctuations	297	(4)
Local clouds	301	(1)
Extragalactic diffuse emission	302	(1)
Faint sources	303	(2)
Tracers of exotic Physics ?	305	(1)
Broader picture and future perspective	306	(5)
Multifrequency strategies for the identification of gamma-ray sources	311	(34)
Reshmi Mukherjee
Jules Halpern
Introduction and historical overview	311	(7)
EGRET source sensitivity	313	(1)
Source distributions of the unidentified sources	314	(1)
Counterpart searches - challenges in the identification process	315	(2)
The multiwavelength approach	317	(1)
Blazars and EGRET unidentified sources	318	(6)
A Blazar counterpart for 3EG J2016+3657	318	(1)
3EG J2027+3429: Another blazar behind the Galactic plane?	319	(2)
3EG J2006-2321: A blazar with a weak radio flux	321	(1)
Blazars in the northern sky	322	(2)
Blazars in the southern sky	324	(1)
EGRET sources and radio galaxies	324	(2)
3EG J1621+8203: The radio galaxy NGC 6251?	325	(1)
3EG J1735-1500: Another new radio galaxy	326	(1)
Radio quiet isolated neutron stars	326	(5)
The case of 3EG J1835+5918	326	(3)
Other neutron star candidates	329	(2)
Young pulsar candidates	331	(4)
3EG J2021+3716: The young radio pulsar PSR J2021+3651	331	(1)
The case of 3EG J2227+6122	332	(3)
Other source classes	335	(2)
Studies of EGRET unidentified sources at TeV energies	337	(8)
Summary and future directions	340	(5)
Future ground-based TeV gamma-ray telescopes	345	(16)
T.C. Weekes
Detection technique	346	(1)
Observational status	347	(4)
Existing telescopes	350	(1)
The next generation of imaging telescopes	351	(6)
Single telescopes	351	(1)
Arrays	352	(5)
Future prospects	357	(1)
Acknowledgements	358	(3)
GLAST: Understanding the high energy gamma-ray sky	361	(36)
Julie E. McEnergy
Igor V. Moskalenko
Jonathan F. Ormes
Instrument description	363	(7)
Hardware	363	(3)
Instrument capabilities	366	(4)
Prospects: known and potential γ-ray sources	370	(20)
Galactic diffuse γ-ray emission	371	(2)
Pulsars and plerions	373	(4)
Blazars and radio galaxies	377	(4)
Gamma-ray bursts	381	(2)
Extragalactic diffuse emission	383	(3)
Supernova remnants and cosmic-ray acceleration sites	386	(3)
Galaxy clusters	389	(1)
Conclusions	390	(7)
Author Index	397	(2)
Object Index	399