Teraelectronvolt gamma-ray emission near globular cluster Terzan 5 as a probe of cosmic ray transport

Abstract

The propagation directions of cosmic rays travelling through interstellar space are repeatedly scattered by fluctuating interstellar magnetic fields. The nature of this scattering is a major unsolved problem in astrophysics, one that has resisted solution largely due to a lack of direct observational constraints on the scattering rate. Here we show that very high-energy γ-ray emission from the globular cluster Terzan 5, which has unexpectedly been found to be displaced from the cluster, presents a direct probe of this process. We show that this displacement is naturally explained by cosmic rays accelerated in the bow shock around the cluster, which then propagate a finite distance before scattering processes re-orient enough of them towards Earth to produce a detectable γ-ray signal. The angular distance between the cluster and the signal places tight constraints on the scattering rate, which we show are consistent with a model in which scattering is primarily due to excitation of magnetic waves by the cosmic rays themselves. The analysis method we develop here will make it possible to use sources with similarly displaced non-thermal X-ray and tera-electronvolt γ-ray signals as direct probes of cosmic ray scattering across a range of Galactic environments. How a star cluster manages to produce γ-rays at a location 30 light yr away from itself is a mystery that can be solved by carefully testing theories about how charged particles travel through space.