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Found: A PeVatron

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Years of data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope confirms that one supernova remnant makes some of the highest-energy protons in our galaxy.

Fermi has shown that the shock waves of exploded stars boost particles to speeds comparable to light. Called cosmic rays, these particles mostly take the form of protons, but can include atomic nuclei and electrons. Because they all carry an electric charge, their paths become scrambled as they whisk through our galaxy’s magnetic field, so astronomers can no longer determine their birthplace. But when these particles collide with interstellar gas near the supernova remnant, they produce a tell-tale glow in gamma rays — the highest-energy light there is.

Theorists say the highest-energy cosmic ray protons in the Milky Way reach a million billion electron volts, or petaelectronvolt (PeV) energies. But the precise nature of their sources, which astronomers call PeVatrons, has been difficult to pin down.

G106.3+2.7, a comet-shaped remnant located about 2,600 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus, has long been suspect.

By combining 12 years of Fermi observations, astronomers have confirmed that the highest-energy gamma rays produced by G106.3+2.7 must result from protons boosted to PeV energies, crowning the remnant as a PeVatron.

Music credit: "New Philosopher" from Universal Production Music

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Sophia Roberts (AIMM): Lead Producer
Francis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park): Lead Science Writer
Ke Fang (University of Wisconsin-Madison): Lead scientist
Henrike Fleischhack (Catholic University of America: Scientist
Jayanne English (University of Manitoba): Scientist
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Technical Support

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Category
Tech
Tags
Astrophysics, Fermi, Gamma ray
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