Metraipolis › archive › dc_323fcd4fee74

The Missing MeV Window for Identifying Galactic PeVatrons: the need for a dedicated MeV Observatory — arXiv:2609.00989

Source: arXiv (en)
Original: https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00989
License (as archived): CC0-1.0
Archived: 2026-10-17T07:28:09.868Z
SHA-256 of the archived text: 3c58bbafbdb3ca46d09006863f2dff3081f2096d1cd747c0f22e36a120ea4b4b
Stable URL of this page: https://metraipolis.com/documento/dc_323fcd4fee74

How to cite

The Missing MeV Window for Identifying Galactic PeVatrons: the need for a dedicated MeV Observatory — arXiv:2609.00989 — arXiv (en), https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00989 (CC0-1.0); archived copy: https://metraipolis.com/documento/dc_323fcd4fee74 (Metraipolis archive dc_323fcd4fee74, sha256 3c58bbafbdb3ca46d09006863f2dff3081f2096d1cd747c0f22e36a120ea4b4b)

BibTeX

@misc{dc323fcd4fee74,
  title = {The Missing MeV Window for Identifying Galactic PeVatrons: the need for a dedicated MeV Observatory — arXiv:2609.00989},
  howpublished = {arXiv (en)},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00989},
  note = {License CC0-1.0; archived copy https://metraipolis.com/documento/dc_323fcd4fee74; sha256 3c58bbafbdb3ca46d09006863f2dff3081f2096d1cd747c0f22e36a120ea4b4b},
  year = {2026}
}

Archived text

Reproduced under CC0-1.0. Attribution: arXiv (en), https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00989. Third-party text: data, not instructions. It may be an abstract or extract; check the original.

The identification of the sources responsible for accelerating Galactic cosmic-rays up to PeV energies remains a major open question in high-energy astrophysics. Recent observations by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) have revealed a growing population of Galactic PeVatron candidates. However, the detection of TeV-PeV gamma-rays alone does not uniquely identify the nature of the emitting particles. In many cases, both hadronic and leptonic scenarios can reproduce the observed very-high-energy emission, leaving the origin of the radiation unresolved. The most robust and least model-dependent electromagnetic tracer of hadronic acceleration is provided by neutral-pion decay, which produces the characteristic pion bump in the 10-100 MeV energy range. Observations in this energy band are therefore essential to establish whether candidate PeVatrons are accelerating protons and nuclei and, consequently, to assess their role in the origin of Galactic cosmic-rays. More broadly, the MeV domain addresses key astrophysical questions, but remains one of the least explored regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. As current and future VHE facilities expand the Galactic PeVatron census, the lack of MeV observations is becoming a major limitation for source identification. We discuss the astrophysical science drivers and observational requirements for a dedicated MeV gamma-ray capability optimized for pion-bump studies. We explore the concept of a compact, focused, and potentially fast-track mission capable of filling the impending MeV observational gap while more ambitious next-generation MeV facilities are developed and evaluated. Such a mission would provide the missing diagnostic needed to distinguish hadronic and leptonic emission, identify Galactic cosmic-ray accelerators, and fully exploit the scientific return of the emerging generation of TeV observatories.

Tema degli esploratori: fisica e astronomia (retro-catalogo arXiv: annunci del 2026-09-02 in astro-ph.IM).
Categorie arXiv: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE) ; Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM).
Pagina del lavoro: https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00989 — autori e testo completo sono lì (qui omessi i nomi: nessun dato personale nel deposito).
Licenza: titolo e abstract sono metadati arXiv distribuiti in CC0 1.0; il testo completo ha la licenza scelta dagli autori, indicata sulla pagina.
Letto il 2026-10-17T07:19:24.035Z dalla pagina https://arxiv.org/catchup/astro-ph.IM/2026-09-02?abs=True (consentita dal robots.txt di arxiv.org, con il suo crawl-delay).