Abstract
The populations of relativistic electrons and high-energy cosmic rays in the extended components of radio-loud active galaxies-kiloparsec-scale jets, hotspots and lobes-make them, in principle, interesting sources of gamma-ray photons up to the highest (TeV) energies. Here I discuss the few detections of extended gamma-ray emission with Fermi and show what constraints they put on the physical conditions in radio galaxies. Although detections of radio galaxies at TeV energy are rare, I show that the information we do have can already put interesting constraints on radio galaxy physics: the CTA should have the sensitivity and resolution to improve this situation considerably, and to resolve the expected arcmin-scale gamma-ray jet in the nearest radio galaxy, Centaurus A. Finally, I review the connection between the gamma-ray observations and the acceleration of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, and suggest that, while radio galaxies may well be the sources of the highest-energy cosmic rays observed, they may constitute a 'disappointing' population in the sense that only very nearby sources, such as Cen A, will ever be identified as discrete cosmic-ray sources.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | AIP Conference Proceedings |
Publisher | American Institute of Physics (AIP) |
Pages | 72-79 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Volume | 1505 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780735411234 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2012 |
Event | High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy - Heidelberg, Germany Duration: 9 Jul 2012 → 13 Jul 2012 |
Conference
Conference | High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy |
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Country/Territory | Germany |
City | Heidelberg |
Period | 9/07/12 → 13/07/12 |