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Context. The spectrum of cosmic ray protons and electrons released by supernova remnants throughout their evolution is poorly known because of the difficulty in accounting for particle escape and confinement downstream of a shock front, where both adiabatic and radiative losses are present. Since electrons lose energy mainly through synchrotron losses, it is natural to ask whether the spectrum released into the interstellar medium may be different from that of their hadronic counterpart. Independent studies of cosmic ray transport through the Galaxy require that the source spectrum of electrons and protons be very different. Therefore, the above question acquires a phenomenological relevance. Aims. Here we calculate the spectrum of cosmic ray protons released during the evolution of supernovae of different types, accounting for the escape from the upstream region and for adiabatic losses of particles advected downstream of the shock and liberated at later times. The same calculation is carried out for electrons, where in addition to adiabatic losses we take the radiative losses suffered behind the shock into account. These electrons are dominated by synchrotron losses in the magnetic field, which most likely is self-generated by cosmic rays accelerated at the shock. Methods. We use standard temporal evolution relations for supernova shocks expanding in different types of interstellar media together with an analytic description of particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification to determine the density and spectrum of cosmic ray particles. Their evolution in time is derived by numerically solving the equation describing advection with adiabatic and radiative losses for electrons and protons. The flux from particles continuously escaping the supernova remnants is also accounted for. Results. The magnetic field in the post-shock region is calculated by using an analytic treatment of the magnetic field amplification due to nonresonant and resonant streaming instability and their saturation. The resulting field is compared with the available set of observational results concerning the dependence of the magnetic field strength upon shock velocity. We find that when the field is the result of the growth of the cosmic-ray-driven nonresonant instability alone, the spectrum of electrons and protons released by a supernova remnant are indeed different; however, such a difference becomes appreciable only at energies ≳100−1000 GeV, while observations of the electron spectrum require such a difference to be present at energies as low as ∼10 GeV. An effect at such low energies requires substantial magnetic field amplification in the late stages of supernova remnant evolution (shock velocity ≪1000 km s −1 ); this may not be due to streaming instability but rather hydrodynamical processes. We comment on the feasibility of such conditions and speculate on the possibility that the difference in spectral shape between electrons and protons may reflect either some unknown acceleration effect or additional energy losses in cocoons around the sources. 

Type II-P supernovæ (SNe), the most common core-collapse SNe type, result from the explosions of red supergiant stars. Their detection in the radio domain testifies of the presence of relativistic electrons, and shows that they are potentially efficient energetic particle accelerators. If hadrons can also be accelerated, these energetic particles are expected to interact with the surrounding medium to produce a gamma-ray signal even in the multi–TeV range. The intensity of this signal depends on various factors, but an essential one is the density of the circumstellar medium. Such a signal should however be limited by electron–positron pair production arising from the interaction of the gamma-ray photons with optical photons emitted by the supernova photosphere, which can potentially degrade the gamma-ray signal by over ten orders of magnitude in the first days/weeks following the explosion. We calculate the gamma-gamma opacity from a detailed modelling of the time evolution of the forward shock and supernova photosphere, taking a full account of the non-isotropy of the photon interactions. We discuss the time-dependent gamma-ray TeV emission from Type II-P SNe as a function of the stellar progenitor radius and mass-loss rate, as well as the explosion energy and mass of the ejected material. We evaluate the detectability of the SNe with the next generation of Cherenkov telescopes. We find that, while most extragalactic events may be undetectable, Type II-P SNe exploding in our Galaxy or in the Magellanic Clouds should be detected by gamma-ray observatories such as the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array.

 

ABSTRACT Some core-collapse supernovae are likely to be efficient cosmic ray accelerators up to the PeV range, and therefore, to potentially play an important role in the overall Galactic cosmic ray population. The TeV gamma-ray domain can be used to study particle acceleration in the multi-TeV and PeV range. This motivates the study of the detectability of such supernovae by current and future gamma-ray facilities. The gamma-ray emission of core-collapse supernovae strongly depends on the level of the two-photon annihilation process: high-energy gamma-ray photons emitted at the expanding shock wave following the supernova explosion can interact with soft photons from the supernova photosphere through the pair production channel, thereby strongly suppressing the flux of gamma-rays leaving the system. In the case of SN 1993J, whose photospheric and shock-related parameters are well measured, we calculate the temporal evolution of the expected gamma-ray attenuation by accounting for the temporal and geometrical effects. We find the attenuation to be of about 10 orders of magnitude in the first few days after the supernova explosion. The probability of detection of a supernova similar to SN 1993J with the Cherenkov Telescope Array is highest if observations are performed either earlier than 1 d, or later than 10 d after the explosion, when the gamma-ray attenuation decreases to about two orders of magnitude. 

ABSTRACT A deep survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud at ∼0.1–100 TeV photon energies with the Cherenkov Telescope Array is planned. We assess the detection prospects based on a model for the emission of the galaxy, comprising the four known TeV emitters, mock populations of sources, and interstellar emission on galactic scales. We also assess the detectability of 30 Doradus and SN 1987A, and the constraints that can be derived on the nature of dark matter. The survey will allow for fine spectral studies of N 157B, N 132D, LMC P3, and 30 Doradus C, and half a dozen other sources should be revealed, mainly pulsar-powered objects. The remnant from SN 1987A could be detected if it produces cosmic-ray nuclei with a flat power-law spectrum at high energies, or with a steeper index 2.3–2.4 pending a flux increase by a factor of >3–4 over ∼2015–2035. Large-scale interstellar emission remains mostly out of reach of the survey if its >10 GeV spectrum has a soft photon index ∼2.7, but degree-scale 0.1–10 TeV pion-decay emission could be detected if the cosmic-ray spectrum hardens above >100 GeV. The 30 Doradus star-forming region is detectable if acceleration efficiency is on the order of 1−10 per cent of the mechanical luminosity and diffusion is suppressed by two orders of magnitude within <100 pc. Finally, the survey could probe the canonical velocity-averaged cross-section for self-annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles for cuspy Navarro–Frenk–White profiles. 

ABSTRACT MAXI J1820+070 is a low-mass X-ray binary with a black hole (BH) as a compact object. This binary underwent an exceptionally bright X-ray outburst from 2018 March to October, showing evidence of a non-thermal particle population through its radio emission during this whole period. The combined results of 59.5 h of observations of the MAXI J1820+070 outburst with the H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS experiments at energies above 200 GeV are presented, together with Fermi-LAT data between 0.1 and 500 GeV, and multiwavelength observations from radio to X-rays. Gamma-ray emission is not detected from MAXI J1820+070, but the obtained upper limits and the multiwavelength data allow us to put meaningful constraints on the source properties under reasonable assumptions regarding the non-thermal particle population and the jet synchrotron spectrum. In particular, it is possible to show that, if a high-energy (HE) gamma-ray emitting region is present during the hard state of the source, its predicted flux should be at most a factor of 20 below the obtained Fermi-LAT upper limits, and closer to them for magnetic fields significantly below equipartition. During the state transitions, under the plausible assumption that electrons are accelerated up to ∼500 GeV, the multiwavelength data and the gamma-ray upper limits lead consistently to the conclusion that a potential HE and very-HE gamma-ray emitting region should be located at a distance from the BH ranging between 1011 and 1013 cm. Similar outbursts from low-mass X-ray binaries might be detectable in the near future with upcoming instruments such as CTA.