High-energy particle acceleration in the shell of a supernova remnant

A significant fraction of the energy density of the interstellar medium is in the form of high-energy charged particles (cosmic rays). The origin of these particles remains uncertain. Although it is generally accepted that the only sources capable of supplying the energy required to accelerate the bulk of Galactic cosmic rays are supernova explosions, and even though the mechanism of particle acceleration in expanding supernova remnant (SNR) shocks is thought to be well understood theoretically, unequivocal evidence for the production of high-energy particles in supernova shells has proven remarkably hard to find. Here we report on observations of the SNR RX J1713.7 - 3946 (G347.3 - 0.5), which was discovered by ROSAT in the X-ray spectrum and later claimed as a source of high-energy gamma-rays of TeV energies (1 TeV = 10(12) eV). We present a TeV gamma-ray image of the SNR: the spatially resolved remnant has a shell morphology similar to that seen in X-rays, which demonstrates that very-high-energy particles are accelerated there. The energy spectrum indicates efficient acceleration of charged particles to energies beyond 100 TeV, consistent with current ideas of particle acceleration in young SNR shocks.     

The acceleration of cosmic-ray protons in the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946

Protons with energies up to approximately 10(15) eV are the main component of cosmic rays, but evidence for the specific locations where they could have been accelerated to these energies has been lacking. Electrons are known to be accelerated to cosmic-ray energies in supernova remnants, and the shock waves associated with such remnants, when they hit the surrounding interstellar medium, could also provide the energy to accelerate protons. The signature of such a process would be the decay of pions (pi(0)), which are generated when the protons collide with atoms and molecules in an interstellar cloud: pion decay results in gamma-rays with a particular spectral-energy distribution. Here we report the observation of cascade showers of optical photons resulting from gamma-rays at energies of approximately 10(12) eV hitting Earth's upper atmosphere, in the direction of the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946. The spectrum is a good match to that predicted by pion decay, and cannot be explained by other mechanisms.     

Supernova--remnant origin of cosmic rays?

It is thought that Galactic cosmic-ray nuclei are gradually accelerated to high energies (up to about 300 TeV per nucleon, where 1 TeV is 10(12) eV) in the expanding shock waves connected with the remnants of powerful supernova explosions. However, this conjecture has eluded direct observational confirmation since it was first proposed in 1953 (ref. 3). Enomoto et al. claim to have finally found definitive evidence that corroborates this model, proposing that very-high-energy, TeV-range, gamma-rays from the supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7-3946 are due to the interactions of energetic nuclei in this region. Here we argue that their claim is not supported by the existing multiwavelength spectrum of this source. The search for the origin(s) of Galactic cosmic-ray nuclei may be closing in on the long-suspected supernova-remnant sources, but it is not yet over.     

Discovery of very-high-energy gamma-rays from the Galactic Centre ridge

The source of Galactic cosmic rays (with energies up to 10(15) eV) remains unclear, although it is widely believed that they originate in the shock waves of expanding supernova remnants. At present the best way to investigate their acceleration and propagation is by observing the gamma-rays produced when cosmic rays interact with interstellar gas. Here we report observations of an extended region of very-high-energy (> 10(11) eV) gamma-ray emission correlated spatially with a complex of giant molecular clouds in the central 200 parsecs of the Milky Way. The hardness of the gamma-ray spectrum and the conditions in those molecular clouds indicate that the cosmic rays giving rise to the gamma-rays are likely to be protons and nuclei rather than electrons. The energy associated with the cosmic rays could have come from a single supernova explosion around 10(4) years ago.     

An asymmetric solar wind termination shock

Voyager 2 crossed the solar wind termination shock at 83.7 au in the southern hemisphere, approximately 10 au closer to the Sun than found by Voyager 1 in the north. This asymmetry could indicate an asymmetric pressure from an interstellar magnetic field, from transient-induced shock motion, or from the solar wind dynamic pressure. Here we report that the intensity of 4-5 MeV protons accelerated by the shock near Voyager 2 was three times that observed concurrently by Voyager 1, indicating differences in the shock at the two locations. (Companion papers report on the plasma, magnetic field, plasma-wave and lower energy particle observations at the shock.) Voyager 2 did not find the source of anomalous cosmic rays at the shock, suggesting that the source is elsewhere on the shock or in the heliosheath. The small intensity gradient of Galactic cosmic ray helium indicates that either the gradient is further out in the heliosheath or the local interstellar Galactic cosmic ray intensity is lower than expected.     

Enhancements of energetic particles near the heliospheric termination shock

The spacecraft Voyager 1 is at a distance greater than 85 au from the Sun, in the vicinity of the termination shock that marks the abrupt slowing of the supersonic solar wind and the beginning of the extended and unexplored distant heliosphere. This shock is expected to accelerate 'anomalous cosmic rays', as well as to re-accelerate Galactic cosmic rays and low-energy particles from the inner Solar System. Here we report a significant increase in the numbers of energetic ions and electrons that persisted for seven months beginning in mid-2002. This increase differs from any previously observed in that there was a simultaneous increase in Galactic cosmic ray ions and electrons, anomalous cosmic rays and low-energy ions. The low-intensity level and spectral energy distribution of the anomalous cosmic rays, however, indicates that Voyager 1 still has not reached the termination shock. Rather, the observed increase is an expected precursor event. We argue that the radial anisotropy of the cosmic rays is expected to be small in the foreshock region, as is observed.     

Voyager 1 exited the solar wind at a distance of approximately 85 Au from the Sun

The outer limit of the Solar System is often considered to be at the distance from the Sun where the solar wind changes from supersonic to subsonic flow. Theory predicts that a termination shock marks this boundary, with locations ranging from a few to over 100 au (1 Au approximately 1.5 x 10(8) km, the distance from Earth to the Sun). 'Pick-up ions' that originate as interstellar neutral atoms should be accelerated to tens of MeV at the termination shock, generating anomalous cosmic rays. Here we report a large increase in the intensity of energetic particles in the outer heliosphere, as measured by an instrument on the Voyager 1 spacecraft. We argue that the spacecraft exited the supersonic solar wind and passed into the subsonic region (possibly beyond the termination shock) on about 1 August 2002 at a distance of approximately 85 Au (heliolatitude approximately 34 degrees N), then re-entered the supersonic solar wind about 200 days later at approximately 87 au from the Sun. We show that the composition of the ions accelerated at the putative termination shock is that of anomalous cosmic rays and of interstellar pick-up ions.     

高能宇宙线C,N和O的反常同位素的解释

近期观测和理论表明,宇宙线可源于类太阳恒星,且在星际空间中有净能量增益,由此,本文提出了在太阳域内用厚板模型,在星际介质中用泄漏箱模型描述的传播模型,可以解释实验观测到的高能宇宙线C、N和O的同位素反常。     

Fast acceleration of “killer” electrons and energetic ions by interplanetary shock stimulated ULF waves in the inner magnetosphere

Energetic electrons and ions in the Van Allen radiation belt are the number one space weather threat. Understanding how these energetic particles are accelerated within the Van Allen radiation belt is one of the major challenges in space physics. This paper reviews the recent progress on the fast acceleration of "killer" electrons and energetic ions by ultralow frequency (ULF) waves stimulated by the interplanetary shock in the inner magnetosphere. Very low frequency (VLF) wave-particle interaction is considered to be one of the primary electron acceleration mechanisms because electron cyclotron resonances can easily occur in the VLF frequency range. Recently, using four Cluster spacecraft observations, we have found that, after interplanetary shocks impact the Earth’s magnetosphere, energetic electrons in the radiation belt are accelerated almost immediately and continue to accelerate for a few hours. The time scale (a few days) for traditional acceleration mechanisms, based on VLF wave-particle interactions to accelerate electrons to relativistic energies, is too long to explain our observations. Furthermore, we have found that interplanetary shocks or solar wind pressure pulses, with even small dynamic pressure changes, can play a non-negligible role in radiation belt dynamics. Interplanetary shocks interaction with the Earth’s magnetosphere manifests many fundamental space physics phenomena including energetic particle acceleration. The mechanism of fast acceleration of energetic electrons in the radiation belt responding to interplanetary shock impacts consists of three contributing parts: (1) the initial adiabatic acceleration due to strong shock-related magnetic field compression; (2) followed by the drift-resonant acceleration with poloidal ULF waves excited at different L-shells; and (3) particle acceleration due to the quickly damping electric fields associated with ULF waves. Particles end up with a net acceleration because they gain more energy in the first half of this cycle than they lose in the second. The results reported in this paper cast a new light on understanding the acceleration of energetic particles in the Earth’s Van Allen radiation belt. The results of this study can likewise be applied to interplanetary shock interaction with other planets such as Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and other astrophysical objects with magnetic fields.     

LHAASO实验中宇宙线次级粒子特性的模拟研究

高海拔宇宙线观测站(LHAASO)位于四川稻城海子山,海拔约4400 m,该实验采用多种手段,对进入大气层的宇宙线粒子进行精确的复合测量.高海拔区域,雷暴天气频繁,广延大气簇射中宇宙线次级粒子的数目、方向和能量都会受到雷暴电场的影响.本文利用Monte Carlo方法,模拟了宇宙线原初粒子进入大气层后的广延大气簇射过程,研究了次级粒子中光子、电子、μ子的纵向分布、横向分布和能量分布.结果表明,在LHAASO探测面,电子的数目比μ子多2～3倍、μ子横向分布范围比电子宽广、μ子的能量比电子大.若在雷暴期间,大气电场对电子(质量小、数目多)的影响将会更加明显.本工作对研究雷暴电场加速宇宙线次级带电粒子的物理机制具有重要意义,同时为理解地面实验的观测现象提供有用信息.     

超新星遗迹与分子云作用的多波段研究

超新星遗迹与分子云的物理作用,与当前超新星遗迹领域一些热门问题如热混合型X射线形态、高温气体的过电离现象、遗迹伽玛射线的强子辐射等等密切相关,特别是它已成为检视超新星遗迹加速宇宙线的上佳探针.这篇综述介绍了上述问题的相关研究和最新进展,其中重点介绍了我们的有关工作,如遗迹与分子云作用判据的归纳、分子谱线观测分析、反弹激波机制的引入、对过电离现象的率先解释、强子伽玛射线辐射＂逃逸质子的累积性扩散模型＂的建立等.     

An 84-microG magnetic field in a galaxy at redshift z = 0.692

The magnetic field pervading our Galaxy is a crucial constituent of the interstellar medium: it mediates the dynamics of interstellar clouds, the energy density of cosmic rays, and the formation of stars. The field associated with ionized interstellar gas has been determined through observations of pulsars in our Galaxy. Radio-frequency measurements of pulse dispersion and the rotation of the plane of linear polarization, that is, Faraday rotation, yield an average value for the magnetic field of B approximately 3 microG (ref. 2). The possible detection of Faraday rotation of linearly polarized photons emitted by high-redshift quasars suggests similar magnetic fields are present in foreground galaxies with redshifts z > 1. As Faraday rotation alone, however, determines neither the magnitude nor the redshift of the magnetic field, the strength of galactic magnetic fields at redshifts z > 0 remains uncertain. Here we report a measurement of a magnetic field of B approximately 84 microG in a galaxy at z = 0.692, using the same Zeeman-splitting technique that revealed an average value of B = 6 microG in the neutral interstellar gas of our Galaxy. This is unexpected, as the leading theory of magnetic field generation, the mean-field dynamo model, predicts large-scale magnetic fields to be weaker in the past rather than stronger.     

Progress in multi-waveband observations of supernova remnants

The development of observational techniques has enriched our knowledge of supernova remnants. In this paper, we review the main progresses in the last decade, including new discoveries of supernova remnants and the associated （rare type of） pulsars, nucleosynthesis, the interaction between supernova remnants and molecular clouds, dust in the supernova remnants, shock physics, and cosmic ray accelerations.     

Galactic cosmic ray origin of Li, Be and B in stars

A study of the implications of the hypothesis that high energy processes involving cosmic rays acting on the interstellar medium are the sources of the elements Li, Be and B present in stellar atmospheres and in the solar system.     

追踪宇宙“信使”冲击世纪谜题——高海拔宇宙线观测站简介

 宇宙线的研究具有悠久的历史,取得了许多划时代的发现性成果。但是人类对宇宙线的起源、加速和传播等问题仍存在诸多疑惑。大型高海拔空气簇射观测站（LHAASO）独具高海拔和大规模优势,计划利用多种探测手段开展联合观测,大幅提升对伽马和宇宙线粒子的鉴别能力。LHAASO有望获得史上最高的伽玛探测灵敏度,并在很宽的能量范围内精确测量宇宙线能谱,为宇宙线物理、高能天体物理、宇宙学和新物理学规律研究做出贡献。介绍了LHAASO的探测器结构、性能优势和科学目标。     

两种物态方程下铁核塌缩型超新星爆发机制的数值模拟

【目的】物态方程对铁核塌缩型超新星爆发过程中铁核塌缩、激波产生及其传播等都将产生影响。为了探索对超新星爆发机制解释更合理的物态方程,对比分析2种物态方程对铁核塌缩型超新星爆发的影响。【方法】以新前身星模型数据作为输入参量,分别采用Lattimer等(LS物态方程)和王贻仁等(W物态方程)提出的物态方程,对不同初始质量的铁核塌缩型超新星的爆发过程进行数值模拟,并对比分析模拟结果。【结果】在LS物态方程下,铁核塌缩结束时恒星的中心密度最高只达到核密度的1.5倍,且得到的同模区偏小,中微子的能量损失较大,这使激波在向外传播过程中损失了较多能量,不利于解释超新星的成功爆发。【结论】W物态方程更能合理解释超新星的成功爆发。     

Supernova explosions in the Universe

During the lifetime of our Milky Way galaxy, there have been something like 100 million supernova explosions, which have enriched the Galaxy with the oxygen we breathe, the iron in our cars, the calcium in our bones and the silicon in the rocks beneath our feet. These exploding stars also influence the birth of new stars and are the source of the energetic cosmic rays that irradiate us on the Earth. The prodigious amount of energy (approximately 10(51), or approximately 2.5 x 10(28) megatonnes of TNT equivalent) and momentum associated with each supernova may even have helped to shape galaxies as they formed in the early Universe. Supernovae are now being used to measure the geometry of the Universe, and have recently been implicated in the decades-old mystery of the origin of the gamma-ray bursts. Together with major conceptual advances in our theoretical understanding of supernovae, these developments have made supernovae the centre of attention in astrophysics.     

Discovery of X-rays from the protostellar outflow object HH2

Herbig-Haro (HH) objects have been known for 50 years to be luminous condensations of gas in star-forming regions, but their underlying physical nature is still being elucidated. Previously suggested models encompass newborn stars, stellar winds clashing with nebular material, dense pockets of interstellar gas excited by shocks from outflows, and interstellar 'bullets' (ref. 6). Recent progress has been made with the jet-induced shock model, in which material streams out of young stellar objects and collides with the surrounding interstellar medium. A clear prediction of this model is that the most energetic Herbig-Haro objects will emit X-rays, although they have not hitherto been detected. Here we report the discovery of X-ray emission from one of the brightest and closest Herbig-Haro objects, HH2, at a level consistent with the model predictions. We conclude that this Herbig-Haro object contains shock-heated material located at or near its leading edge with a temperature of about 106 K.     

The knee at cosmic ray spectra is explained due to interactions at the sources

In the paper the authors from the Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing proposed a new model trying to explain the knee at cosmic ray spectra. The knee kept as a puzzle in cosmic ray physics for nearly half a century. The work was inspired by the recent observation of anomalous excess of electrons and positrons in cosmic rays. The work tries to explain the knee and the electron/positron excess in a single model.......     

An absence of neutrinos associated with cosmic-ray acceleration in γ-ray bursts

Very energetic astrophysical events are required to accelerate cosmic rays to above 10(18)?electronvolts. GRBs (γ-ray bursts) have been proposed as possible candidate sources. In the GRB 'fireball' model, cosmic-ray acceleration should be accompanied by neutrinos produced in the decay of charged pions created in interactions between the high-energy cosmic-ray protons and γ-rays. Previous searches for such neutrinos found none, but the constraints were weak because the sensitivity was at best approximately equal to the predicted flux. Here we report an upper limit on the flux of energetic neutrinos associated with GRBs that is at least a factor of 3.7 below the predictions. This implies either that GRBs are not the only sources of cosmic rays with energies exceeding 10(18)?electronvolts or that the efficiency of neutrino production is much lower than has been predicted.