Speaker
Description
Abstract: It is widely accepted that supernova (SN) shocks can accelerate particles to very high energies, although the maximum energies are still unclear. These accelerated particles can interact with other particles to produce gamma-ray emission. Details of the process are not well characterized, including the dynamics and kinematics of the SN shock wave, the nature and magnitude of the magnetic field, and the details of the particle acceleration process. The properties of the SN shock itself are regulated by the surrounding medium, which in a massive star is formed by mass-loss from the pre-SN progenitor during its lifetime.
In this talk I will explore aspects of SN evolution, particle acceleration, and the non-thermal emission from young core-collapse SNe immediately after outburst. I compute the hadronic gamma-ray emission from p-p interactions, and show that young core-collapse supernovae, soon after outburst, are candidates to accelerate particles to PeV energies. The gamma-ray signal should however be limited by electron-positron pair production arising from the interaction of the gamma-ray photons with optical photons emitted by the supernova photosphere, which can potentially degrade the signal. I will explore the horizon of detectability of young SNe of various types with the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). I show that detectability with CTA will depend on following up the SN at the correct time, and therefore on knowing the SN type and parameters, generally obtained via observations in other wavebands.
