Detailed parametrization of neutrino and gamma-ray energy spectra from high energy proton-proton interactions

Abstract

Gamma rays and neutrinos are produced as a result of proton-proton interactions that occur in different astrophysical contexts. The detection of these two types of messengers is of great importance for the study of different physical phenomena, related to nonthermal processes, taking place in different astrophysical scenarios. Therefore, the knowledge of the energy spectrum of these two types of particles, as a function of the incident proton energy, is essential for the interpretation of the observational data. In this paper, parametrizations of the energy spectra of gamma rays and neutrinos, originated in proton-proton collisions, are presented. The energy range of the incident protons considered extends from 10 2 to 10 8 GeV. The parametrizations are based on Monte Carlo simulations of proton-proton interactions performed with the hadronic interaction models QGSJET-II-04 and EPOS-LHC, which have recently been updated with the data taken by the Large Hadron Collider.