Every Nearby Energetic Pulsar Is Surrounded by a Region of Inhibited Diffusion
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866910888711159808 |
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| author | John, Isabelle Linden, Tim |
| author_facet | John, Isabelle Linden, Tim |
| contents | The H.E.S.S. telescope has recently detected the total electron-plus-positron ($e^+e^-$) flux up to 40 TeV, finding it to be a featureless and steeply-falling power-law above 1 TeV. This result is in stark tension with standard one-zone models of pulsar $e^+e^-$ injection and diffusion, which predict a hard-spectrum signal above $\sim$10 TeV. We model the local pulsar population, and find 20 sources that would each $individually$ overproduce the H.E.S.S. $e^+e^-$ flux in a one-zone diffusion model. We conclude that $every$ energetic pulsar younger than $\sim$500 kyr must be surrounded by a region of inhibited diffusion ($e.g.$, a supernova remnant, pulsar wind nebula, or TeV halo) that prevents the transport of these $e^+e^-$ to Earth. Because the high-electron density in these regions produces bright synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission, we conclude that all nearby pulsars are detectable as (potentially unassociated) radio, x-ray or $γ$-ray sources. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_17442 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Every Nearby Energetic Pulsar Is Surrounded by a Region of Inhibited Diffusion John, Isabelle Linden, Tim High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena High Energy Physics - Phenomenology The H.E.S.S. telescope has recently detected the total electron-plus-positron ($e^+e^-$) flux up to 40 TeV, finding it to be a featureless and steeply-falling power-law above 1 TeV. This result is in stark tension with standard one-zone models of pulsar $e^+e^-$ injection and diffusion, which predict a hard-spectrum signal above $\sim$10 TeV. We model the local pulsar population, and find 20 sources that would each $individually$ overproduce the H.E.S.S. $e^+e^-$ flux in a one-zone diffusion model. We conclude that $every$ energetic pulsar younger than $\sim$500 kyr must be surrounded by a region of inhibited diffusion ($e.g.$, a supernova remnant, pulsar wind nebula, or TeV halo) that prevents the transport of these $e^+e^-$ to Earth. Because the high-electron density in these regions produces bright synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission, we conclude that all nearby pulsars are detectable as (potentially unassociated) radio, x-ray or $γ$-ray sources. |
| title | Every Nearby Energetic Pulsar Is Surrounded by a Region of Inhibited Diffusion |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena High Energy Physics - Phenomenology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.17442 |