Record-breaking gamma rays detected in the heart of the Milky Way
Researchers have confirmed a PeVatron source at the galactic center by observing ultra-high-energy gamma rays originating from the Milky Way galaxy. This discovery makes it possible to monitor the highest-energy processes in the universe and unravel the mysteries of the galactic center.
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Scientists working at the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory, located 13,000 feet above sea level on the Sierra Negra volcano in Mexico, are investigating a major mystery in the Milky Way galaxy.
An international research team led by Los Alamos National Laboratory has observed ultra-high-energy gamma rays exceeding 100 tera-electron volts, tracing them back to the galactic center for the first time.
"CONFIRMS ITS SOURCE FOR THE FIRST TIME"
Pat Harding, a physicist at Los Alamos and the Department of Energy's lead researcher on the project, said, "These findings open a window into much higher energies than previously observed in the center of the Milky Way. Our research confirms, for the first time, a PeVatron source of ultra-high-energy gamma rays in the region known as the Galactic Center Ridge. This shows that the galactic center is home to some of the most extreme physical processes in the universe."
100 GAMMA-RAY EVENTS OBSERVED IN 7 YEARS
The HAWC observatory has been collecting data for over seven years. During this period, researchers observed approximately 100 gamma-ray events with energies higher than 100 tera-electron volts.
As explained in an analysis led by Sohyoun Yu CArcaron and published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, this data allows for the direct study of PeVatron and cosmic-ray interactions and their comparison with other observations, helping to determine emission processes and the exact location at the very center of the Milky Way galaxy.
Cosmic-ray protons produced by the PeVatron travel at more than 99% of the speed of light and interact with the dense gas environment, leading to the formation of ultra-high-energy gamma rays. However, the exact nature of PeVatrons remains a mystery.
Harding stated, "Many of these processes are so rare that you wouldn't expect them to happen in our galaxy, or they occur on scales not associated with the size of our galaxy. For example, a black hole consuming another black hole is an event expected only outside our galaxy."