Unveiling Multimessenger Emission from Hidden Cores of Microquasars
Abstract
Microquasars are radio-emitting X-ray binaries accompanied by relativistic jets. They are established sources of 100~TeV gamma rays and are considered promising candidates for cosmic-ray acceleration. Motivated by recent detections of 100~TeV photons from Cygnus~X-1 and ~PeV photons from Cygnus~X-3 by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), we employ the Astrophysical Multimessenger Emission Simulator (AMES) to model their multimessenger emission considering compact outflow regions as cosmic-ray accelerators, spanning from radio to ultra-high-energy gamma rays. Our results show that the observed >TeV gamma rays can originate from either pγ or pp interactions, depending on the location and physical conditions of the emission region, while also reproducing the lower-energy spectra. The different configurations yield unique, observationally testable predictions. In the 0.1-10~TeV energy range, where current observations provide only upper limits, they predict either a deep dip, a mild suppression, or a power-law spectrum. Additionally, models involving AU-scale blob regions predict strong variability, while those invoking more extended and static external zones show more stable behavior. We also provide a possible qualitative explanation for the distinct modulation patterns across different energy bands, which relies primarily on changes in the Doppler factor and external γγ absorption. Finally, our neutrino predictions, which properly account for muon and pion cooling effects, reveal a significantly suppressed flux, indicating that detecting these sources may be more challenging than previously anticipated.
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