An upper limit on the cosmic-ray luminosity of individual sources from gamma-ray observations
- Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio (IAFE), CONICET-UBA (Argentina)
Different types of extragalactic objects are known to produce TeV gamma-rays. Some of these objects are the most probable candidates to accelerate cosmic rays up to 10{sup 20} eV. It is very well known that gamma-rays can be produced as a result of the cosmic ray propagation through the intergalactic medium. These gamma-rays contribute to the total flux observed in the direction of the source. In this paper we propose a new method to derive an upper limit on the cosmic-ray luminosity of an individual source based on the measured upper limit on the integral flux of GeV-TeV gamma-rays. We show how it is possible to calculate an upper limit on the cosmic-ray luminosity of a particular source and we explore the parameter space in which the current GeV-TeV gamma-ray measurements can offer a useful determination. We study in detail two particular sources, Pictor A and NGC 7469, and we calculate the upper limit on the proton luminosity of each source based on the upper limit on the integral gamma-ray flux measured by the H.E.S.S. telescopes.
- OSTI ID:
- 22369868
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2013, 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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