Probing the Extragalactic Cosmic Rays origin with gamma-ray and neutrino backgrounds

Abstract

GeV-TeV gamma-rays and PeV-EeV neutrino backgrounds provide a unique window on the nature of the ultra-high-energy cosmic-rays (UHECRs). We discuss the implications of the recent Fermi-LAT data regarding the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB) and related estimates of the contribution of point sources as well as IceCube neutrino data on the origin of the UHECRs. We calculate the diffuse flux of cosmogenic $\gamma$-rays and neutrinos produced by the UHECRs and derive constraints on the possible cosmological evolution of UHECR sources. In particular, we show that the mixed-composition scenario considered in \citet{Globus2015b}, which is in agreement with both (i) Auger measurements of the energy spectrum and composition up to the highest energies and (ii) the ankle-like feature in the light component detected by KASCADE-Grande, is compatible with both the Fermi-LAT measurements and with current IceCube limits. We also discuss the possibility for future experiments to detect associated cosmogenic neutrinos and further constrain the UHECR models, including possible subdominant UHECR proton sources.

6 pages, 4 figures, accepted without revision in ApJ Letters

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Cited by in corpus (17)

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• Cosmic-Ray and Neutrino Emission from Gamma-Ray Bursts with a Nuclear Cascade
• On the common origin of cosmic rays across the ankle and diffuse neutrinos at the highest energies from low-luminosity Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Constraining the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays across and above the ankle with the spectrum and composition data measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Progress towards characterizing ultrahigh energy cosmic ray sources
• SimProp v2r4: Monte Carlo simulation code for UHECR propagation
• Observing EeV neutrinos through the Earth: GZK and the anomalous ANITA events
• Cosmogenic Neutrinos Through the GRAND Lens Unveil the Nature of Cosmic Accelerators
• Secondary neutrino and gamma-ray fluxes from SimProp and CRPropa
• Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray Source Models: Successes, Challenges and General Predictions
• The hunt for extraterrestrial high-energy neutrino counterparts
• High Energy Cosmic Rays from Fanaroff-Riley Radio Galaxies
• Ultrahigh-energy neutrinos as a probe of espresso-shear acceleration in jets of Centaurus A
• A Hierarchical Shock Model of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays
• Neutrino anisotropy as a probe of extreme astrophysical accelerators