Found the first traces of gamma-ray propagation in the Milky Way

A huge complex of telescopes in Tibet recorded the first evidence of the propagation of gamma rays

ultra-high energies through the Milky Way poweralmost one petaelectronvolt. This is three orders of magnitude greater than any known gamma ray emission caused by cosmic rays. The particles that people have accelerated in modern laboratories on Earth do not even come close to such powers.

The data obtained is the first evidence of the existence of as yet undetected stellar accelerators, which emit cosmic rays for millions of years.

Cosmic rays are high energy particles, mostly protons, that travel through space. Millions of these particles pass through our bodies every day, but are considered harmless.

Ultra-high energy diffuse gamma rays (yellowdots) propagate along the Milky Way galaxy. The background color outline shows the distribution of atomic hydrogen in galactic coordinates. A gray shaded area indicates what is outside the field of view. Credit: HEASARC / LAMBDA / NASA / GFSC.

Since 1990, dozens of researchers from China andJapan was looking for elusive, high-energy cosmic gamma rays. The Tibet ASγ Experiment collaboration made the discovery using nearly 70,000 square meters of ground-based arrays and underground muon detectors on the Tibetan plateau, over 4,000 meters above sea level.

Scientists believe that high-energy gamma raysappear as a result of nuclear interactions between high-energy cosmic rays emanating from the most powerful galactic sources and interstellar gas in the Milky Way galaxy. The detection of diffuse gamma rays above 100 teraelectronvolts is key to understanding the origin of very high-energy cosmic rays, which have been a mystery since their discovery in 1912.

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