Modeling particle acceleration and multi-wavelength emission of a PeVatron microquasar V4641 Sgr

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) has recently reported five Galactic microquasars as Ultra-High-Energy (UHE) gamma-ray emitters (> 100 TeV). Among these sources, the microquasar V4641 Sgr exhibits gamma-ray emission up to $\sim$0.8 PeV, requiring the acceleration of particles to multi-PeV energies, as well as the hardest UHE spectrum. The mechanisms behind particle acceleration to such energies are not well understood. Furthermore, the limited multi-wavelength (MWL) information on this source appears contradictory, further complicating interpretation and suggesting that V4641 Sgr may represent a particularly unusual case. In this work, we present a detailed physical model of V4641 Sgr that combines first-principles simulations of stochastic (turbulent) particle acceleration with MWL emission modeling. We adopt a leptonic scenario in which electrons are accelerated via the second-order Fermi process driven by relativistic strong turbulence ($\delta B/B \sim 1$). The particle energization is simulated using a dedicated Monte Carlo framework STRIPE that incorporates the effects of intermittent energy gains and radiative losses. The resulting accelerated electrons produce UHE γ-rays through inverse Compton scattering on both the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the interstellar radiation fields (ISRF). Our model is capable of reproducing key observational characteristics of the system, including particle acceleration to energies of tens of PeV, as well as the TeV-PeV gamma-ray spectrum and the hard spectral index measured by LHAASO. Nonetheless, several aspects remain unresolved, highlighting the need for deeper observational coverage and further theoretical refinement.

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Publication Details

Published
2025-12-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.22323/1.514.0069
Primary Topic
Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Modeling particle acceleration and multi-wavelength emission of a PeVatron microquasar V4641 Sgr

Anton Dmytriiev, Markus Böttcher, Frans Van der Merwe
Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
article

Modeling particle acceleration and multi-wavelength emission of a PeVatron microquasar V4641 Sgr

Anton Dmytriiev, Markus Böttcher, Frans Van der Merwe
article en

Abstract

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) has recently reported five Galactic microquasars as Ultra-High-Energy (UHE) gamma-ray emitters (> 100 TeV). Among these sources, the microquasar V4641 Sgr exhibits gamma-ray emission up to $\sim$0.8 PeV, requiring the acceleration of particles to multi-PeV energies, as well as the hardest UHE spectrum. The mechanisms behind particle acceleration to such energies are not well understood. Furthermore, the limited multi-wavelength (MWL) information on this source appears contradictory, further complicating interpretation and suggesting that V4641 Sgr may represent a particularly unusual case. In this work, we present a detailed physical model of V4641 Sgr that combines first-principles simulations of stochastic (turbulent) particle acceleration with MWL emission modeling. We adopt a leptonic scenario in which electrons are accelerated via the second-order Fermi process driven by relativistic strong turbulence ($\delta B/B \sim 1$). The particle energization is simulated using a dedicated Monte Carlo framework STRIPE that incorporates the effects of intermittent energy gains and radiative losses. The resulting accelerated electrons produce UHE γ-rays through inverse Compton scattering on both the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the interstellar radiation fields (ISRF). Our model is capable of reproducing key observational characteristics of the system, including particle acceleration to energies of tens of PeV, as well as the TeV-PeV gamma-ray spectrum and the hard spectral index measured by LHAASO. Nonetheless, several aspects remain unresolved, highlighting the need for deeper observational coverage and further theoretical refinement.

National Research Foundation
Openalex Percentile: Top 83%
Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
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