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Time-Variability of equivalent width of 6.4 keV line from the Arches Complex: reflected X-rays or charged particles?

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 Added by Dmitry Chernyshov
 Publication date 2018
  fields Physics
and research's language is English




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Molecular gas in Arches cloud located near the Arches cluster is one of the emitters of K-$alpha$ line of neutral iron and X-ray continuum in the Galactic center (GC). Similarly to the cloud Sgr B2, another well-known emitter of the iron line in the GC, the Arches cloud demonstrates temporal decline of the X-ray emission. The most natural origin of this emission is irradiation of primary photons of an X-ray flare from a distant source, most likely Sgr A*. However, recent observations of the Arches cloud discovered variations of equivalent width of the 6.4 keV iron line, which indicated that the X-ray emission from the cloud is a combination of two components with different origin and different equivalent width, one of which is time-variable, while the other is stationary during the period of observations. We considered two different scenarios: a) this emission is formed by reflection from two clouds, which are at some distance from each other, when they are irradiated by two different flares; and b) the other scenario assumes a combination of X-ray fluxes produced in the same cloud by reflection of primary photons and by subrelativistic cosmic rays. We present restrictions for both model and conditions at which these scenarios can be realized. Although none of the models can be completely ruled out, we find that the X-ray reflection model requires less assumption and therefore is the most viable.



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A new quantum effect connected with the late time behavior of decaying states is described and its possible observational consequences are analyzed: It is shown that charged unstable particles as well as neutral unstable particles with non--zero magnetic moment which live sufficiently long may emit electromagnetic radiation. This mechanism is due to the nonclassical behavior of unstable particles at late times (at the post exponential time region). Analyzing the transition times region between exponential and non-exponential form of the survival amplitude it is found that the instantaneous energy of the unstable particle can take very large values, much larger than the energy of this state at times from the exponential time region. Based on the results obtained for the model considered, it is shown that this new purely quantum mechanical effect may be responsible for causing unstable particles produced by astrophysical sources and moving with relativistic velocities to emit electromagnetic--, $X$-- or $gamma$--rays at some time intervals from the transition time regions.
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