Very High Energy Cosmic Gamma Radiation : A Crucial Window on the Extreme Universe

by Aharonian, Felix A.

• ISBN13: 9789810245733
• ISBN10: 9810245734
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-10-01
• Publisher: World Scientific Pub Co Inc

Summary

Gamma ray astronomy, the branch of high energy astrophysics that studies the sky in energetic A?gammaA"-ray photons, is destined to play a crucial role in the exploration of nonthermal phenomena in the Universe in their most extreme and violent forms.
This book presents the motivations and highlights the principal objectives of the field, as well as demonstrates its intrinsic links to other branches of high energy astrophysics. Preference is given to three topical areas: (i) origin of cosmic rays: (ii) physics and astrophysics of relativistic jets: (iii) observational gamma ray cosmology. Also, a significant part of the book is devoted to the discussion of the principal mechanisms of production and absorption of energetic A?gammaA"-rays in different astrophysical environments, as well as to the description of the detection methods of high energy cosmic A?gammaA"- radiation.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. v
Introduction	p. 1
"The Last Electromagnetic Window"	p. 1
Energy Domains of Gamma Ray Astronomy	p. 4
Gamma Ray Astronomy: A Discipline in Its Own Right	p. 7
Status of the Field	p. 23
Low Energy Gamma Ray Sources	p. 24
The COMPTEL source catalog	p. 25
High Energy Gamma Ray Sources	p. 31
GeV blazars	p. 34
GeV pulsars	p. 36
Unidentified EGRET sources	p. 39
The Status of Ground-Based Gamma Ray Astronomy	p. 42
Brief historical review	p. 42
Reported TeV sources	p. 46
The Crab Nebula	p. 47
Other plerions	p. 51
Gamma ray pulsars	p. 54
Gamma rays from supernova remnants	p. 54
Other galactic sources	p. 63
TeV blazars	p. 67
Other extragalactic objects	p. 79
Next generation of IACT arrays	p. 83
Atmospheric Cherenkov radiation	p. 83
Stereoscopic detection of Cherenkov images	p. 84
IACT arrays	p. 87
Sub-10 GeV ground based detectors?	p. 90
Large field-of-view detectors	p. 95
IACT arrays for probing PeV [gamma]-rays	p. 96
Gamma Ray Production and Absorption Mechanisms	p. 99
Interactions with Matter	p. 100
Electron bremsstrahlung and pair-production	p. 101
Electron-positron annihilation	p. 105
Gamma rays produced by relativistic protons	p. 106
[pi superscript 0]-decay gamma rays	p. 106
Nuclear gamma ray line emission	p. 110
Interactions with Photon Fields	p. 112
Inverse Compton scattering	p. 113
Photon-photon pair production	p. 117
Interactions of hadrons with radiation fields	p. 121
Interactions with Magnetic Fields	p. 123
Synchrotron radiation and pair-production	p. 123
Synchrotron radiation of protons	p. 126
Relativistic Electron-Photon Cascades	p. 130
Gamma Rays and Origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays	p. 135
Origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays: General Remarks	p. 135
What do we know about Cosmic Rays?	p. 135
What we do not know about Cosmic Rays?	p. 137
Common beliefs and "nasty" problems	p. 140
Searching for sites of production of GCRs	p. 143
Giant Molecular Clouds as Tracers of Cosmic Ray	p. 147
Proton fluxes in the ISM near the accelerator	p. 149
Impulsive source	p. 149
Continuous source	p. 151
The case of dense gas regions	p. 154
Gamma rays from a cloud near the accelerator	p. 155
Accelerator inside the cloud	p. 159
On the level of the "sea" of galactic cosmic rays	p. 161
Probing the Sources of VHE CR Electrons	p. 165
Distributions of VHE electrons	p. 166
Extended regions of IC gamma radiation	p. 168
Diffuse Radiation from the Galactic Disk	p. 173
CR spectra in the inner Galaxy	p. 174
Diffuse radiation associated with cosmic ray electrons	p. 177
IC gamma rays	p. 177
Electron bremsstrahlung	p. 181
Annihilation of CR positrons in flight	p. 182
Gamma rays of nucleonic origin	p. 183
Overall gamma ray fluxes	p. 185
Probing the diffuse [gamma]-ray background on small scales	p. 189
Concluding remarks	p. 195
Gamma Ray Visibility of Supernova Remnants	p. 199
Gamma Rays as a Diagnostic Tool	p. 199
Inverse Compton Versus [pi superscript 0]-Decay Gamma Rays	p. 205
Synchrotron X-ray Emission of SNRs	p. 208
TeV Gamma Radiation of SN 1006 and Similar SNRs	p. 209
Inverse Compton models of TeV emission	p. 209
Hadronic origin of TeV emission?	p. 215
Distinct features of electronic and hadronic models	p. 217
Concluding remarks	p. 219
Molecular Clouds Overtaken by SNRs	p. 220
Bremsstrahlung X-rays from [gamma] Cygni	p. 223
The case of RX J1713.7-3946	p. 225
A Special Case: Gamma Rays from Cassiopeia A	p. 231
"PeV SNRs"	p. 238
Pulsars, Pulsar Winds, Plerions	p. 243
Magnetospheric Gamma Rays	p. 244
Polar cap versus outer gap models	p. 247
Magnetospheric TeV gamma rays?	p. 251
Gamma Rays from Unshocked Pulsar Winds	p. 253
Characteristics of the KED wind	p. 254
The ejection rate and the particle spectrum	p. 255
IC Radiation of the pulsar wind in Crab	p. 256
Gamma rays from winds of PSR B1706-44 and Vela?	p. 261
IC [gamma]-rays from the binary pulsar PSR B1259-63	p. 265
Gamma Rays from Pulsar Driven Nebulae	p. 268
Broad-band nonthermal radiation of the Crab Nebula	p. 268
Synchrotron and IC radiation	p. 270
Second High Energy Synchrotron Component	p. 273
Bremsstrahlung and [pi superscript 0]-decay gamma rays?	p. 275
The objectives of future gamma ray studies	p. 278
High Energy Gamma Rays from Other Plerions	p. 281
Time-evolution of electrons	p. 283
Target photon fields	p. 284
Effects of B-field, electron energy, and pulsar age	p. 286
Synchrotron and IC nebulae around PSR B1706-44	p. 289
Gamma Rays Expected from Microquasars	p. 293
Do We Expect Gamma Rays from X-Ray Binaries?	p. 293
Nonthermal Phenomena in Microquasars	p. 295
Modelling of Radio Flares of GRS 1915+105	p. 301
Expected Gamma Ray Fluxes	p. 304
Searching for Gamma Ray Signals from Microquasars	p. 309
The Case of Microblazars	p. 311
Ultraluminous Sources as Microblazars?	p. 313
Persistent Gamma Ray Emission from Extended Lobes	p. 317
Large Scale Jets of Radio Galaxies and Quasars	p. 321
Synchrotron and IC Models of Large Scale AGN Jets	p. 323
Ultra High Energy Protons in Jets	p. 327
Secondary electrons	p. 327
Synchrotron radiation of protons	p. 330
Pictor A, PKS 0637-752, and 3C 120	p. 332
The case of 3C 273	p. 339
Large Scale Jets Powered by Gamma Rays	p. 347
Concluding Remarks	p. 354
Nonthermal Phenomena in Clusters of Galaxies	p. 359
Nonthermal Particles and Magnetic Fields	p. 359
Inverse Compton and Bremsstrahlung Models	p. 364
Inverse Compton models	p. 364
Nonrelativistic bremsstrahlung	p. 368
Synchrotron X- and [gamma]-rays of "Photonic" Origin?	p. 369
Nonthermal Radiation Components Associated with Very High and Extremely High Energy Protons	p. 378
High energy radiation from cores of clusters	p. 379
Detectability of gamma rays	p. 384
Detectability of X-rays	p. 386
Nonthermal radiation beyond the cluster cores	p. 388
Weak magnetic field	p. 389
Intermediate magnetic field	p. 390
Strong magnetic field	p. 390
TeV Blazars and Cosmic Background Radiation	p. 393
Cosmic Infrared Background Radiation	p. 394
Intergalactic Absorption of Gamma Rays	p. 397
TeV Blazars	p. 399
Leptonic Models of TeV Blazars	p. 402
Constraints on the SSC parameter space	p. 404
Time-dependent SSC treatment	p. 409
The case of 1ES 1426+428	p. 415
Hadronic Models	p. 417
Mass-loaded hadronic jet models	p. 418
Photo-pion and synchrotron losses of protons	p. 419
Proton synchrotron models	p. 422
Fitting the TeV spectrum of Mkn 501	p. 423
X-rays from secondary electrons	p. 425
Broad band SED of 1ES 1426+428 within the proton-synchrotron model	p. 427
"IR background-TeV Gamma Ray Crisis"?	p. 432
High Energy Gamma Rays--Carriers of Unique Cosmological Information	p. 437
Probing DEBRA Through [gamma]-Ray Absorption Features	p. 437
The Effect of Cascading in the CIB	p. 447
Pair Halos as Unique Cosmological Candles	p. 450
Diffuse Extragalactic Background as Calorimetric Measure of the VHE Emissivity of the Universe	p. 460
Spherically symmetric diffusion from a single source	p. 463
Evolution of relativistic electrons in an expanding magnetised medium	p. 465
Kinetic equation	p. 465
Time-independent energy losses	p. 467
Expanding cloud	p. 470
Bibliography	p. 473
Index	p. 493
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