Spurred by the improved measurement sensitivity in the very-high-energy ( VHE : \geq 100 GeV ) \gamma -ray band , we assess the feasibility of detection of the nearby starburst galaxy M 82 .
VHE emission is expected to be predominantly from the decay of neutral pions which are produced in energetic proton interactions with ambient protons .
An estimate of VHE emission from this process is obtained by an approximate , semi-quantitative calculation , and also by a detailed numerical treatment based on a convection-diffusion model for energetic electron and proton propagation and energy losses .
All relevant hadronic and leptonic processes are considered , gauged by the measured synchrotron radio emission from the inner disk region .
We estimate an integrated flux f ( \geq 100 GeV ) \sim 2 \times 10 ^ { -12 } cm ^ { -2 } s ^ { -1 } , possibly detectable by the current northern-hemisphere imaging air Cherenkov telescopes , MAGIC and VERITAS , and a good candidate for detection with the upcoming MAGIC II telescope .
We also estimate f ( \geq 100 MeV ) \sim 10 ^ { -8 } cm ^ { -2 } s ^ { -1 } , a level of emission that can be detected by GLAST/LAT based on the projected sensitivity for a one year observation .