Starbursts are a new GeV and TeV source class, finally discovered after decades of predictions based on radio observations. These γ-rays, believed to be pionic emission from cosmic ray (CR) protons in the dense gas of starbursts, inform us about the bulk of the CR population. In M82 and NGC 253, magnetic fields and CRs appear to be in rough equipartition. However, CR protons appear to escape not through diffusion, but advection in the starburst wind. These starbursts also appear to be more “calorimetric” than the Milky Way, with 1/3 of the energy injected in protons lost to pion production rather than escaping. Combining the new data with radio observations sets interesting constraints on magnetic fields in starbursts (> 50μG). Starbursts and other star-forming galaxies may in fact form a major part of the unresolved cosmic GeV background, and many may be seen with the Cherenkov Telescope Array. But there are major uncertainties when interpreting the observations, such as the role of active nuclei, and the presence of emission from leptons and discrete sources like pulsars. We also consider what MeV γ-rays, including leptonic continuum and radioisotope lines, could tell us about starbursts, if they could be detected.
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5 December 2012
HIGH ENERGY GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY: 5th International Meeting on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy
9–13 July 2012
Heidelberg, Germany
Research Article|
December 05 2012
Starburst galaxies: A look into the workings of cosmic ray factories
Brian C. Lacki;
Brian C. Lacki
Jansky Fellow, Einstein Drive, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ 08540,
USA
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Todd A. Thompson
Todd A. Thompson
Department of Astronomy and Center for Cosmology & AstroParticle Physics, 140 W. 18th Ave, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210,
USA
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AIP Conf. Proc. 1505, 56–63 (2012)
Citation
Brian C. Lacki, Todd A. Thompson; Starburst galaxies: A look into the workings of cosmic ray factories. AIP Conf. Proc. 5 December 2012; 1505 (1): 56–63. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4772220
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