Secondary neutrino and gamma-ray fluxes from SimProp and CRPropa [HEAP]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1901.01244


The interactions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with background photons in extragalactic space generate high-energy neutrinos and photons. Simulations of UHECR propagation require assumptions about physical quantities such as the spectrum of the extragalactic background light (EBL) and photodisintegration cross sections. These assumptions, as well as the approximations used in the codes, may influence the computed UHECR spectrum and composition, and associated cosmogenic neutrino and photon fluxes. Following up on our previous work where we studied the effects of these uncertainties on the UHECR spectrum and composition, here we quantify those on neutrino fluxes and production rates of photons, electrons, and positrons, using the Monte Carlo codes CRPropa and SimProp, for various astrophysical scenarios. We show that cosmogenic neutrinos are more sensitive to the choice of EBL model than UHECRs, whereas the overall cosmogenic gamma-ray production rates are relatively independent of propagation details. We also find significant differences between neutrino fluxes predicted by the latest released versions of CRPropa and SimProp, and discuss their causes and possible improvements for future versions of the codes.

Read this paper on arXiv…

R. Batista, D. Boncioli, A. Matteo, et. al.
Mon, 7 Jan 19
34/52

Comments: 1+23 pages, 11 figures, 1 table; prepared for submission to JCAP