A new study suggests that low-mass microquasars, stellar-mass black holes with companion stars, may be contributing to the high-energy cosmic rays detected on Earth.
The Earth is bathed in a constant stream of high-energy particles known as cosmic rays. Most of these particles originate from outside our solar system, and while our atmosphere effectively shields us from significant harm, they can impact Earth's surface with enough energy to create showers of lower-energy particles. This shower effect is how we primarily detect cosmic rays.
Despite our knowledge of cosmic rays, the exact mechanisms responsible for accelerating them to such incredible speeds remain somewhat of a mystery. While certain phenomena like nearby supernovae can generate lower-energy cosmic rays, the origins of the highest-energy cosmic rays are less clear.One known source of these high-energy cosmic rays is quasars. These distant, incredibly luminous objects are powered by supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. These black holes can unleash powerful jets of relativistic particles that, even across billions of light-years, can reach Earth with immense energy. However, the number of particles emitted by quasars alone isn't enough to account for the vast number of cosmic rays we observe. This suggests that there must be other, yet unidentified, sources contributing to this cosmic radiation. Enter microquasars, celestial objects that resemble miniature versions of quasars. While quasars are powered by supermassive black holes in distant galaxies, microquasars are fueled by stellar-mass black holes within our own galaxy. Despite their smaller size, they share striking similarities with their larger counterparts, featuring an accretion disk of material swirling around them and powerful jets emanating from their poles. Astronomers study microquasars to better understand the evolution of quasars. Unlike regular quasars that draw material from their surrounding galaxies, microquasars require a companion star to provide the necessary fuel. The energy output of a microquasar depends on the mass of its companion star. High-mass microquasars, with companions several times the mass of our Sun, can produce copious amounts of energy, while low-mass microquasars, with smaller companion stars, tend to be less energetic.One of the most energetic microquasars known is SS 433, boasting a companion star ten times the mass of our Sun. Due to the rarity of high-mass stars compared to low-mass stars, high-mass microquasars are significantly less common than their low-mass counterparts. This means that even though high-mass microquasars are powerful cosmic ray producers, their scarcity doesn't fully account for the number of cosmic rays we detect on Earth. However, recent research suggests that low-mass microquasars could also contribute to the cosmic ray population. A study focused on GRS 1915+105, a microquasar with a companion star less massive than our Sun, revealed a source of gamma rays emanating from its location. This faint gamma-ray source was confirmed using 16 years of accumulated data from the Fermi satellite. Some of these gamma rays possessed energies exceeding 10 GeV, indicating significant power. The researchers theorize that these gamma rays are generated when protons accelerated by the microquasar's jets collide with interstellar gas, producing high-energy photons. For this process to occur, the protons within the microquasar's jets must possess energies exceeding 10 GeV, placing them within the realm of high-energy cosmic rays. While this study demonstrates that even low-mass microquasars can produce high-energy cosmic rays, it doesn't definitively solve the mystery of their origin.Further research is needed to determine why some microquasars are exceptionally energetic while others remain relatively subdued.
COSMIC RAYS MICROQUASARS BLACK HOLES GAMMA RAYS ASTROPHYSICS
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