Speaker
Description
The detection of near-TeV gamma rays from the 2021 outburst of RS Oph ($2.45$ kpc) by MAGIC established recurrent novae as Galactic TeV particle accelerators. However, the underlying emission mechanism—hadronic or leptonic—remains unresolved due to the absence of coincident neutrino detections. The anticipated outburst of the much closer recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis (T CrB, $\sim0.887$ kpc) provides an exceptional opportunity to probe the hadronic origin of nova emission through neutrino observations. We present the first comparative study of the secondary gamma-ray and neutrino emission expected from the forthcoming T CrB outburst by considering two proton acceleration scenarios: (i) external shocks (ES) at $\sim10^{13}$ cm and (ii) magnetic reconnection (MR) near the white dwarf surface at $\sim10^{9}$ cm. While the benchmark ES scenario predicts TeV gamma-ray emission detectable by current observatories, its associated neutrino flux remains below the sensitivity of existing neutrino telescopes. In contrast, the MR scenario produces a detectable neutrino signal within the reach of IceCube and KM3NeT, while the accompanying gamma rays are efficiently absorbed in the dense nova environment. Consequently, the MR neutrinos are expected to arrive several hours before the onset of ES-generated gamma-ray and neutrino emission, providing a distinctive temporal signature to discriminate between the underlying particle acceleration mechanisms in recurrent novae.
| Category | Theory |
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