Journal article
Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays from tidally-ignited white dwarfs
- Abstract:
- Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) can be accelerated by tidal disruption events of stars by black holes. We suggest a novel mechanism for UHECR acceleration wherein white dwarfs (WDs) are tidally compressed by intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), leading to their ignition and subsequent explosion as a supernova. Cosmic rays accelerated by the supernova may receive an energy boost when crossing the accretion-powered jet. The rate of encounters between WDs and IMBHs can be relatively high, as the number of IMBHs may be substantially augmented once account is taken of their likely presence in dwarf galaxies. Here we show that this kind of tidal disruption event naturally provides an intermediate composition for the observed UHECRs, and suggest that dwarf galaxies and globular clusters are suitable sites for particle acceleration to ultrahigh energies.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
Actions
Access Document
- Files:
-
-
(Preview, Accepted manuscript, 561.4KB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1103/PhysRevD.96.103003
Authors
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society
- Journal:
- Physical Review D More from this journal
- Volume:
- 96
- Issue:
- 10
- Article number:
- 103003
- Publication date:
- 2017-11-06
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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2470-0029
- ISSN:
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2470-0010
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
-
747405
- Local pid:
-
pubs:747405
- Deposit date:
-
2021-08-04
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- American Physical Society
- Copyright date:
- 2017
- Rights statement:
- © 2017 American Physical Society
- Notes:
- This is the accepted manuscript version of the article. The final version is available from American Physical Society at: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.96.103003
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