On the theory of gamma-ray amplification through stimulated annihilation radiation
(Previously announced in STAR as N82-20111)
Ramaty, R.↗
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On the theory of cosmic-ray-mediated shocks with variable compression ratio
Cosmic-ray-mediated shocks may accelerate enough cosmic rays to high enough energies that they escape the shock, carrying an appreciable amount of energy before being convected to downstream infinity. Under such conditions, it is noted, the overall compression ratio cannot be determined from the conservation equations as in conventional hydrodynamic treatments, and the standard equations for shock acceleration admit arbitrarily high compression ratios. A procedure is outlined for obtaining the structure of high Mach number, cosmic-ray-mediated shocks, including their overall compresion ratio, around a low Mach number viscous subshock. Analytic solutions are obtained by quardrature for an energy-dependent diffusion coefficient in the limit of extreme sensitivity to energy, which, unlike previous solutions, include the finite thermal pressure of the preshock gas.
Eichler, D.↗
Relativistic transport theory for cosmic-rays
Various aspects of the transport of cosmic-rays in a relativistically moving magnetized plasma supporting a spectrum of hydromagnetic waves that scatter the cosmic-rays are presented. A local Lorentz frame moving with the waves or turbulence scattering the cosmic-rays is used to specify the individual particle momentum. The comoving frame is in general a noninertial frame in which the observer's volume element is expanding and shearing, geometric energy change terms appear in the cosmic-ray transport equation which consist of the relativistic generalization of the adiabatic deceleration term and a further term involving the acceleration vector of the scatterers. A relativistic version of the pitch angle evolution equation, including the effects of adiabatic focussing, pitch angle scattering, and energy changes is presented.
Webb, G. M.↗
The theory of gamma-ray emergence in supernova 1987A
It was anticipated that the decay of Co-56 to Fe-56 in SN1987A would give rise to detectable gamma-ray emission at 847 and 1238 keV with a peak flux of 0.001 photon/sq cm/s about one year after the explosion. Both these lines were detected in August, with a strength within a factor of two of 0.001 photon/sq cm/s, but about six months earlier than predicted. It is shown here that the early emergence of gamma-rays can be accounted for in a 'mixed' model in which an approximately isotropic process destroys chemical segregation with respect to radial mass coordinate and velocity.
Pinto, Philip A.↗
Observations and theory of X-rays and gamma-rays from radio-quiet Seyferts
Recent oriented scintillation spectrometer experiment (OSSE) observations of sift gamma-ray emission from radio-quiet Seyfert galaxies as well as their theoretical implications are reviewed. For some Seyferts, the OSSE data can be combined with X-ray data from Ginga and ROSAT. Seyfert 1s have intrinsic power-law spectra with approximately 0.9 extending without a break to at least approximately 200 keV. There is some evidence for a break at higher energies. On top of this intrinsic spectrum there is a Compton reflection component, which corresponds to cold matter covering a approximately 2 pi solid angle as seen by the power-law source. Compton reflection is responsible for a hardening of the spectrum in the approximately 5-30 keV range and a softening at approximately 30-200 keV. This spectrum is then abasorbed by a partially ionized external medium. The spectra of Seyfert 2s are marginally consistent with those of Seyfert 1s modified by strong absorption. However, there are indications that their intrinsic X-ray spectra are harder than those of Seyfert 1s. This is in fact the case for NGC 4151, a Seyfert 1.5. The Seyfert spectra integrated over redshift with cosmological evolution can explain the cosmic X-ray background spectrum from 1 to 100 keV.
Zdziuarski, A. A.↗
The physics of cosmic-ray modulation
The theory of the modulation of galactic cosmic rays by the solar wind is reviewed. The basic transport equation is presented, interpreted and then applied to cosmic-ray transport in a model heliosphere immersed in a constant uniform bath of galactic cosmic rays. The results of numerical modeling are presented and the dominant physical effects analyzed. A variety of observational tests of the model which were reported over the last several years are summarized and shown, generally, to support a model in which particle drifts play an important role. Recent measurements which show that the latitudinal gradient of cosmic rays changed sign in the recent sunspot minimum (relative the last sunspot minimum) are shown to provide additional, strong, support for the model. A new picture of the interplanetary magnetic field is presented, which gives promise of improving considerably the agreement between the theory and observations in the few remaining problem areas.
Jokipii, J. R.↗
Nuclear gamma rays from solar flares
The theory of gamma ray line emission from solar flares is reviewed and revised. It is shown that the recently observed (Chupp et al., 1972) line emissions at 0.5, 2.2, 4.4 and 6.1 MeV are due to positron annihilation, deuterium deexcitation following neutron capture on hydrogen, and the deexcitation of excited states in carbon and oxygen. From the observed relative line intensities it is possible to determine the spectrum of accelerated protons in the flare region. This spectrum is found to be very similar to that the charged particles from the flare observed near earth. The total numbers of protons at the sun is deduced from the observed absolute line intensities for various interaction models. It is found that if the protons at the sun have a spectrum which is an exponential in rigidity, the total energy in protons is a few times 10 to the 28th power ergs if the gamma rays are produced by protons moving down into the sun; and about 10 to the 30th power ergs if the gamma rays are produced at the site of the acceleration.
Ramaty, R.↗
Nuclear gamma rays from solar flares
The theory of gamma ray line emission from solar flares is discussed. We emphasize the formation process of the 2.23 MeV and 0.51 MeV lines. We also give estimates of the spectrum and total number of protons in the flare as deduced from the gamma ray observations.
Ramaty, R.↗
Does electromagnetic radiation accelerate galactic cosmic rays
The 'reactor' theories of Tsytovich and collaborators (1973) of cosmic-ray acceleration by electromagnetic radiation are examined in the context of galactic cosmic rays. It is shown that any isotropic synchrotron or Compton reactors with reasonable astrophysical parameters can yield particles with a maximum relativistic factor of only about 10,000. If they are to produce particles with higher relativistic factors, the losses due to inverse Compton scattering of the electromagnetic radiation in them outweigh the acceleration, and this violates the assumptions of the theory. This is a critical restriction in the context of galactic cosmic rays, which have a power-law spectrum extending up to a relativistic factor of 1 million.
Eichler, D.↗
The physical theory of one dimensional galactic cosmic-ray propagation in the atmosphere
An analytical theory of atmospheric cosmic-ray propagation is developed based on a phenomenological model of hadron-nucleus collisions. This model correctly predicts the sea level cosmic-ray nucleon, pion and muon spectra, the cosmic-ray ionization profile in the atmosphere, and neutron flux and density profiles in the atmosphere. It is concluded that the large scale properties of atmospheric cosmic-rays can be accurately predicted on the basis of a nucleonic cascade with all secondaries mediated by pion production. Implications for energy independence of cross sections, the recent 70 GeV results from Serpukhov, and nucleonic relaxation rates in the atmosphere are discussed.
Obrien, K.↗
Ray methods in random media
We review ray-optical methods of analyzing short-wavelength propagation in random media. The advantages and limitations of ray methods are discussed, and results of the statistical theory of ray segment fluctuations pertinent to ray tracing are summarized. The standard method of Monte Carlo ray tracing is compared to a new method which takes into account recent results on the statistics of ray segment fluctuations.
Hornstein, J.↗
On the origin of galactic gamma-rays
Critical review of theories on galactic gamma ray sources in view of recent 21-cm radio observations
Stecker, F. W.↗
Interpretations and implications of gamma ray lines from solar flares, the galactic center in gamma ray transients
Observations and theories of astrophysical gamma ray line emission are reviewed and prospects for future observations by the spectroscopy experiments on the planned Gamma Ray Observatory are discussed.
Ramaty, R.↗
Solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays
The current theory for the solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays is reviewed briefly. The four basic mechanisms which are important for modulation-diffusion, effects associated with the large-scale magnetic field, convection, and energy change - are discussed in simple terms. The equation which describes cosmic-ray behavior in the heliosphere is presented and some sample solutions are considered. It is pointed out that, although the basic mechanisms which describe the cosmic-ray behavior are understood, the actual cause of the variation in the cosmic-ray flux over the solar cycle, or over longer intervals, is beyond current comprehension.
Fisk, L. A.↗
Impact of the magnetic horizon on the interpretation of the Pierre Auger Observatory spectrum and composition data
The flux of ultra-high energy cosmic rays reaching Earth above the ankle energy (5 EeV) can be described as a mixture of nuclei injected by extragalactic sources with very hard spectra and a low rigidity cutoff.Extragalactic magnetic fields existing between the Earth and the closest sources can affect the observed CR spectrum by reducing the flux of low-rigidity particles reaching Earth. We perform a combined fit of the spectrum and distributions of depth of shower maximum measured with the Pierre Auger Observatory including the effect of this magnetic horizon in the propagation of UHECRs in the intergalactic space.We find that, within a specific range of the various experimental and phenomenological systematics, the magnetic horizon effect can be relevant for turbulent magnetic field strengths in the local neighbourhood in which the closest sources lieof order B$_{rms}$ ≃ (50–100) nG (20 Mpc/d$_{s}$)( 100 kpc/L$_{coh}$)$^{1/2}$, with d$_{s}$ the typical intersource separation and L$_{coh}$ the magnetic field coherence length. When this is the case,the inferred slope of the source spectrum becomes softer and can be closer to the expectations of diffusive shock acceleration, i.e., ∝ E$^{-2}$.An additional cosmic-ray population with higher source density and softer spectra, presumably also extragalactic and dominating the cosmic-ray flux at EeV energies, is also required to reproduce the overall spectrum and composition results for all energies down to 0.6 EeV.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Metaplectic geometrical optics for ray-based modeling of caustics: Theory and algorithms
The optimization of radio frequency-wave (RF) systems for fusion experiments is often performed using ray-tracing codes, which rely on the geometrical-optics (GO) approximation. However, GO fails at caustics such as cutoffs and focal points, erroneously predicting the wave intensity to be infinite. This is a critical shortcoming of GO, since the caustic wave intensity is often the quantity of interest, e.g., RF heating. Full-wave modeling can be used instead, but the computational cost limits the speed at which such optimizations can be performed. Here, we have developed a less expensive alternative called metaplectic geometrical optics (MGO). Instead of evolving waves in the usual x (coordinate) or k (spectral) representation, MGO uses a mixed X$\equiv$Ax+Bk representation. By continuously adjusting the matrix coefficients A and B along the rays, one can ensure that GO remains valid in the X coordinates without caustic singularities. The caustic-free result is then mapped back onto the original x space using metaplectic transforms. Here, we overview the MGO theory and review algorithms that will aid the development of an MGO-based ray-tracing code. We show how using orthosymplectic transformations leads to considerable simplifications compared to previously published MGO formulas. We also prove explicitly that MGO exactly reproduces standard GO when evaluated far from caustics (an important property that until now has only been inferred from numerical simulations), and we relate MGO to other semiclassical caustic-removal schemes published in the literature. Finally this discussion is then augmented by an explicit comparison of the computed spectrum for a wave bounded between two cutoffs.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Study of the muon component in the core-corona model using CONEX 3D
The discrepancy between models and data regarding the muon content in air showers generated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays still needs to be solved. The CONEX simulation framework provides a flexible tool to assess the impact of different interaction properties and thus address the muon puzzle. In this work, we present the multidimensional extension of CONEX and show its performance compared to CORSIKA by discussing muon-related air-shower features for three experiments: KASCADE, IceTop, and the Pierre Auger Observatory. We also implement an effective version of the core-corona model to demonstrate the impact of the core effect, as observed at the LHC, on the muon content in air showers produced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. At a primary energy of E$_{0}$ = 10$^{19}$ eV, we obtain an increase of 15% to 20% in the muon content.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗