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Main Authors: Owen, Ellis R., Inoue, Yoshiyuki, Fujiwara, Tatsuki, Han, Qin, Wu, Kinwah
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.15802
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author Owen, Ellis R.
Inoue, Yoshiyuki
Fujiwara, Tatsuki
Han, Qin
Wu, Kinwah
author_facet Owen, Ellis R.
Inoue, Yoshiyuki
Fujiwara, Tatsuki
Han, Qin
Wu, Kinwah
contents Cosmic rays are often modeled as charged particles. This allows their non-ballistic propagation in magnetized structures to be captured. In certain situations, a neutral cosmic ray component can arise. For example, cosmic ray neutrons are produced in considerable numbers through hadronic pp and p$γ$ interactions. At ultrahigh energies, the decay timescales of these neutrons is dilated, allowing them to traverse distances on the scale of galactic and cosmological structures. Unlike charged cosmic rays, neutrons are not deflected by magnetic fields. They propagate ballistically at the speed of light in straight lines. The presence of a neutral baryonic cosmic ray component formed in galaxies, clusters and cosmological filaments can facilitate the escape and leakage of cosmic rays from magnetic structures that would otherwise confine them. We show that, by allowing confinement breaking, the formation of cosmic-ray neutrons by high-energy hadronic interactions in large scale astrophysical structures can modify the exchange of ultra high-energy particles across magnetic interfaces between galaxies, clusters, cosmological filaments and voids.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_15802
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cosmic ray neutrons in magnetized astrophysical structures
Owen, Ellis R.
Inoue, Yoshiyuki
Fujiwara, Tatsuki
Han, Qin
Wu, Kinwah
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmic rays are often modeled as charged particles. This allows their non-ballistic propagation in magnetized structures to be captured. In certain situations, a neutral cosmic ray component can arise. For example, cosmic ray neutrons are produced in considerable numbers through hadronic pp and p$γ$ interactions. At ultrahigh energies, the decay timescales of these neutrons is dilated, allowing them to traverse distances on the scale of galactic and cosmological structures. Unlike charged cosmic rays, neutrons are not deflected by magnetic fields. They propagate ballistically at the speed of light in straight lines. The presence of a neutral baryonic cosmic ray component formed in galaxies, clusters and cosmological filaments can facilitate the escape and leakage of cosmic rays from magnetic structures that would otherwise confine them. We show that, by allowing confinement breaking, the formation of cosmic-ray neutrons by high-energy hadronic interactions in large scale astrophysical structures can modify the exchange of ultra high-energy particles across magnetic interfaces between galaxies, clusters, cosmological filaments and voids.
title Cosmic ray neutrons in magnetized astrophysical structures
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.15802