An Ultrahigh-energy γ\gamma-ray Bubble Powered by a Super PeVatron

We report the detection of a $\gamma$-ray bubble spanning at least 100$\rm deg^2$ in ultra high energy (UHE) up to a few PeV in the direction of the star-forming region Cygnus X, implying the presence Super PeVatron(s) accelerating protons to at least 10 PeV. A log-parabola form with the photon index $\Gamma (E) = (2.71 \pm 0.02) + (0.11 \pm 0.02) \times \log_{10} (E/10 \ {\rm TeV})$is found fitting the gamma-ray energy spectrum of the bubble well. UHE sources, `hot spots' correlated with very massive molecular clouds, and a quasi-spherical amorphous$\gamma$-ray emitter with a sharp central brightening are observed in the bubble. In the core of$\sim 0.5^{\circ}$, spatially associating with a region containing massive OB association (Cygnus OB2) and a microquasar (Cygnus X-3), as well as previously reported multi-TeV sources, an enhanced concentration of UHE$\gamma$-rays are observed with 2 photons at energies above 1 PeV. The general feature of the bubble, the morphology and the energy spectrum, are reasonably reproduced by the assumption of a particle accelerator in the core, continuously injecting protons into the ambient medium

A tera-electronvolt afterglow from a narrow jet in an extremely bright gamma-ray burst 221009A

Some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have an afterglow in the tera-electronvolt (TeV) band, but the early onset of this afterglow has not been observed. We report observations with the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory of the bright GRB 221009A, which serendipitously occurred within the instrument field of view. More than 64,000 photons (above 0.2~TeV) were detected within the first 3000 seconds. The TeV photon flux began several minutes after the GRB trigger, then rose to a flux peak about 10 seconds later. This was followed by a decay phase, which became more rapid at $\sim 650\,{\rm s}$ after the peak. The emission can be explained with a relativistic jet model with half-opening angle $\sim 0.8^\circ$, consistent with the core of a structured jet. This interpretation could explain the high isotropic energy of this GRB.Comment: Online published by Journal Science on June 8, 202

Exploring Lorentz Invariance Violation from Ultra-high-energy Gamma Rays Observed by LHAASO

Recently the LHAASO Collaboration published the detection of 12 ultra-high-energy gamma-ray sources above 100 TeV, with the highest energy photon reaching 1.4 PeV. The first detection of PeV gamma rays from astrophysical sources may provide a very sensitive probe of the effect of the Lorentz invariance violation (LIV), which results in decay of high-energy gamma rays in the superluminal scenario and hence a sharp cutoff of the energy spectrum. Two highest energy sources are studied in this work. No signature of the existence of LIV is found in their energy spectra, and the lower limits on the LIV energy scale are derived. Our results show that the first-order LIV energy scale should be higher than about 10^5 times the Planck scale M_{pl} and that the second-order LIV scale is >10^{-3}M_{pl}. Both limits improve by at least one order of magnitude the previous results

Gamma Ray Astronomy with LHAASO

The aim of LHAASO is the development of an air shower experiment able to monitor with unprecedented sensitivity the gamma ray sky at energies from ~200 GeV to 1 PeV, and at the same time be an instrument able to measure the cosmic ray spectrum, composition and anisotropy in a wide energy range (~1 TeV to 1 EeV). LHAASO, thanks to the large area and the high capability of background rejection, can reach sensitivities to gamma ray fluxes above 30 TeV that are about 100 times higher than that of current instruments, offering the possibility to monitor for the first time the gamma ray sky up to PeV energies and to discover the long sought “Pevatrons”

Construction and On-site Performance of the LHAASO WFCTA Camera

The focal plane camera is the core component of the Wide Field-of-view Cherenkov/fluorescence Telescope Array (WFCTA) of the Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). Because of the capability of working under moonlight without aging, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) have been proven to be not only an alternative but also an improvement to conventional photomultiplier tubes (PMT) in this application. Eighteen SiPM-based cameras with square light funnels have been built for WFCTA. The telescopes have collected more than 100 million cosmic ray events and preliminary results indicate that these cameras are capable of working under moonlight. The characteristics of the light funnels and SiPMs pose challenges (e.g. dynamic range, dark count rate, assembly techniques). In this paper, we present the design features, manufacturing techniques and performances of these cameras. Finally, the test facilities, the test methods and results of SiPMs in the cameras are reported here.Comment: 45 pages, 21 figures, articl

Energy spectrum of cosmic protons and helium nuclei by a hybrid measurement at 4300 m a.s.l.

The energy spectrum of cosmic Hydrogen and Helium nuclei has been measured below the so-called “knee” by using a hybrid experiment with a wide field-of-view Cherenkov telescope and the Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) array of the ARGO-YBJ experiment at 4300 m above sea level. The Hydrogen and Helium nuclei have been well separated from other cosmic ray components by using a multi-parameter technique. A highly uniform energy resolution of about 25% is achieved throughout the whole energy range (100–700 TeV). The observed energy spectrum is compatible with a single power law with index γ =−2.63±0.0