Discovery of Gamma Rays from the Quiescent Sun with HAWC

(HAWC Collaboration)

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.051201

Discovery of Gamma Rays from the Quiescent Sun with HAWC

(HAWC Collaboration)

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Abstract

We report the first detection of a TeV γ-ray flux from the solar disk (6.3σ), based on 6.1 years of data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory. The 0.5-2.6 TeV spectrum is well fit by a power law, dN/dE=A(E/1 TeV)-γ, with A=(1.6±0.3)×10-12 TeV-1 cm-2 s-1 and γ=3.62±0.14. The flux shows a strong indication of anticorrelation with solar activity. These results extend the bright, hard GeV emission from the disk observed with Fermi-LAT, seemingly due to hadronic Galactic cosmic rays showering on nuclei in the solar atmosphere. However, current theoretical models are unable to explain the details of how solar magnetic fields shape these interactions. HAWC's TeV detection thus deepens the mysteries of the solar-disk emission.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	051201
Journal	Physical review letters
Volume	131
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.051201
State	Published - Aug 4 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Physics and Astronomy(all)

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10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.051201

Cite this

@article{6e73382aa5dd4146ac91ca087c6b3654,

title = "Discovery of Gamma Rays from the Quiescent Sun with HAWC",

abstract = "We report the first detection of a TeV γ-ray flux from the solar disk (6.3σ), based on 6.1 years of data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory. The 0.5-2.6 TeV spectrum is well fit by a power law, dN/dE=A(E/1 TeV)-γ, with A=(1.6±0.3)×10-12 TeV-1 cm-2 s-1 and γ=3.62±0.14. The flux shows a strong indication of anticorrelation with solar activity. These results extend the bright, hard GeV emission from the disk observed with Fermi-LAT, seemingly due to hadronic Galactic cosmic rays showering on nuclei in the solar atmosphere. However, current theoretical models are unable to explain the details of how solar magnetic fields shape these interactions. HAWC's TeV detection thus deepens the mysteries of the solar-disk emission.",

author = "{(HAWC Collaboration)} and A. Albert and R. Alfaro and C. Alvarez and Arteaga-Vel{\'a}zquez, {J. C.} and {Avila Rojas}, D. and {Ayala Solares}, {H. A.} and R. Babu and E. Belmont-Moreno and C. Brisbois and Caballero-Mora, {K. S.} and T. Capistr{\'a}n and A. Carrami{\~n}ana and S. Casanova and O. Chaparro-Amaro and U. Cotti and J. Cotzomi and {Couti{\~n}o De Le{\'o}n}, S. and {De La Fuente}, E. and {Diaz Hernandez}, R. and Dingus, {B. L.} and Duvernois, {M. A.} and M. Durocher and D{\'i}az-V{\'e}lez, {J. C.} and Ellsworth, {R. W.} and K. Engel and C. Espinoza and Fan, {K. L.} and K. Fang and {Fern{\'a}ndez Alonso}, M. and H. Fleischhack and N. Fraija and Garc{\'i}a-Gonz{\'a}lez, {J. A.} and F. Garfias and Gonz{\'a}lez, {M. M.} and Goodman, {J. A.} and Harding, {J. P.} and S. Hernandez and J. Hinton and D. Huang and F. Hueyotl-Zahuantitla and P. H{\"u}ntemeyer and A. Iriarte and V. Joshi and S. Kaufmann and J. Lee and Linnemann, {J. T.} and Longinotti, {A. L.} and G. Luis-Raya and K. Malone and M. Mostaf{\'a}",

note = "Funding Information: We thank Jung-Tsung Li for useful comments on the manuscript. We acknowledge the support from the US National Science Foundation (NSF); the US Department of Energy Office of High-Energy Physics; the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program of Los Alamos National Laboratory; Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog{\'i}a (CONACyT), M{\'e}xico, Grants No. 271051, No. 232656, No. 260378, No. 179588, No. 254964, No. 258865, No. 243290, No. 132197, No. A1-S-46288, No. A1-S-22784, c{\'a}tedras 873, 1563, 341, 323, Red HAWC, M{\'e}xico; DGAPA-UNAM Grants No. IG101320, No. IN111716-3, No. IN111419, No. IA102019, No. IN110621, No. IN110521, No. IN102223; VIEP-BUAP; PIFI 2012, 2013, PROFOCIE 2014, 2015; the University of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation; the Institute of Geophysics, Planetary Physics, and Signatures at Los Alamos National Laboratory; Polish Science Centre Grant No. DEC-2017/27/B/ST9/02272; Coordinaci{\'o}n de la Investigaci{\'o}n Cient{\'i}fica de la Universidad Michoacana; Royal Society—Newton Advanced Fellowship 180385; Generalitat Valenciana, Grant No. CIDEGENT/2018/034; The Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation, NXPO (Grant No. B16F630069); Coordinaci{\'o}n General Acad{\'e}mica e Innovaci{\'o}n (CGAI-UdeG), PRODEP-SEP UDG-CA-499; and the Institute of Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR), University of Tokyo. H. F. acknowledges support by NASA under Award No. 80GSFC21M0002. We also acknowledge the significant contributions over many years of Stefan Westerhoff, Gaurang Yodh, and Arnulfo Zepeda Dominguez, all deceased members of the HAWC collaboration. Thanks to Scott Delay, Luciano D{\'i}az, and Eduardo Murrieta for technical support. The work of J. F. B. was supported by NSF Grant No. PHY-2012955. The work of B. Z. was supported by the Simons Foundation. The work of A. H. G. P., B. Z., K. N., J. F. B., M. N., and T. L. was supported in part by NASA Grant No. 80NSSC20K1354. The work of A. H. G. P. and J. F. B. was additionally supported in part by NASA Grant No. 80NSSC22K0040. The work of T. L. was supported by the ERC under Grant No. 742104, the SNSA under Contract No. 117/19, and VR under Contract No. 2019-05135. The work of K. C. Y. N. is supported by the RGC of HKSAR, Project No. 24302721. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 American Physical Society. ",

year = "2023",

month = aug,

day = "4",

doi = "10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.051201",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "131",

journal = "Physical review letters",

issn = "0031-9007",

publisher = "American Physical Society",

number = "5",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Discovery of Gamma Rays from the Quiescent Sun with HAWC

AU - (HAWC Collaboration)

AU - Albert, A.

AU - Alfaro, R.

AU - Alvarez, C.

AU - Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C.

AU - Avila Rojas, D.

AU - Ayala Solares, H. A.

AU - Babu, R.

AU - Belmont-Moreno, E.

AU - Brisbois, C.

AU - Caballero-Mora, K. S.

AU - Capistrán, T.

AU - Carramiñana, A.

AU - Casanova, S.

AU - Chaparro-Amaro, O.

AU - Cotti, U.

AU - Cotzomi, J.

AU - Coutiño De León, S.

AU - De La Fuente, E.

AU - Diaz Hernandez, R.

AU - Dingus, B. L.

AU - Duvernois, M. A.

AU - Durocher, M.

AU - Díaz-Vélez, J. C.

AU - Ellsworth, R. W.

AU - Engel, K.

AU - Espinoza, C.

AU - Fan, K. L.

AU - Fang, K.

AU - Fernández Alonso, M.

AU - Fleischhack, H.

AU - Fraija, N.

AU - García-González, J. A.

AU - Garfias, F.

AU - González, M. M.

AU - Goodman, J. A.

AU - Harding, J. P.

AU - Hernandez, S.

AU - Hinton, J.

AU - Huang, D.

AU - Hueyotl-Zahuantitla, F.

AU - Hüntemeyer, P.

AU - Iriarte, A.

AU - Joshi, V.

AU - Kaufmann, S.

AU - Lee, J.

AU - Linnemann, J. T.

AU - Longinotti, A. L.

AU - Luis-Raya, G.

AU - Malone, K.

AU - Mostafá, M.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank Jung-Tsung Li for useful comments on the manuscript. We acknowledge the support from the US National Science Foundation (NSF); the US Department of Energy Office of High-Energy Physics; the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program of Los Alamos National Laboratory; Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT), México, Grants No. 271051, No. 232656, No. 260378, No. 179588, No. 254964, No. 258865, No. 243290, No. 132197, No. A1-S-46288, No. A1-S-22784, cátedras 873, 1563, 341, 323, Red HAWC, México; DGAPA-UNAM Grants No. IG101320, No. IN111716-3, No. IN111419, No. IA102019, No. IN110621, No. IN110521, No. IN102223; VIEP-BUAP; PIFI 2012, 2013, PROFOCIE 2014, 2015; the University of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation; the Institute of Geophysics, Planetary Physics, and Signatures at Los Alamos National Laboratory; Polish Science Centre Grant No. DEC-2017/27/B/ST9/02272; Coordinación de la Investigación Científica de la Universidad Michoacana; Royal Society—Newton Advanced Fellowship 180385; Generalitat Valenciana, Grant No. CIDEGENT/2018/034; The Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation, NXPO (Grant No. B16F630069); Coordinación General Académica e Innovación (CGAI-UdeG), PRODEP-SEP UDG-CA-499; and the Institute of Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR), University of Tokyo. H. F. acknowledges support by NASA under Award No. 80GSFC21M0002. We also acknowledge the significant contributions over many years of Stefan Westerhoff, Gaurang Yodh, and Arnulfo Zepeda Dominguez, all deceased members of the HAWC collaboration. Thanks to Scott Delay, Luciano Díaz, and Eduardo Murrieta for technical support. The work of J. F. B. was supported by NSF Grant No. PHY-2012955. The work of B. Z. was supported by the Simons Foundation. The work of A. H. G. P., B. Z., K. N., J. F. B., M. N., and T. L. was supported in part by NASA Grant No. 80NSSC20K1354. The work of A. H. G. P. and J. F. B. was additionally supported in part by NASA Grant No. 80NSSC22K0040. The work of T. L. was supported by the ERC under Grant No. 742104, the SNSA under Contract No. 117/19, and VR under Contract No. 2019-05135. The work of K. C. Y. N. is supported by the RGC of HKSAR, Project No. 24302721. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 American Physical Society.

PY - 2023/8/4

Y1 - 2023/8/4

N2 - We report the first detection of a TeV γ-ray flux from the solar disk (6.3σ), based on 6.1 years of data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory. The 0.5-2.6 TeV spectrum is well fit by a power law, dN/dE=A(E/1 TeV)-γ, with A=(1.6±0.3)×10-12 TeV-1 cm-2 s-1 and γ=3.62±0.14. The flux shows a strong indication of anticorrelation with solar activity. These results extend the bright, hard GeV emission from the disk observed with Fermi-LAT, seemingly due to hadronic Galactic cosmic rays showering on nuclei in the solar atmosphere. However, current theoretical models are unable to explain the details of how solar magnetic fields shape these interactions. HAWC's TeV detection thus deepens the mysteries of the solar-disk emission.

AB - We report the first detection of a TeV γ-ray flux from the solar disk (6.3σ), based on 6.1 years of data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory. The 0.5-2.6 TeV spectrum is well fit by a power law, dN/dE=A(E/1 TeV)-γ, with A=(1.6±0.3)×10-12 TeV-1 cm-2 s-1 and γ=3.62±0.14. The flux shows a strong indication of anticorrelation with solar activity. These results extend the bright, hard GeV emission from the disk observed with Fermi-LAT, seemingly due to hadronic Galactic cosmic rays showering on nuclei in the solar atmosphere. However, current theoretical models are unable to explain the details of how solar magnetic fields shape these interactions. HAWC's TeV detection thus deepens the mysteries of the solar-disk emission.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85167873938&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85167873938&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.051201

DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.051201

M3 - Article

C2 - 37595214

AN - SCOPUS:85167873938

SN - 0031-9007

VL - 131

JO - Physical review letters

JF - Physical review letters

IS - 5

M1 - 051201

ER -

Discovery of Gamma Rays from the Quiescent Sun with HAWC

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