Influence of Extragalactic Magnetic Fields on Extragalactic Cascade Gamma-Ray Emission

Abstract

We discuss the influence of extragalactic magnetic fields on the intensity of gamma-ray emission produced in electromagnetic cascades from ultra-high energy cosmic rays propagating in extragalactic space. Both cosmic rays and cascade particles propagate mostly out of galaxies, galactic clusters, and large-scale structures, as their relative volume is small. Therefore, their magnetic fields weakly affect emission produced in cascades. Yet, estimates of this influence can be useful in searching for dark matter particles when components of extragalactic gamma-ray background should be known, including cascade gamma-ray emission. To study magnetic field influence on cascade emission, we calculated cosmic particle propagation in fields of ~10−6 and 10−12 G (the former is typical inside galaxies and clusters and the latter is common in voids and outside galaxies and clusters). The calculated spectra of cascade gamma-ray emissions are similar in the range of ~107–109 eV, so analyzing cascade emission in this range it is not necessary to specify models of an extragalactic magnetic field.

Keywords

• cosmic rays
• electromagnetic cascades
• extragalactic magnetic field
• extragalactic diffuse gamma-ray background
• dark matter