Probing and Raising the Lithium Problems With Hadronic Gamma Rays and Cosmic -Ray Nucleosynthesis

Prodanovic, Tijana S.

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Description

Title

Probing and Raising the Lithium Problems With Hadronic Gamma Rays and Cosmic -Ray Nucleosynthesis

Author(s)

Prodanovic, Tijana S.

Issue Date

2006

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Fields, Brian D.

Department of Study

Astronomy

Discipline

Astronomy

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics

Language

eng

Abstract

"Besides lithium, CRs also produce ""pionic"" gamma-rays through pp → pi0 → gammagamma. Thus there is an intimate link between Li and gamma-rays produced in CR interactions. In this thesis we explore this link and use it as a new, model-independent way of testing the CR nucleosynthesis of Li. We apply this tool to test a, still hypothetical, cosmological CR population. Moreover, our approach reveals yet another Li problem. The isotope 6Li is made only in CR interactions where the standard assumption is that the measured solar 6Li abundance originated from interactions of galactic cosmic-rays (GCRs) with the interstellar medium. However, by applying our tool on this fiducial case, we found that gamma-ray observations allow for only ≈ 60% of the solar 6Li abundance to be produced by standard GCRs. This result bears important consequences for the non-standard sources of 6Li nucleosynthesis such as decaying dark matter and low-energy cosmic-ray component."

Graduation Semester

2006

Type of Resource

text

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