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TeV Gamma Rays from Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Ray Interactions in the Cores of Active Galactic Nuclei: Lessons from Centaurus A

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2013

M. Kachelrieß ,
S. Ostapchenko  and
R. Tomàs
M. Kachelrieß
Affiliation:
Institutt for fysikk, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
S. Ostapchenko
Affiliation:
Institutt for fysikk, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway D. V. Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, Russia
R. Tomàs
Affiliation:
II. Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Hamburg, Germany
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Abstract

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TeV gamma rays have been observed from blazars as well as from radio galaxies like M 87 and Centaurus A. In leptonic models, gamma rays above the pair production threshold can escape from the ultrarelativistic jet, because large Lorentz factors reduce the background photon densities compared to those required for isotropic emission. Here we discuss an alternative scenario, where very high energy photons are generated as secondaries from ultrahigh energy cosmic rays interactions in the cores of active galactic nuclei. We show that TeV gamma-rays can escape from the core despite large infrared and ultraviolet backgrounds. For the special case of Centaurus A, we study whether the various existing observations from the far infrared to the ultrahigh energy range can be reconciled within this picture.

Keywords

gamma rays: theorygalaxies: individual (NGC 5128)galaxies: active
Type
Research Article
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 27 , Special Issue 4: The Many Faces of Centaurus A , 2010 , pp. 482 - 489
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 2010

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