Undiscovered Pulsar in the Local Bubble as an Explanation of the Local High Energy Cosmic Ray All-Electron Spectrum

• Published in: Physical review letters Vol. 121; no. 25; p. 251106
• Main Authors: López-Coto, R, Parsons, R D, Hinton, J A, Giacinti, G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Physical Society 21-12-2018
• Subjects: Cosmic rays; Diffusion; Diffusion coefficient; Electrons; High altitude; Interstellar matter; Nebulae; Oxidation; Positrons; Pulsars; Stellar winds; Stereoscopy; Tracers
• ISSN: 0031-9007; 1079-7114
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.251106

Cosmic ray electrons and positrons are tracers of particle propagation in the interstellar medium (ISM). A recent measurement performed using the High Energy Stereoscopic System extends the all-electron (electron+positron) spectrum up to 20 TeV, probing very local sources and transport due to the ∼10 kyr cooling time of these particles. An additional key local measurement was the recent estimation of the ISM diffusion coefficient around Geminga performed using the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory. The inferred diffusion coefficient is much lower than typically assumed values. It has been argued that if this diffusion coefficient is representative of the local ISM, pulsars would not be able to account for the all-electron spectrum measured at Earth. Here we show that a low diffusion coefficient in the local ISM is compatible with a pulsar wind nebula origin of the highest energy electrons, if a so-far-undiscovered pulsar with spin-down power ∼10^{33-34}  erg/s exists within 30-80 pc of Earth. The existence of such a pulsar is broadly consistent with the known population and may be detected in near future survey observations.