Deciphering the Archeological Record: Further Evidence for Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Ray Acceleration in Starburst-Driven Superwinds
Abstract
Very recently, the Pierre Auger and Telescope Array collaborations reported strong evidence for a correlation between the highest energy cosmic rays and nearby starburst galaxies, with a global significance post-trial of 4.6σ. It is well known that the collective effect of supernovae and winds from massive stars in the central region of these galaxies drives a galactic-scale superwind that can shock heat and accelerate ambient interstellar or circumgalactic gas. In previous work we showed that, for reasonable source parameters, starburst-driven superwinds can be the carriers of ultra-high-energy cosmic ray acceleration. In this paper we assess the extent to which one can approach the archaeological ``inverse'' problem of deciphering properties of superwind evolution from present-day IR emission of their host galaxies. We show that the Outer Limits galaxy NGC 891 could provide ``smoking gun evidence'' for the starburst-driven superwind model of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
Turn this paper into a full lesson
ArcXiv compiles a staged curriculum from this paper: 8-12 lessons across beginner → advanced, synthesised section guides, visuals, flashcards, a quiz, exercises, and on-demand deep dives per section. Grounded in the abstract, never invented.