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arXiv 1206.3907astro-ph.HE
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关于半人马座A方向超高能宇宙射线的过剩

On the excess of ultra-high energy cosmic rays in the direction of Centaurus A

Ruo-Yu Liu, Xiang-Yu Wang, Wei Wang, A. M. Taylor

摘要:

皮埃尔俄歇天文台(PAO)对超高能宇宙射线(UHECR)的后验各向异性研究表明,在射电星系半人马座A的方向上,$18^{\circ}$内存在超过55 EeV的宇宙射线粒子。然而,过剩的根源仍然难以捉摸。我们模拟了来自半人马座A方向的不同种类的粒子在银河磁场中的传播,发现只有核电荷$Z\la 10$的粒子可以避免被偏转到半人马座A的$18^{\circ}$窗口之外。另一方面,考虑到在PAO测量的最高能量下UHECR的成分越来越重,如果它们由中等质量的原子核组成,那么可以发现来自半人马座A方向的宇宙射线的合理情况。宇宙射线的化学成分可以进一步受到具有相同刚性的较低能量宇宙射线的限制。我们发现,宇宙线加速在半人马座A的叶是不赞成的,而在恒星风中的加速,富含中等质量的核,可以满足要求。这表明,观测到的过量可能来自于半人马座A和/或位于半人马座A后面的半人马座星团的恒星形成区的恒星爆炸引起的宇宙射线加速器。

英文摘要:

A posteriori anisotropy study of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) has shown evidence of excess of cosmic ray particles above 55 EeV within $18^{\circ}$ of the direction of the radio galaxy Centaurus A. However, the origin of the excess remains elusive. We simulate the propagation of different species of particles coming from the direction of Centaurus A in the Galactic magnetic fields, and find that only particles of nuclear charge $Z\la 10$ can avoid being deflected outside of the $18^{\circ}$ window of Centaurus A. On the other hand, considering the increasingly heavy composition of UHECRs at the highest energies measured by PAO, a plausible scenario for cosmic rays from the direction of Centaurus A can be found if they consist of intermediate-mass nuclei. The chemical composition of cosmic rays can be further constrained by lower-energy cosmic rays of the same rigidity. We find that cosmic ray acceleration in the lobes of Centaurus A is not favored, while acceleration in the stellar winds that are rich in intermediate-mass nuclei, could meet the requirement. This suggests that the observed excess may originate from cosmic ray accelerators induced by stellar explosions in the star-forming regions of Centaurus A and/or the Centaurus cluster located behind Centaurus A.

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