Year: 1997
Type: article
Abstract: We study the decays of metastable superheavy particles as the source of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHE CR). These particles are assumed to constitute a tiny fraction ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{X}$ of cold dark matter in the Universe. The UHE CR fluxes produced at the decays of $X$ particles are calculated. The dominant contribution is given by fluxes of photons and nucleons from the halo of our Galaxy and thus does not exhibit the GZK cutoff. The extragalactic components of UHE CR are suppressed by the smaller extragalactic density of $X$ particles and, hence, the cascade limit is relaxed. We discuss the spectrum of produced extensive air showers and a signal from a Virgo cluster as signatures of this model.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Authors: V. Berezinsky, M. Kachelrieß, A. Vilenkin
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2020604098