Production of gamma rays and neutrinos in the dark jets of the microquasar SS433

Abstract

We study the spectral energy distribution of gamma rays and neutrinos in the precessing microquasar SS433 as a result of pp interactions within its dark jets. Gamma-ray absorption due to interactions with matter of the extended disc and of the star is found to be important, as well as absorption caused by the ultraviolet and mid-infrared radiation from the equatorial envelopment. We analyse the range of precessional phases for which this attenuation is at a minimum and the chances for detection of a gamma-ray signal are enhanced. The power of relativistic protons in the jets, a free parameter of the model, is constrained by HEGRA data. This imposes limits on the gamma-ray fluxes to be detected with instruments such as GLAST, VERITAS and MAGIC II. A future detection of high-energy neutrinos with cubic kilometre telescopes such as IceCube would also yield important information about acceleration mechanisms that may take place in the dark jets. Overall, the determination of the ratio of gamma-ray to neutrino flux will result in a key observational tool to clarify the physics of heavy jets. © 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 RAS.