Speaker
Robert Brose
(Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies)
Description
Supernova remnants are known to accelerate cosmic rays (CRs) on account of their non-thermal emission of radio waves, X-rays, and gamma rays. However, the ability to accelerate CRs up to PeV-energies has yet to be demonstrated. The presence of cut-offs in the gamma-ray spectra of several young SNRs led to the idea that PeV energies might only be achieved during the very initial stages of a remnant’s evolution.
We use the time-dependent acceleration code RATPaC to study the acceleration of cosmic rays in supernovae expanding into dense environments around massive stars, where the plentiful target material might offer a path to the detection of gamma-rays by current and future experiments. We performed spherically symmetric 1-D simulations in which we simultaneously solve the transport equations for cosmic rays, magnetic turbulence, and the hydrodynamical flow of the thermal plasma in the test-particle limit.
We investigated typical parameters of the circumstellar medium (CSM) in the freely expanding winds around red supergiant (RSG) and luminous blue variable (LBV) stars. The maximum achievable energy might be limited to sub-PeV energies: we find a maximum CR energy of 600-700 TeV, reached within one month after explosion for a strong magnetic field in the progenitor’s wind and 100-200 TeV for a weak ambient field.
Primary author
Robert Brose
(Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies)
Co-authors
Dr
Iurii Sushch
(North-West University Potcheftroom)
Dr
Jonathan Mackey
(Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies)
