The rise and fall of top-down models as main UHECR sources

Details The rise and fall of top-down models as main UHECR sources The rise and fall of top-down models as main UHECR sources

2008-10-16

arxiv.org/abs/0810.3017v2

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

10 pages, 6 eps figures, invited talk at XXth Rencontres de Blois "Challenges in Particle Astrophysics"; v2: PAO photon limit

Scientific paper

The motivation and the current status of top-down models as sources of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECR) are reviewed. Stimulated by the AGASA excess, they were proposed as the main source of UHECRs beyond the GZK cutoff. Meanwhile searches for their signatures have limited their contribution to the UHECR flux to be subdominant, while the theoretical motivation for these searches remained strong: Topological defects are a generic consequence of Grand Unified Theories and superheavy particles are a creditable dark matter candidate. While Fermi/GLAST results should help to improve soon bounds on topological defects from the diffuse gamma-ray background, the most promising detection method are UHE neutrino searches. Superheavy dark matter can be restricted or detected by its characteristic galactic anisotropy combined with searches for UHE photons.

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