Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to spectral signatures of hadronic PeVatrons with application to Galactic Supernova Remnants

Journal Article · Fri Mar 24 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Astroparticle Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2023.102850· OSTI ID:2423210

Acero, F. ^[1]; Acharyya, A.; Adam, R.; Aguasca-Cabot, A.; Agudo, I.; Aguirre-Santaella, A.; Alfaro, J.; Aloisio, R.; Crespo, N. Álvarez; Batista, R. Alves; Amati, L.; Amato, E.; Ambrosi, G.; Angüner, E. O.; Aramo, C.; Arcaro, C.; Armstrong, T.; Asano, K.; Ascasibar, Y.; Aschersleben, J. ; Backes, M.; Baktash, A.; Balazs, C.; Balbo, M.; Ballet, J.; Larriva, A. Baquero; Martins, V. Barbosa; de Almeida, U. Barres; Barrio, J. A.; Bastieri, D.; Baxter, J. R.; Tjus, J. Becker; Benbow, W.; Bernardos-Martín, M. I.; Bernete, J.; Berti, A.; Bertucci, B.; Beshley, V.; Bhattacharjee, P.; Bhattacharyya, S.; Biland, A.; Bissaldi, E.; Biteau, J.; Blanch, O.; Bordas, P.; Bottacini, E.; Bregeon, J.; Brose, R.; Bucciantini, N.; Bulgarelli, A.; Capasso, M.; Dolcetta, R.A. Capuzzo; Caraveo, P.; Cardillo, M.; Carosi, R.; Casanova, S.; Cascone, E.; Cassol, F.; Catalani, F.; Cerruti, M.; Chadwick, P.; Chaty, S.; Chen, A.; Chernyakova, M.; Chiavassa, A.; Chudoba, J.; Coimbra-Araujo, C.; Conforti, V.; Contreras, J. L.; Costa, A.; Costantini, H.; Cristofari, P.; Crocker, R.; D’Amico, G.; D’Ammando, F.; De Angelis, A.; De Caprio, V.; de Gouveia Dal Pino, E. M.; de Ona Wilhelmi, E.; de Souza, V.; Delgado, C.; della Volpe, D.; Depaoli, D.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Pierro, F.; Di Tria, R.; Di Venere, L.; Diebold, S.; Djuvsland, J. I.; Donini, A.; Doro, M.; Dos Anjos, R. d.C.; Dwarkadas, V. V.; Einecke, S.; Elsässer, D.; Emery, G.; Evoli, C.; Falceta-Goncalves, D.; Fedorova, E.; Fegan, S.; Ferrand, G.; Fiandrini, E.; Filipovic, M.; Fioretti, V.; Fiori, M.; Foffano, L.; Fontaine, G.; Fukami, S.; Galanti, G.; Galaz, G.; Gammaldi, V.; Gasbarra, C.; Ghalumyan, A.; Ghirlanda, G.; Giarrusso, M.; Giavitto, G.; Giglietto, N.; Giordano, F.; Giroletti, M.; Giuliani, A.; Giunti, L.; Godinovic, N.; Coelho, J. Goulart; Gréaux, L.; Green, D.; Grondin, M. -H.; Gueta, O.; Gunji, S.; Hassan, T.; Heller, M.; Hernández-Cadena, S.; Hinton, J.; Hnatyk, B.; Hnatyk, R.; Hoffmann, D.; Hofmann, W.; Holder, J.; Horan, D.; Horvath, P.; Hrabovsky, M.; Hrupec, D.; Inada, T.; Incardona, F.; Inoue, S.; Ishio, K.; Jamrozy, M.; Janecek, P.; Martínez, I. Jiménez; Jin, W.; Jung-Richardt, I.; Jurysek, J.; Kaaret, P.; Karas, V.; Katz, U.; Kerszberg, D.; Khélifi, B.; Kieda, D. B.; Kissmann, R.; Kleiner, T.; Kluge, G.; Kluzniak, W.; Knödlseder, J.; Kobayashi, Y.; Kohri, K.; Komin, N.; Kornecki, P.; Kubo, H.; La Palombara, N.; Láinez, M.; Lamastra, A.; Lapington, J.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Lenain, J. -P.; Leone, F.; Leto, G.; Leuschner, F.; Lindfors, E.; Liodakis, I.; Lohse, T.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; López-Coto, R.; López-Moya, M.; López-Oramas, A.; Loporchio, S.; Luque-Escamilla, P. L.; Macias, O.; Mackey, J.; Majumdar, P.; Mandat, D.; Manganaro, M.; Manicò, G.; Marconi, M.; Martí, J.; Martínez, G.; Martinez, M.; Martinez, O.; Mello, A. J.T.S.; Menchiari, S.; Meyer, D. M.-A.; Micanovic, S.; Miceli, D.; Miceli, M.; Michalowski, J.; Miener, T.; Miranda, J. M.; Mitchell, A.; Mode, B.; Moderski, R.; Mohrmann, L.; Molina, E.; Montaruli, T.; Morcuende, D.; Morlino, G.; Morselli, A.; Mosè, M.; Moulin, E.; Mukherjee, R.; Munari, K.; Murach, T.; Nagai, A.; Nagataki, S.; Nemmen, R.; Niemiec, J.; Nieto, D.; Rosillo, M. Nievas; Nikolajuk, M.; Nishijima, K.; Noda, K.; Novosyadlyj, B.; Nozaki, S.; Ohishi, M.; Ohm, S.; Ohtani, Y.; Okumura, A.; Olmi, B.; Ong, R. A.; Orienti, M.; Orito, R.; Orlandini, M.; Orlando, E.; Orlando, S.; Ostrowski, M.; Oya, I.; Pantaleo, F. R.; Paredes, J. M.; Patricelli, B.; Pecimotika, M.; Peresano, M.; Pérez-Romero, J.; Persic, M.; Petruk, O.; Piano, G.; Pietropaolo, E.; Pirola, G.; Pittori, C.; Pohl, M.; Ponti, G.; Prandini, E.; Principe, G.; Priyadarshi, C.; Pueschel, E.; Pühlhofer, G.; Pumo, M. L.; Quirrenbach, A.; Rando, R.; Razzaque, S.; Reichherzer, P.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Renaud, M.; Reposeur, T.; Ribó, M.; Richtler, T.; Rico, J.; Rieger, F.; Rigoselli, M.; Riitano, L.; Rizi, V.; Roache, E.; Romano, P.; Romeo, G.; Rosado, J.; Rowell, G.; Rudak, B.; Sadeh, I.; Safi-Harb, S.; Saha, L.; Sailer, S.; Sánchez-Conde, M.; Sarkar, S.; Satalecka, K.; Saturni, F. G.; Scherer, A.; Schovánek, P.; Schussler, F.; Schwanke, U.; Scuderi, S.; Seglar-Arroyo, M.; Sergijenko, O.; Servillat, M.; Shang, R. -Y.; Sharma, P.; Siejkowski, H.; Sliusar, V.; Słowikowska, A.; Sol, H.; Specovius, A.; Spencer, S. T.; Spengler, G.; Stamerra, A.; Stanič, S.; Starecki, T.; Starling, R.; Stolarczyk, T.; Pereira, L.A. Stuani; Suda, Y.; Suomijarvi, T.; Sushch, I.; Tajima, H.; Tam, P. -H.T.; Tanaka, S. J.; Tavecchio, F.; Testa, V.; Tian, W.; Tibaldo, L.; Torres, D. F.; Tothill, N.; Vallage, B.; Vallania, P.; van Eldik, C.; van Scherpenberg, J.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Acosta, M. Vazquez; Vecchi, M.; Vercellone, S.; Verna, G.; Viana, A.; Vignatti, J.; Vitale, V.; Vodeb, V.; Vorobiov, S.; Vuillaume, T.; Wagner, S. J.; Walter, R.; White, M.; Wierzcholska, A.; Will, M.; Williams, D.; Yang, L.; Yoshida, T.; Yoshikoshi, T.; Zaharijas, G.; Zampieri, L.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zhdanov, V. I.; Z̆ivec, M.

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1. Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) (France); Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) (France); et al.

The local Cosmic Ray (CR) energy spectrum exhibits a spectral softening at energies around 3 PeV. Sources which are capable of accelerating hadrons to such energies are called hadronic PeVatrons. However, hadronic PeVatrons have not yet been firmly identified within the Galaxy. Several source classes, including Galactic Supernova Remnants (SNRs), have been proposed as PeVatron candidates. The potential to search for hadronic PeVatrons with the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is assessed. The focus is on the usage of very high energy γ-ray spectral signatures for the identification of PeVatrons. Assuming that SNRs can accelerate CRs up to knee energies, the number of Galactic SNRs which can be identified as PeVatrons with CTA is estimated within a model for the evolution of SNRs. Additionally, the potential of a follow-up observation strategy under moonlight conditions for PeVatron searches is investigated. Statistical methods for the identification of PeVatrons are introduced, and realistic Monte-Carlo simulations of the response of the CTA observatory to the emission spectra from hadronic PeVatrons are performed. Based on simulations of a simplified model for the evolution for SNRs, the detection of a γ-ray signal from in average 9 Galactic PeVatron SNRs is expected to result from the scan of the Galactic plane with CTA after 10 h of exposure. Finally, CTA is also shown to have excellent potential to confirm these sources as PeVatrons in deep observations with $$\mathscr{O}$$ (100) hours of exposure per source.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Contributing Organization: Cherenkov Telescope Array Consortium
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 2423210
• Journal Information: Astroparticle Physics, Journal Name: Astroparticle Physics Vol. 150; ISSN 0927-6505
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
cosmic rays
galactic PeVatrons
gamma rays
supernovae