Fermi bubbles: giant, multibillion-year-old reservoirs of Galactic center cosmic rays

Recently evidence has emerged for enormous features in the γ-ray sky observed by the Fermi-LAT instrument: bilateral "bubbles" of emission centered on the core of the Galaxy and extending to around ± 10 kpc from the Galactic plane. These structures are coincident with a nonthermal microwave "haze" and an extended region of x-ray emission. The bubbles' γ-ray emission is characterized by a hard and relatively uniform spectrum, relatively uniform intensity, and an overall luminosity 4×10(37) erg/s, around 1 order of magnitude larger than their microwave luminosity while more than order of magnitude less than their x-ray luminosity. Here we show that the bubbles are naturally explained as due to a population of relic cosmic ray protons and heavier ions injected by processes associated with extremely long time scale (? 8 Gyr) and high areal density star formation in the Galactic center.     

High-energy gamma rays in the RUNJOB experiment

The latest results of studies of the gamma-ray spectra recorded together with charged particles in the Russian-Nippon Joint Balloon (RUNJOB) experiment are presented. A comparison of the experimental spectra with the results of the calculations based on assumptions of different intensities of the gamma-ray spectra demonstrates that the previously published intensities of primary cosmic rays measured in the RUNJOB experiments are underestimated.     

Multiple scattering of gamma rays in water,concrete and sand

The transmitted photon spectra of¹³³Ba,²²Na,¹³⁷Cs,⁵⁴Mn and⁶⁰Co point sources are measured through different thicknesses of water, concrete and sand. The multiple-scatter peaks observed in these materials at 60, 90 and 100 keV energies respectively are found to be independent of incident photon energy and thickness of the medium.     

Final results of magnetic monopole searches with the MACRO experiment

We present the final results obtained by the MACRO experiment in the search for GUT magnetic monopoles in the penetrating cosmic radiation, for the range . Several searches with all the MACRO sub-detectors (i.e. scintillation counters, limited streamer tubes and nuclear track detectors) were performed, both in stand alone and combined ways. No candidates were detected and a 90% Confidence Level (C.L.) upper limit to the local magnetic monopole flux was set at the level of cm^-2 s^-1 sr^-1. This result is the first experimental limit obtained in direct searches which is well below the Parker bound in the whole range in which GUT magnetic monopoles are expected. Received: 15 July 2002 / Published online: 27 September 2002     

Probing fission time scales with neutrons and GDR gamma rays

The time scales for nuclear fission have been explored using both pre-and postfission neutrons and GDR gamma rays. Four systems were investigated: 133-MeV ¹⁶O + ¹⁷⁶Yb and ²⁰⁸Pb and 104-MeV ⁴He + ¹⁸⁸Os and ²⁰⁹Bi. Fission fragments were measured in coincidence with PPACs. The neutrons were detected using eight detectors from the DEMON array, while gamma rays were measured using the US BaF2 array. The pre-and postfission gamma rays were determined using moving source fits parallel and perpendicular to the fission fragment emission directions. The time scales for fission for the neutrons were determined using the neutron clock technique. The gamma-ray data were fitted using a statistical model calculation based on the code CASCADE. The results of the fits from both data types were used to extract nuclear friction coefficients, γ, and fission time scales. The γ values ranged from 7 to 20, while the fission times were (31–105)×10^?21 s.     

Interactions of gamma rays with undoped and Mn-doped sodium phosphate glasses

Ultraviolet and visible spectroscopic measurements were used to investigate prepared undoped and Mn-doped sodium phosphate glasses before and after successive gamma irradiation. The effects of both glass composition and MnO₂ content on the generation of radiation-induced defects were investigated. Undoped sodium phosphate glass shows strong UV absorption, which is attributed to the presence of trace iron impurities present in the raw materials. Mn-doped glasses reveal an additional visible broad band centered at about 500 nm due to Mn³⁺, which has recently been related to the ⁵E_g →⁵T_2g transition. The radiation-induced bands are correlated with the generation of liberated electron–hole pairs during the process of gamma irradiation and the possibility of photochemical reactions especially with trace iron impurities and manganese ions. The intensity and the position of the induced bands are observed to depend on the type and composition of glass, concentration of the dopant and also on the irradiation dose. Manganese ions when present in relatively higher content have been found to show a shielding behavior towards the effects of progressive gamma irradiation causing a retardation of the growth of the induced defects. Infrared and Raman spectra of the undoped and Mn-doped glasses were measured to investigate the structural phosphate groups present and the effect of MnO₂ on the network structure. An ESR investigation was carried out to confirm the state of manganese ions in the prepared sodium phosphate glasses.     

Energetic neutrons and gamma rays measured on the Aryabhata satellite

An experiment to measure energetic neutrons and gamma rays in space was launched in the first Indian scientific satellite,Aryobhata, on April 19, 1975. From this experiment, the first measurements in space of the Earth’s albedo fiux of neutrons of energy between 20 and 500 MeV have been made; the values obtained for two mean geomagnetic vertical cut-off rigidities of 5.6 and 17.0 GV are (6.3±0.4)×10⁻² and (1.4±0.3)×10⁻² neutrons cm⁻² sec⁻¹ respectively. These measurements confirm that protons arising from cosmic ray albedo neutron decay, can adequately account for the protons in the inner radiation belt. Observations on gamma rays of energy between 0.2 and 24 MeV have enabled the determination of the total background gamma ray flux in space as a function of latitude. This in turn has permitted useful information on the diffuse cosmic gamma rays. We have also observed four events that showed sudden increases in the gamma ray counting rates between 0.2 and 4.0 MeV. Observational details of these events are given.     

TL and PTTL in natural fluorite previously irradiated with gamma rays and heavy ions

The effect of annealing temperature on the phototransfer thermoluminescence (PTTL) signal was studied to determine the appropriate annealing temperature for treating the natural powder before irradiation. The temperatures used to anneal virgin natural fluorite samples (only natural dose without giving the samples any artificial doses) were 150, 250, 350, 450, 550, 650 and 750°C for a duration of 1 h in each case. The results show that the PTTL response did not change for anneal temperatures up to 450°C, but at higher temperatures the signal decreased rapidly. The height of the 90°C peak decreased by two orders of magnitude as the anneal temperature increased from 450 to 750°C, whilst the height of the 180°C peak decreased by three orders of magnitude between the same two annealing temperatures. In order to investigate the effect of previous gamma rays and heavy ion irradiation on thermoluminescence (TL) and PTTL signals, powdered samples of natural fluorite from Cornwall, England, were annealed at 500°C and then irradiated (at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany) with ¹⁶¹Dy ions of energy 13 Mev/n; the range of fluences used was from 10⁴ to 10¹² ion cm⁻². Identical samples were given gamma doses in the range 1 Gy to 2.6 × 10⁴ Gy in order to compare the effects of gamma rays and heavy ions. The sensitivities of TL and PTTL were studied by giving the samples a gamma test dose of 1 Gy after annealing the samples at 500°C for 30 min in order to eliminate the TL resulting from previous gamma or heavy ion irradiation.     

Dose dependence of defect formation in SiO2 irradiated with electrons and gamma rays

Measurements were made of the changes in the brittleness factor, optical absorption coefficient, and thermal luminescence light sum in glasses as a function of 10 MeV electron or⁶⁰Co gamma ray doses. A correlation was found between the changes in the mechanical and optical properties of quartz glass and these were governed by the number and the nature of radiation-caused defects in the silicon-oxygen network in glass.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 48–52, January, 1981.     

Improving the surface properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes after irradiation with gamma rays

The effects of gamma-irradiation on the modification of the surface and structure of multi-walled carbon nanotubes were studied. Gamma-irradiation affected the graphitization properties of functional groups, and decreased the diameter of multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The irradiated multi-walled carbon nanotubes with the absorbed dose of 100 kGy exhibited a larger specific surface area and microporous volume as compared with the other samples. The Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the interaction between the gamma-irradiation and the multi-walled carbon nanotubes with the absorbed dose of 150 kGy destroyed the nanostructure of carbons, leading to the formation of diamond-like structures and carbon oxides. In addition, gamma-irradiation with the absorbed dose of 100 kGy improved multi-walled carbon nanotubes graphitization and surface properties while at higher absorbed dose (150 kGy), it induced damaged structures (sp³ bonds and oxygen compositions).     

Axion-like particles and the propagation of gamma rays over astronomical distances

In this brief review, possible manifestations of mixing between axion-like particles (ALPs) and energetic photons propagating over astronomical distances are considered. We discuss the evidence for the anomalous transparency of the Universe from observations of ensembles of distant gamma-ray sources, present the general formalism for the ALP-photon mixing and explain how this mechanism may remove the anomaly. We present relevant values of ALP parameters and discuss future ways to verify the scenario and to discover the particle in question.     

Atmospheric gamma rays in the energy region 40–1000 GeV

A large stack of lead-emulsion sandwich detector assembly was flown over Hyderabad, India. High energy gamma rays at the float altitude were unambiguously identified from the cascades they induced, and their energies reliably determined by improved methods. From an analysis of 163 gamma rays of energy ≳ 30 GeV, it is found that the differential energy spectrum is represented by the power lawJ _r (E)= 129·4E ^{−2·62±0·12} photons m⁻² sr⁻¹sec⁻¹ GeV⁻¹ at an effective atmospheric depth of 14·3 g cm⁻²; this is the first reliable balloon measurement of atmospheric gamma rays in the energy range 40–1000 GeV. After correcting for the gamma rays radiated by the primary cosmic ray electrons, the production spectrum of gamma rays, resulting from the collisions of cosmic ray nuclei with air nuclei, at the top of the atmosphere isP _r (E, 0)=8·2 × 10⁻⁴ E^2.60±0.09 photons g⁻¹sr⁻¹sec⁻¹ GeV⁻¹. The atmospheric propagation of the electromagnetic component due to the cascade process is also derived from the gamma ray production spectrum.     

γ射线辐照处理竹材化学组分及结晶度变化研究

利用核磁共振波谱仪和X射线衍射仪,对γ射线辐照处理前后的竹材进行CP/MAS13C-NMR图谱、XRD光谱分析,得出竹材细胞壁主要化学组分在辐照过程中结构和性质的变化规律.随着辐照剂量升高,竹材纤维素结晶度呈现先升高后降低的趋势,半纤维素发生降解,木质素由非酚型向酚型转变.     

Reevaluation of the 22Na(p,gamma) reaction rate: implications for the detection of 22Na gamma rays from novae

Understanding the processes which create and destroy 22Na is important for diagnosing classical nova outbursts. Conventional 22Na(p,gamma) studies are complicated by the need to employ radioactive targets. In contrast, we have formed the particle-unbound states of interest through the heavy-ion fusion reaction, 12C(12C,n)23Mg and used the Gammasphere array to investigate their radiative decay branches. Detailed spectroscopy was possible and the 22Na(p,gamma) reaction rate has been reevaluated. New hydrodynamical calculations incorporating the upper and lower limits on the new rate suggest a reduction in the yield of 22Na with respect to previous estimates, implying a reduction in the maximum detectability distance for 22Na gamma rays from novae.     

Disorder effects in two-dimensional Fermi systems with conical spectrum: exact results for the density of states

The influence of weak non-magnetic disorder on the single-particle density of states ϱ(ω) of two-dimensional electron systems with a conical spectrum is studied. We use a non-perturbative approach, based on the replica trick with subsequent mapping of the effective action onto a one-dimensional model of interacting fermions, the latter being treated by abelian and non-abelian bosonization methods. Specifically, we consider a weakly disordered p- or d-wave superconductor, in which case the problem reduces to a model of (2+l)-dimensional massless Dirac fermions coupled to random, static, generally non-abelian gauge fields. It is shown that the density of states of a two-dimensional p- or d-wave superconductor, averaged over randomness, follows a non-trivial power-law behavior near the Fermi energy: ϱ(ω) ∼ 1 |ω|^α. The exponent α > 0 is exactly calculated for several types of disorder. We demonstrate that the property ϱ(0) = 0 is a direct consequence of a continuous symmetry of the effective fermoic model, whose breakdown is forbidden in two dimensions. As a counter example, we also discuss another model with a conical spectrum - a two-dimensional orbital antiferromagnet, where static disorder leads to a finite ϱ(0) due to the breakdown of a discrete (particle-hole) symmetry.     

Isomeric ratios in reactions induced by gamma rays and fast neutrons in the isotopes of Re,Ir, and Au

Isomeric ratios were measured in the (γ, n) and (n, 2n) reactions leading to the formation of ¹⁸⁴Re, ¹⁹⁰Ir, and ¹⁹⁶Au odd-odd nuclides. The measurements were performed by the activation method implemented for Re, Ir, and Au samples of natural isotopic composition that were irradiated with 14.7-MeV neutrons and bremsstrahlung photons of endpoint energy 22 MeV. Isomeric-and ground-state nuclei formed in these reactions were identified by their x-or γ-ray spectra and by their half-lives. The isomeric ratios were calculated on the basis of the statistical model, and the results were compared with experimental data, where by it was possible to determine parameters that characterize the dependence of the level density on the excitation energy and angular momentum. The effect of the nuclear structure on these parameters is discussed.     

Statistical decay of gamma rays in (nth, γ) reactions

Isomer ratios obtained in doubly even targets in the (n_th, γ) reaction are calculated using realistic level densities and spin cut-off parameters. The calculations were performed using the Monte Carlo method and the general agreement between the present calculations and experimental data is satisfactory. In one case the shape of the γ-ray spectrum was calculated and good agreement with experimental data was obtained.     

On the duration of the resonance absorption and emission of nuclear gamma rays

The Krylov-Fock theorem is applicable to describing the decay of an excited quantum-mechanical system in the case where the time of excited-state formation is much shorter than the characteristic decay time. The results obtained by calculating, on the basis of this theorem, the average lifetime t_av of an excited state for nuclei that resonantly scatter γ rays are in serious contradiction with available data on t_av including experimental data. This disproves the assumption that the resonance absorption and emission of γ rays proceeds within times much shorter than τ=?/Γ (Γ is the intrinsic width of a nuclear level). A qualitative explanation of this effect is proposed.