Hadronuclear interactions in the jet of low TeV luminosity AGN: Implications for the low-state very-high-energy gamma-ray emission

In the study of radiation mechanisms of active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets, hadronuclear ($pp$) interactions are commonly neglected, because the number density of cold protons in the jet is considered insufficient. Very recently, our previous work proves that $pp$ interactions in the low TeV luminosity AGN, which have the potential to generate detectable very-high-energy (VHE) emission, could be important. Based on this, the one-zone $pp$ model is employed to study low-state quasisimultaneous spectral energy distributions of a sample of low TeV luminosity AGN in this work. Our modeling results show that the γ ray generated in $pp$ interactions can explain the observed TeV spectra and contribution to the higher-energy band that could be detected by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). In the sample, we suggest that M 87, Mrk 421, and Mrk 501 are the most likely objects to be detected by LHAASO in the near future. Other possible origins of VHE emission are also briefly discussed.