Difficulties with the interpretation of underground muons from Cygnus X-3
The possibility of explaining the underground muon flux observed from the direction of Cygnus X-3 in terms of new particles (cygnets) is discussed. Constraints are obtained on the cygnet's properties: the lifetime tau>1.3 x 10/sup 6/(GAMMA/10/sup 6/) sec, where GAMMA is the cygnet Lorentz factor, the mass m<5.7(E/100 TeV) GeV, where E is the cygnet energy, the electric charge Q<2 x 10/sup -7/e, and the mean scattering angle (due to an arbitrary process) on the way from Cygnus X-3 to the Sun theta<4 x 10/sup -3/ deg. It is shown that the NUSEX data (the angular spread of the muons arriving in the 10/sup 0/ x 10/sup 0/ observation region and the dependence of the Cygnus X-3 exposure time on the depth of the matter along the line of sight) are in conflict with muon generation in the atmosphere and require muon generation in the ground. These data determine a narrow range for the cygnet-nucleon interaction cross section: 2<10 ..mu..b. The bound on the flux of underground muons generated by neutrinos leads to a lower bound on the cross section for cygnet production in the reaction pp..-->..CX: sigma(pp ..-->..CX) >10(E/sub C//1 TeV)/sup 1.1/ ..mu..b, where E/sub C/ is the energy of cygnets responsible for the muon flux seen by the NUSEX detector. Barring very exotic circumstances, a particle with these properties should have been observed in the beam-dump experiment.
- Research Organization:
- Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, State Commission on Use of Atomic Energy
- OSTI ID:
- 6495747
- Journal Information:
- Sov. J. Nucl. Phys. (Engl. Transl.); (United States), Vol. 45:1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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GENERAL PHYSICS
COSMIC MUONS
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COSMIC RAY FLUX
COSMIC X-RAY SOURCES
POSTULATED PARTICLES
COSMIC RADIATION
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IONIZING RADIATIONS
LEPTONS
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RADIATION FLUX
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640101* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Cosmic Radiation