IT HAS BEEN A LONG-STANDING CHALLENGE TO LOOK FOR OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF COSMIC-RAY PARTICLES AT THE CENTER OF OUR GALAXY. THROUGH COLLISIONAL IONIZATION AND NON-THERMAL BREMSSTRAHLUNG LOW ENERGY COSMIC-RAY PROTONS (LECRP) WITH ENERGIES OF MEV TO GEV CAN PRODUCE 6.4 KEV FE KO: LINE AND CONTINUUM X-RAY EMISSION THROUGH INTERACTION WITH COLD MOLECULAR MATERIALS. THE FE KO: EMISSION FROM THE DENSEST GALACTIC CENTER MOLECULAR CLOUD SGR B2 HAS BEEN DECAYING FOR THE PAST DECADE WHICH HAS BEEN DOMINATED BY REFLECTION OF A PAST SGR A* X-RAY OUTBURST. HOWEVER BASED ON PREVIOUS OBSERVATIONS AS THE X-RAY REFLECTION COMPONENT KEEPS FADING A CONSTANT FE KO: EMISSION COMPONENT WILL TAKE THE STAGE BEGINNING EARLY 2017. THE FLUX LEVEL OF THE SGR B2 FE KO: EMISSION MEASURED IN 2017-2018 WILL FOR THE FIRST TIME PUT STRONG CONSTRAINTS ON THE MEV-GEV COSMIC-RAY PROTON POPULATION NOT PREVIOUSLY ACHIEVABLE. AS THE ONLY KNOWN GALACTIC CENTER MOLECULAR CLOUD WHOSE X-RAY EMISSION WILL SOON REACH THE BACKGROUND X-RAY EMISSION LEVEL SGR B2 SERVES AS A UNIQUE AND POWERFUL TOOL TO PROBE COSMIC-RAYS IN THE GALACTIC CENTER USING X-RAYS.
$32,742FY2020National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA