Tachyonic quantum densities of relativistic electron plasmas: Cherenkov spectra of γ-ray pulsars

Tachyonic Cherenkov radiation in second quantization can explain the subexponential spectral tails of GeV γ-ray pulsars (Crab pulsar, PSR J1836+5925, PSR J0007+7303, PSR J2021+4026) recently observed with the Fermi-LAT, VERITAS and MAGIC telescopes. The radiation is emitted by a thermal ultra-relativistic electron plasma. The Cherenkov effect is derived from a Maxwell–Proca field with negative mass-square in a dispersive spacetime. The frequency variation of the tachyon mass results in exp(−β^{^}ω^1−ρ) attenuation of the asymptotic Cherenkov energy flux, where β^{^} is a decay constant related to the electron temperature and ρ is the frequency scaling exponent of the tachyon mass. An exponent in the range 0<ρ<1 can reproduce the observed subexponential decay of the energy flux. For the Crab pulsar, we find ρ=0.81±0.02, inferred from the substantially weaker-than-exponential decay of its spectral tail measured by MAGIC over an extended energy range. The scaling exponent ρ determines whether the group velocity of the tachyonic γ-rays is sub- or superluminal. - Highlights: • Quantized tachyonic Cherenkov densities lead to subexponential spectral decay. • γ-Ray spectral fits to Crab pulsar, PSR J1836+5925, PSR J0007+7303, PSR J2021+4026. • The polarization of γ-rays is analyzed in the quasiclassical regime and quantum limit. • Three degrees of polarization due to the negative mass-square of the Maxwell–Proca field. • Weibull decay of spectral tails caused by frequency scaling of the tachyon mass