Prescriptions on antiproton cross section data for precise theoretical antiproton flux predictions

After the breakthrough from the satellite-borne PAMELA detector, the flux of cosmic-ray (CR) antiprotons has been provided with unprecedented accuracy by AMS-02 on the International Space Station. Its data spans an energy range from below 1 GeV up to 400 GeV and most of the data points contain errors below the amazing level of 5%. The bulk of the antiproton flux is expected to be produced by the scatterings of CR protons and helium off interstellar hydrogen and helium atoms at rest. The modeling of these interactions, which requires the relevant production cross sections, induces an uncertainty in the determination of the antiproton source term that can even exceed the uncertainties in the CR $\bar{p}$ data itself. The aim of the present analysis is to determine the uncertainty required for $p+p\rightarrow \bar{p} + X$ cross section measurements such that the induced uncertainties on the $\bar{p}$ flux are at the same level. Our results are discussed both in the center-of-mass reference frame, suitable for collider experiments, and in the laboratory frame, as occurring in the Galaxy. We find that cross section data should be collected with accuracy better that few percent with proton beams from 10 GeV to 6 TeV and a pseudorapidity $\eta$ ranging from 2 to almost 8 or, alternatively, with $p_T$ from 0.04 to 2 GeV and $x_R$ from 0.02 to 0.7. Similar considerations hold for the $p$He production channel. The present collection of data is far from these requirements. Nevertheless, they could, in principle, be reached by fixed target experiments with beam energies in the reach of CERN accelerators.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, matches published versio

Production cross sections of cosmic antiprotons in the light of new data from the NA61 and LHCb experiments

The cosmic-ray flux of antiprotons is measured with high precision by the space-borne particle spectrometers AMS-02.Its interpretation requires a correct description of the dominant production process for antiprotons in our Galaxy, namely, the interaction of cosmic-ray proton and helium with the interstellar medium. In the light of new cross section measurements by the NA61 experiment of $p + p \rightarrow \bar{p} + X$ and the first ever measurement of $p + \mathrm{He} \rightarrow \bar{p} + X$ by the LHCb experiment, we update the parametrization of proton-proton and proton-nucleon cross sections.We find that the LHCb $p$He data constrain a shape for the cross section at high energies and show for the first time how well the rescaling from the $pp$ channel applies to a helium target. By using $pp$, $p$He and $p$C data we estimate the uncertainty on the Lorentz invariant cross section for $p + \mathrm{He} \rightarrow \bar{p} + X$. We use these new cross sections to compute the source term for all the production channels, considering also nuclei heavier than He both in cosmic rays and the interstellar medium. The uncertainties on the total source term are at the level of $\pm20$% and slightly increase below antiproton energies of 5 GeV. This uncertainty is dominated by the $p+p \rightarrow \bar{p} + X$ cross section, which translates into all channels since we derive them using the $pp$ cross sections. The cross sections to calculate the source spectra from all relevant cosmic-ray isotopes are provided in the Supplemental Material. We finally quantify the necessity of new data on antiproton production cross sections, and pin down the kinematic parameter space which should be covered by future data.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, matches published versio

Multi-messenger constraints to the local emission of cosmic-ray electrons

The data on the inclusive flux of cosmic positrons and electrons ($e^++e^{-}$) have been recently collected from GeV to tens of TeV energies by several experiments with unprecedented precision. In addition, the Fermi-LAT Collaboration has provided a new energy spectrum for the upper bounds on the $e^++e^{-}$ dipole anisotropy. This observable can bring information on the emission from local Galactic sources, notably measured with high precision at radio frequencies. We develop a framework in which $e^-$ and $e^+$ measured at Earth from GeV up to tens of TeV energies have a composite origin. A dedicated analysis is deserved to Vela YZ and Cygnus Loop Supernova Remnants (SNRs), for which we consider two different models for the injection of $e^-$. We investigate the consistency of these models using the three physical observables: the radio flux from Vela YZ and Cygnus Loop at all the available frequencies, the $e^++e^-$ flux from five experiments from the GeV to tens of TeV energy, the $e^++e^-$ dipole anisotropy upper limits from 50 GeV to about 1 TeV. We find that the radio flux for these nearby SNRs strongly constraints the properties of the injection electron spectrum, partially compatible with the looser constraints derived from the $e^+ + e^-$ flux data. We also perform a multi-wavelength multi-messenger analysis by fitting simultaneously the radio flux on Vela YZ and Cygnus Loop and the $e^+ + e^-$ flux, and checking the outputs against the $e^+ + e^-$ dipole anisotropy data. Remarkably, we find a model which is compatible with all the $e^++e^-$ flux data, the radio data for Vela YZ and Cygnus Loop, and with the anisotropy upper bounds. We show the severe constraints imposed by the most recent data on the $e^+ + e^-$ dipole anisotropy.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in the JCAP. Changes in v3: discussion and results extended to include an evolutionary model for the injection of cosmic-ray electrons in SNR

Radio detection prospects for a bulge population of millisecond pulsars as suggested by Fermi LAT observations of the inner Galaxy

Analogously to globular clusters, the dense stellar environment of the Galactic center has been proposed to host a large population of as-yet undetected millisecond pulsars (MSPs). Recently, this hypothesis found support in the analysis of gamma rays from the inner Galaxy seen by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard the Fermi satellite, which revealed a possible excess of diffuse GeV photons in the inner 15 deg about the Galactic center (Fermi GeV excess). The excess can be interpreted as the collective emission of thousands of MSPs in the Galactic bulge, with a spherical distribution that strongly peaks towards the Galactic center. In order to fully establish the MSP interpretation, it is essential to find corroborating evidence in multi-wavelength searches, most notably through the detection of radio pulsation from individual bulge MSPs. Based on globular cluster observations and the gamma-ray emission from the inner Galaxy, we investigate the prospects for detecting MSPs in the Galactic bulge. While previous pulsar surveys failed to identify this population, we demonstrate that, in the upcoming years, new large-area surveys with focus on regions a few degrees north or south of the Galactic center should lead to the detection of dozens of bulge MSPs. Additionally, we show that, in the near future, deep targeted searches of unassociated Fermi sources should be able to detect the first few MSPs in the bulge. The prospects for these deep searches are enhanced by a tentative gamma-ray/radio correlation that we infer from high-latitude gamma-ray MSPs. Such detections would constitute the first clear discoveries of field MSPs in the Galactic bulge, with far-reaching implications for gamma-ray observations, the formation history of the central Milky Way and strategy optimization for future radio observations.Comment: 24 pages, 17 figures, 5 tables. Minor clarifications. Matches version published in Ap