Nuclear de-excitation lines as a probe of low-energy cosmic rays

Abstract

Low-energy cosmic rays (LECRs) contribute substantially to the energy balance of the interstellar medium. They play also significant role in the heating and chemistry of gas, and, consequently, on the star formation process. Because of the slow propagation coupled with enhanced energy losses of subrelativistic particles, LECRs are concentrated around their acceleration sites. LECRs effectively interact with the ambient gas through nuclear reactions. Although these processes are energetically less effective compared to heating and ionization, they are extremely important from the point of view of nuclear de-excitation lines, which carry unique information about LECRs. We present results on production of de-excitation lines combining the numerical treatment of nuclear reactions using the code TALYS, with the propagation and energy losses of LECRs.

Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

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• New Constraints on Cosmic Particle Populations at the Galactic Center using X-ray Observations of the Molecular Cloud Sagittarius B2
• New estimation of the nuclear de-excitation line emission from the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A
• Probable evidence for a transient mega-electron volt emission line in the GRB 221023A
• Line profile of nuclear de-excitation gamma-ray emission from very hot plasma
• Constraining the low-energy cosmic ray flux in the central molecular zone from MeV nuclear deexcitation line observations
• Nuclear de-excitation line emissions from giant molecular clouds
• Low-Energy Cosmic Rays and Associated MeV Gamma-Ray Emissions in the Protoplanetary System