On the non-thermal high energy radiation of galaxy clusters

¹ Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Universitetskij pr. 13, Moscow, 119992, Russia
² Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, Heidelberg, 69117, Germany
³ Institut de Physique Théorique, Université de Lausanne, BSP 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

Corresponding author: F. A. Aharonian, Felix.Aharonian@mpi-hd.mpg.de

Received: 2 May 2003
Accepted: 26 November 2003

Abstract

The origin of the non-thermal EUV and hard X-ray emission “excess” reported from some galaxy clusters has been intensively debated over the last several years. The most favored models which refer this excess to relativistic electrons upscattering the 2.7 K Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) generally requires a very low magnetic field, significantly below the estimates derived from the Faraday Rotation Measurements, unless one invokes rather nonstandard assumptions concerning the energy and pitch angle distributions of non-thermal electrons. In this paper we suggest a new model assuming that the “non-thermal” excess is due to synchrotron radiation of ultra-relativistic (multi-TeV) electrons of “photonic” origin. These electrons are continuously introduced throughout the entire intracluster medium by very high energy (hypothetical) γ-rays through interactions with the diffuse extragalactic radiation fields. We present numerical calculations for the Coma cluster, and briefly discuss implications of the model for other galaxy clusters both in the X- and γ-ray energy domains.