Gamma Rays and Neutrinos from a Powerful Cosmic Accelerator

Abstract

Recent measurements of gamma rays from the powerful quasar 3C273 by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory show that a powerful cosmic accelerator must be operating. In this paper the evidence for proton acceleration is collected with the result that (i) the gamma ray spectrum should flatten slightly above a few GeV and that (ii) high energy neutrinos from the decay of photomesons are difficult to observe, although the power carried by these particles is as large as the gamma ray power. However, the power is concentrated at energies in the EeV range, whereas in the TeV-PeV range neutrinos from pp and p$\alpha$ collisions dominate due to their steeper spectrum. Consequently, the flux of cosmic neutrinos from flat spectrum radio sources such as 3C273 in the energy range relevant for proposed underwater or underice detectors could be much lower than inferred from assuming the same spectrum for gamma rays and neutrinos.