Abstract
We have obtained a simple representation to the observed invariant cross-section for the production of neutral pions in proton-proton collisions. Making use of this representation, we have calculated the differential and integral production spectra of gamma rays in the Galaxy from interactions of cosmic ray nuclei with interstellar gas. It is shown that the uncertainties in deducing interstellar proton spectrum by demodulating the observed spectrum do not affect very much the gamma ray spectrum. We have also determined the gamma ray production spectrum through bremsstrahlung process for a typical interstellar electron spectrum derived from the radio spectrum in the Galaxy. From these, the total gamma ray production spectrum resulting from the interaction of cosmic rays with interstellar matter is compared with the observed gamma ray spectrum in the Galaxy and some inferences have been obtained. We also point out the possible uncertainty in the present calculation and suggest the improvements needed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, C. W.: 1973,Astrophysical Quantities, (3rd ed.), The Athlone Press, London; p. 30.
Anand, K. C. and Stephens, S. A.: 1972,Astrophys. Space Sci. 18, 387.
Antinucci, N., Bertin, A., Capiluppi, P., D'Agostino-Bruno, M., Rossi, A. M., Vannini, G., Giacomelli, G., and Bussiere, A.: 1973,Letters Nuovo Cimento 6, 121.
Badhwar, G. D. and Stephens, S. A.: 1977,Proc. 15th Int. Cosmic Ray Conf. Plovdiv 1, 198.
Badhwar, G. D., Stephens, S. A., and Golden, R. L.: 1977,Phys. Rev. D15, 820.
Bennett, K., Bignami, G. F., Buccheri, R., Hermsen, W., Kanbach, G., Lebrun, F., Mayer-Hasselwander, H. A., Paul, J. A., Piccinotti, G., Scarsi, L., Soroka, F., Swanenburg, B. N., and Wills, R. D.: 1977,12th ESLAB Symposium, Frascati, ESA Sp. 124, p. 83.
Blobel, V., Brandenburg, G. W., Fesefeldt, H., Franz, H., Hellwig, B., Idschok, U., Monkemeyer, D., Muck, H. J., Neumann, H. F., Schachter, M., Schmitz, N., Schrankel, W., Schwarz, B., Schwarzschild, B. M., Selonke, F., Soding, P., and Wessels, B.: 1974,Nuclear Phys. B69, 454.
Burger, J. J.: 1971,Astrophys. J. 166, 651.
Burger, J. J. and Swanenburg, B. N.: 1971,Proc. 12th Int. Cosmic Ray Conf. Hobart 5, 1858.
Carey, D. C., Johnson, J. R., Kammerud, R., Ritchie, D. J., Roberts, A., Sauer, J. R., Shafer, R., Theriot, D., Walker, J. K., and Taylor, F. E.: 1976,Phys. Rev. D14, 1196.
Cavallo, G. and Gould, R. J., 1971,Nuovo Cimento,132, 77.
Cesarsky, C. J. and Volk, H. J.: 1978,Astron. Astrophys. 70, 367.
Cesarsky, C. J., Paul, J. A., and Shukla, P. G.: 1978,Astrophys. Space Sci. 59, 73.
Cummings, A. C.: 1973, Ph.D. Thesis, Cal. Tech., Pasadena.
Daniel, R. R. and Stephens, S. A.: 1974,Rev. Geophys. Space Phys. 12, 233.
Daniel, R. R. and Stephens, S. A.: 1975,Space Sci. Rev. 17, 45.
Fichtel, C. E., Hartman, R. C., Kniffen, D. A., Thompson, D. J., Bignami, G. F., Ogelman, H., Ozel, M. E., and Tumer, T.: 1975,Astrophys. J. 198, 163.
Fidecaro, M., Finocchiaro, G., Gatti, G., Giacomelli, G., Middelkoop, W. C., and Yamagata, T.: 1962,Nuovo Cimento 24, 73.
Flaminio, V., Graf, I. F., Hansen, J. D., Moorhead, W. G. and Morrison, D. R. O.: 1979, Compilation of Cross-sections III, CERN-HERA 79-03.
Ganguli, S. N. and Sreekantan, B. V.: 1976,J. Phys. A.: Math. Gen. 9, 3111.
Garcia-Munoz, M., Mason, G. M., and Simpson, J. A.: 1975,Astrophys. J. 202, 265.
Goldstein, M. L., Ramaty, R., and Fisk, L. A.: 1970,Phys. Rev. Letters,24, 1193.
Gorden, M. A. and Burton, W. B.: 1976,Astrophys. J. 208, 346.
Hayakawa, S.: 1980, in R. Cowsik and R. D. Wills (eds.)Non-Solar Gamma Rays (COSPAR), Pergamon Press. p. 175.
Jaeger, K., Campbell, J., Charlton, G., Swanson, D., Fu. C., Rubin, H. A., Glasser, R. G., Koetke, D., and Whitmore, J.: 1975,Phys. Rev. D11, 1756.
Lipkin, H. J. and Peshkin, M.: 1972,Phys. Rev. Letters. 28, 862.
Mayer-Hasselwander, H. A., Bennett, K., Bignami, G. F., Buccheri, R., D'Amico, N., Hermsen, W., Kanbach, G., Lebrun, F., Lichti, G. G., Masnou, J. L., Paul, J. A., Pinkau, K., Scarsi, L., Swanenburg, B. N., and Will, R. D.: 1979,Proc. 9th Texas Symp. Annals of New York Academy of Sciences, p. 211.
Morfill, G. E., Volk, H. J., and Lee, M. A.: 1976,J. Geophys. Res. 81, 5841.
Nam, R. A., Nikolsky, S. I., Pavljuchenko, V. P., Chubenko, A. P., and Yakovlev, V. I.: 1973,Proc. 13th Int. Cosmic Ray Conf., Denver,3, 2162.
Neuhofer, G., Niebergall, P. E., Penzias, J., Regler, M., Schmidt-Parzefall, W., Schubert, K. R., Schumacher, P. E., Steuer, M., and Winter, K.: 1972,Phys. Letters 38B, 51.
Ormes, J. F.: 1967, Thesis, Univ. Minneapolis, Technical Report, CR-109.
Ormes, J. F. and Webber, W. R.: 1965,Proc. 9th Int. Cosmic Ray Conf., London,1, 349.
Orth, C. D. and Buffington, A.: 1976,Astrophys. J. 206, 312.
Paul, J. A., Bennett, K., Bignami, G. F., Buccheri, R., Caraveo, P., Hermsen, W., Kanback, G., Mayer-Hasselwander, H. A., Scarsi, L., Swanenburg, B. N., and Wills, R. D.: 1978,Astron. Astrophys. 63, L31.
Ramadurai, S. and Biswas, S.: 1974,Astrophys. Space Sci. 30, 187.
Rockstroh, J. M. and Webber, W. R.: 1978,Astrophys. J. 224, 677.
Rossi, B.: 1952,High Energy Particles, Prentice-Hall Inc. p. 49.
Ryan, M. J., Ormes, J. F., and Balasubrahmanyan, V. K.: 1972,Phys. Rev. Letters. 28, 985.
Seidl, A., Chapman, J., Cooper, J., Green, N., van der Velde, J., Bromberg, C., Cohen, D., Ferbel, T., and Slattery, P.: 1974,Bull. Am. Phys. Society 19, 467.
Sen, J. C.: 1972,Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on High Energy Collision, Oxford,1, 177.
Smith, L. H., Buffington, A., Smoot, G. H., and Alvarez, L. W.: 1973,Astrophys. J. 180, 987.
Stecker, F. W.: 1970,Astrophys. Space Sci. 6, 377.
Stephens, S. A.: 1979,Proc. 16th Int. Cosmic Ray Conference, Kyoto,1, 69.
Stephens, S. A.: 1980, in R. Cowsik and R. D. Wills (eds.),Non-Solar Gamma Rays (COSPAR), Pergamon Press, p. 223.
Sternheimer, R. M.: 1955,Phys. Rev. 99, 277.
Strong, A. W. and Wolfendale, A. W.: 1978,J. Phys.: G. Nucl. Phys. 4, 1793.
Strong, A. W., Wolfendale, A. W., Bennett, K., and Wills, R. D., 1978,Monthly Notices Roy. Astron. Soc. 182, 751.
Taylor, F. E., Carey, D. C., Johnson, J. R., Kammerud, R., Ritchie, D. J., Roberts, A., Sauer, J. R., Shafer, R., Theriot, D., and Walker, J. K.: 1976,Phys. Rev. D14, 1217.
Webber, W. R., Simpson, G. A., and Cane, H. V.: 1980,Astrophys. J. 236, 448.
Whitmore, J.: 1974,Phys. Rep. 10C, 273.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stephens, S.A., Badhwar, G.D. Production spectrum of gamma rays in interstellar space through neutral pion decay. Astrophys Space Sci 76, 213–233 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00651256
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00651256