High-energy Gamma Rays and Neutrinos from the Sun, Jupiter, and Earth

Abstract Cosmic rays (CRs) reaching the atmosphere of an astrophysical object produce showers of secondary particles that may then escape into space. Here we obtain the flux of gamma rays and neutrinos of energy E > 10 GeV emitted by the Sun, Jupiter, and Earth. We show that while the solar magnetic field induces a flux of gamma rays from all the points on the Sun’s surface, the dipolar magnetic field in the planets implies high-energy photons only from the very peripheral region. Neutrinos, in contrast, can cross these objects and emerge from any point on their surface. The emission from these astrophysical objects exceeds the diffuse flux from CR interactions with the interstellar medium and has a distinct spectrum and gamma-ray-to-neutrino ratio.