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Astronomers have discovered a new source of high energy gamma radiation LHAASO J2108 + 5157 from precipitation of particles in the Earth’s atmosphere. About to open Announced For more information, see an article published in the arXiv preprint repository.
Sources emitting gamma rays with photon energy ranging from 100 GeV to 100 Teraelectronvolts (TeV) are called high energy (VHE) gamma ray sources, and sources with photon energies above 0.1 beta electron volts (PeV) are called ultrasonic gamma UH radiation ). The nature of these sources is not fully understood, so astronomers are constantly searching for these types of objects to characterize them and uncover the mysterious mechanisms by which radiation is generated.
The new search for gamma-ray sources was carried out using LHAASO, a high-altitude observatory that observes the atmospheric lines of secondary subatomic particles formed by the collision of high-energy cosmic rays with the Earth’s atmosphere. The researchers observed a significant amount of gamma-ray-induced precipitation in the energy range of 25–100 TeV and more than 100 TeV. According to scientists, it was the first source to be discovered in the ultra-high energy range, not with very high energy radiation.
LHAASO J2108 + 5157 is a source with a length of less than 0.39 degrees. Although the source may be a point source, its extended morphology is the result of finite data. There are no X-ray sources other than the eclipse binary system RX J2107.3 + 5202, which is at an angle of 0.3 degrees. The molecule called LHAASO J2108 + 5157 is shown to be related to the cloud [MML2017] 4607. This cloud is located about 10,700 light years from Earth and has a mass of 8469 solar masses.
Astronomers point out that high-energy protons can cause ultra-high energy radiation when they collide with dense gas around the molecular cloud. Gamma rays arise from the decay of π0 mesons, which are formed as a result of flexible collisions between accelerated protons and gaseous molecules.
