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Main Authors: Di Marco, Gaetano, Batista, Rafael Alves, Sánchez-Conde, Miguel A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.21867
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author Di Marco, Gaetano
Batista, Rafael Alves
Sánchez-Conde, Miguel A.
author_facet Di Marco, Gaetano
Batista, Rafael Alves
Sánchez-Conde, Miguel A.
contents High center-of-mass electromagnetic~(EM) interactions could produce decaying heavy leptons and hadrons, leading to neutrino generation. These processes might occur in the most extreme astrophysical scenarios, potentially altering the expected gamma-ray and neutrino fluxes in both the hadronic and the leptonic pictures. For instance, neutrinos could arise from high-redshift EM cascades, triggered by gamma rays beyond $10^{18} \; \text{eV}$ scattering background photons, from radio to ultraviolet energy bands. Such energetic gamma rays are predicted in cosmogenic models and in scenarios involving non-standard physics. On astrophysical scales, leptonic production of neutrinos could take place in active galactic nuclei cores, where several-TeV gamma rays interact with the X-ray photons from the hot corona. We explore these scenarios within the CRPropa Monte Carlo code framework, developing dedicated tools to account for leptonic production and decay of heavy leptons and hadrons. In particular, the latter are performed by interfacing with the PYTHIA event generator. With these novel tools, we characterise the spectrum and flavour composition of neutrinos emerging from cosmological EM cascades and from leptonic processes in the core of active galactic nuclei. Finally, we investigate the leptonic production of neutrinos in the context of the IceCube detection of NGC~1068.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_21867
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Gamma rays as leptonic portals to energetic neutrinos: a new Monte Carlo approach
Di Marco, Gaetano
Batista, Rafael Alves
Sánchez-Conde, Miguel A.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High center-of-mass electromagnetic~(EM) interactions could produce decaying heavy leptons and hadrons, leading to neutrino generation. These processes might occur in the most extreme astrophysical scenarios, potentially altering the expected gamma-ray and neutrino fluxes in both the hadronic and the leptonic pictures. For instance, neutrinos could arise from high-redshift EM cascades, triggered by gamma rays beyond $10^{18} \; \text{eV}$ scattering background photons, from radio to ultraviolet energy bands. Such energetic gamma rays are predicted in cosmogenic models and in scenarios involving non-standard physics. On astrophysical scales, leptonic production of neutrinos could take place in active galactic nuclei cores, where several-TeV gamma rays interact with the X-ray photons from the hot corona. We explore these scenarios within the CRPropa Monte Carlo code framework, developing dedicated tools to account for leptonic production and decay of heavy leptons and hadrons. In particular, the latter are performed by interfacing with the PYTHIA event generator. With these novel tools, we characterise the spectrum and flavour composition of neutrinos emerging from cosmological EM cascades and from leptonic processes in the core of active galactic nuclei. Finally, we investigate the leptonic production of neutrinos in the context of the IceCube detection of NGC~1068.
title Gamma rays as leptonic portals to energetic neutrinos: a new Monte Carlo approach
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.21867