Overview
- Two LHAASO papers released on November 16 in National Science Review and Science Bulletin present evidence that micro-quasars produce the knee near 3 PeV.
- The observatory detected ultra-high-energy gamma rays from five micro-quasars: SS 433, V4641 Sgr, GRS 1915+105, MAXI J1820+070, and Cygnus X-1.
- SS 433’s emission overlaps a giant atomic cloud, indicating hadronic collisions by black-hole–accelerated protons exceeding 1 PeV with total power near 10^32 joules per second.
- V4641 Sgr produced gamma rays up to 0.8 PeV, implying parent particles above 10 PeV and identifying it as a super‑PeV accelerator.
- A high‑purity proton spectrum from LHAASO reveals a distinct high‑energy component; combined AMS‑02 and DAMPE results support multiple Galactic accelerator classes, and Cao Zhen estimates roughly a dozen such sources in the Milky Way.