AD 775 pulse of cosmogenic radionuclides production as imprint of a Galactic gamma-ray burst

Abstract

We suggest an explanation of a sharp increase in the abundance of cosmogenic radiocarbon found in tree rings dated AD 775. The increase could originate from high-energy irradiation of the atmosphere by a Galactic gamma-ray burst. We argue that, unlike a cosmic ray event, a gamma-ray burst does not necessarily result in a substantial increase in long-lived 10Be atmospheric production. At the same time, the 36Cl nuclide would be generated in the amounts detectable in the corresponding ice-core samples from Greenland and Antarctica. These peculiar features allow experimental discrimination of nuclide effects caused by gamma-ray bursts and by powerful proton events. © 2013 The Authors, Published by Oxford UniversityPress on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.