Pion decay model of the Tibet-ASγ PeV gamma-ray signal

Abstract

<div lang="en" class="abs"><p class="abs_header">Abstract</p><p>The Tibet-ASγ Collaboration has recently reported a measurement of diffuse γ-ray flux from the outer Galactic disk in the energy range reaching PeV. We complement this measurement with the Fermi/LAT measurement of the diffuse flux from the same sky region and study the pion decay model of the combined Fermi/LAT + Tibet-ASγ spectrum. We find that within such a model the average cosmic-ray spectrum in the outer Galactic disk has the same characteristic features as the local cosmic-ray spectrum. In particular, it experiences a hardening at several hundred GV rigidity and a knee feature in the PV rigidity range. The slope of the average cosmic-ray spectrum above the break is close to the locally observed slope of the helium spectrum γ ≃ 2.5, but is harder than the slope of the local proton spectrum in the same rigidity range. Although the combination of Fermi/LAT and Tibet-ASγ data points to the presence of the knee in the average cosmic-ray spectrum, the quality of the data is not yet sufficient for the study of knee shape and cosmic-ray composition.</p></div>