Galactic Super-Accreting X-ray Binaries as Super-PeVatron Accelerators
Abstract
The extension of the cosmic-ray (CR) spectrum well beyond 1~PeV necessitates the existence of a population of accelerators in the Milky Way, which we refer to as Super PeVatrons. Identifying the nature of these sources remains a challenge to the paradigm of galactic CRs. Galactic super-accreting X-ray binaries, where the compact object accretes at a rate near or above the Eddington limit, can meet the energy requirement to supply the high-energy population of galactic CRs. We demonstrate that the trans-relativistic jets and/or winds of these powerful objects with kinetic energy luminosity exceeding 1039 \, erg/s, can accelerate protons to energies above several PeV. Detection of such super-accreting X-ray binaries through their ultra-high-energy γ-ray ``halos" and large-scale nebulae is also discussed.
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