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Sgr A* as Source of the Positrons Observed in the Galactic Center Region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2017

Pierre Jean
Affiliation:
Université de Toulouse; UPS-OMP; IRAP; Toulouse, France & CNRS: IRAP, 9 Av. colonel Roche, BP 44346, F-31028 Toulouse cedex 4, France
Nidhal Guessoum
Affiliation:
American University of Sharjah, Physics Department, PO Box 26666, Sharjah, UAE emails: pjean@irap.omp.eu, nguessoum@aus.edu, Katia.Ferriere@irap.omp.eu
Katia Ferrière
Affiliation:
Université de Toulouse; UPS-OMP; IRAP; Toulouse, France & CNRS: IRAP, 9 Av. colonel Roche, BP 44346, F-31028 Toulouse cedex 4, France
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Abstract

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We explore the possibility that a substantial fraction of the positrons observed to annihilate in the central region of our Galaxy come from the supermassive black hole Sgr A* that lies at the center. This idea was proposed by several authors, but the propagation of the emitted positrons into the bulge and beyond remained a serious problem for models of the origin of GC positrons.

We assume models of positron production with different energies. The propagation of positrons from their production site is followed in detail with Monte-Carlo simulations, taking into account the physical conditions of the propagation regions as well as various physical interactions. Using the known physics of positron annihilation in astrophysical environments, we calculate the properties of the annihilation emission (time evolution and spatial distribution) for the different models under consideration.

We present the results of these simulations and the conclusions/constraints that can be inferred from them.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2017 

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