Cosmic ray knee and diffuse {gamma}, e{sup +} and p-bar fluxes from collisions of cosmic rays with dark matter
- CAFPE and Departamento de Fisica Teorica y del Cosmos, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada (Spain)
In models with extra dimensions the fundamental scale of gravity M{sub D} could be of the order of TeV. In that case the interaction cross section between a cosmic proton of energy E and a dark matter particle {chi} will grow fast with E for center-of-mass energies {radical}(2m{sub {chi}}E) above M{sub D}, and it could reach 1 mbarn at E Almost-Equal-To 10{sup 9} GeV. We show that these gravity-mediated processes would break the proton and produce a diffuse flux of particles/antiparticles, while boosting {chi} with a fraction of the initial proton energy. We find that the expected cross sections and dark matter densities are not enough to produce an observable asymmetry in the flux of the most energetic (extragalactic) cosmic rays. However, we propose that unsuppressed TeV interactions may be the origin of the knee observed in the spectrum of galactic cosmic rays. The knee would appear at the energy threshold for the interaction of dark matter particles with cosmic protons trapped in the galaxy by Micro-Sign G magnetic fields, and it would imply a well-defined flux of secondary antiparticles and TeV gamma rays.
- OSTI ID:
- 22156833
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2008, Issue 12; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1475-7516
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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