Solar gamma ray probe of local cosmic ray electrons

Abstract

TeV-range cosmic ray electrons and positrons (CREs) have been directly measured in the search for new physics or unknown astrophysical sources. CREs can inverse-Compton scatter solar photons and boost their energies into gamma ray bands. Any potential CRE excess would enhance the resultant inverse Compton emission spectrum in the relevant energy range, offering a new window to verify the measured CRE spectrum. In this paper, we show that an excess in the TeV range of the CRE spectrum, such as the one indicated by the DAMPE experiment, can induce a characteristic solar gamma ray signal. Accounting for contamination from extragalactic gamma ray backgrounds (EGB), we forecast the DAMPE feature is testable ($\gtrsim 4 \sigma$) with a $\sim 10^{5}\,\mathrm{m}^2\,{\rm yr}$ exposure in the off-disk direction. This can be achieved by long-exposure observations of water Cherenkov telescopes, such as LHAASO (7.2 years) and HAWC (25.9 years).