Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Signal from Nuclear Photodisintegration as a Probe of Extragalactic Sources of Ultrahigh-Energy Nuclei

Understand

It is crucial to identify the ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray (UHECR) sources and probe their unknown properties.

• Recent results from the Pierre Auger Observatory favor a heavy nuclear composition for the UHECRs.
• Under the requirement that heavy nuclei survive in these sources, using gamma-ray bursts as an example, we predict a diagnostic gamma-ray signal, unique to nuclei - the emission of de-excitation gamma rays following photodisintegration.
• These gamma rays, boosted from MeV to TeV-PeV energies, may be detectable by gamma-ray telescopes such as VERITAS, HESS, and MAGIC, and especially the next-generation CTA and AGIS.