A generalized study of linear electromagnetic cascades in astrophysical sources
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arXiv
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| Hauptverfasser: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| author | Fiorillo, Damiano F. G. Testagrossa, Federico Yuan, Chengchao Petropoulou, Maria Winter, Walter |
| author_facet | Fiorillo, Damiano F. G. Testagrossa, Federico Yuan, Chengchao Petropoulou, Maria Winter, Walter |
| contents | High-energy gamma rays can trigger electromagnetic cascades via pair production on ambient photons, reprocessing their energy to lower frequencies. A classic example is the cascade from the gamma rays produced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays in extragalactic photon fields, whose universal spectral shape was first described by Berezinsky in the 1970s. Recently, internal cascades, developing within the gamma-ray sources themselves, have gained a prominent role, as the IceCube data suggest that most detected neutrinos originate in gamma-ray-opaque environments. We analyze under what conditions these internal cascades can approach a universal spectrum. Since the Berezinsky treatment breaks down if synchrotron losses dominate, we present a generalized theory incorporating synchrotron-dominated cascades. We show the emergence of universal cascade spectrum among various examples of high-energy sources containing non-thermal cosmic rays, and discuss the conditions for its appearance. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_00152 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A generalized study of linear electromagnetic cascades in astrophysical sources Fiorillo, Damiano F. G. Testagrossa, Federico Yuan, Chengchao Petropoulou, Maria Winter, Walter High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High-energy gamma rays can trigger electromagnetic cascades via pair production on ambient photons, reprocessing their energy to lower frequencies. A classic example is the cascade from the gamma rays produced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays in extragalactic photon fields, whose universal spectral shape was first described by Berezinsky in the 1970s. Recently, internal cascades, developing within the gamma-ray sources themselves, have gained a prominent role, as the IceCube data suggest that most detected neutrinos originate in gamma-ray-opaque environments. We analyze under what conditions these internal cascades can approach a universal spectrum. Since the Berezinsky treatment breaks down if synchrotron losses dominate, we present a generalized theory incorporating synchrotron-dominated cascades. We show the emergence of universal cascade spectrum among various examples of high-energy sources containing non-thermal cosmic rays, and discuss the conditions for its appearance. |
| title | A generalized study of linear electromagnetic cascades in astrophysical sources |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Phenomenology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.00152 |