Related papers: Closing in on the sources of Galactic and extragal…
The understanding of the nature of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is one of the most intriguing open questions for current and future observatories. These particles are expected to be accelerated in extragalactic sources. Because of their…
The problem in identifying the sites of origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays (CRs) is reviewed. Recent observational evidence from very-high energy (VHE, energies above 100 GeV) gamma-ray measurements is in contradiction with the surmise that…
It is thought that Galactic cosmic ray (CR) nuclei are gradually accelerated to high energies (up to ~300 TeV/nucleon, where 1TeV=10^12eV) in the expanding shock-waves connected with the remnants of powerful supernova explosions. However,…
Detailed composition measurements can be a very powerful means of tracing origins, a fact used regularly by forensic scientists and art historians. One of the main motivating factors for making detailed observations of cosmic rays was…
Diffusive shock acceleration operating at expanding supernova remnant shells is by far the most popular model for the origin of galactic cosmic rays. Despite the general consensus received by this model, an unambiguous and conclusive proof…
Cosmic rays are a sample of solar, galactic and extragalactic matter. Their origin and properties are one of the most intriguing question in modern astrophysics. The most energetic events and active objects in the Universe: supernovae…
In 2012, physicists and astronomers celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the detection of cosmic rays by Viktor Hess. One year later, in 2013, there was first evidence for extraterrestrial high-energy neutrinos, i.e. for signal which may…
After a hundred years of searching for the origin of cosmic rays, where and how they are made has finally become clear. Here we briefly trace that odyssey through both astronomical observations and cosmic ray measurements.
In his Nobel Prize lecture Victor Hess urged that different instruments, working together, should be used to solve the problem of the origin of cosmic rays. I review some of the key developments that have opened up the new fields of direct…
A review is given of the main properties of the charged component of galactic cosmic rays, particles detected at Earth with an energy spanning from tens of MeV up to about 10^19 eV. After a short introduction to the topic and an historical…
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Austrian (later naturalized American) Victor Hess among others developed a brilliant line of research, leading to the final determination of the extraterrestrial origin of part of the…
H.E.S.S. is one of the most sensitive instruments in the very high energy (VHE; > 100 GeV) gamma-ray domain and has revealed many new sources along the Galactic Plane. After the successful first VHE Galactic Plane Survey of 2004, H.E.S.S.…
H.E.S.S. results from the first three years of nominal operation are presented. Among the many exciting measurements that have been made, most gamma-ray sources are of Galactic origin. I will concentrate here on an overview of Galactic…
We discuss the status of the kilometer-scale neutrino detector IceCube and its low energy upgrade Deep Core and review its scientific potential for particle physics. We subsequently appraise IceCube's potential for revealing the enigmatic…
The origin of cosmic rays (CRs) has puzzled scientists since the pioneering discovery by Victor Hess in 1912. In the last decade, however, modern supercomputers have opened a new window on the processes regulating astrophysical…
Very high energy gamma-rays probe the long-standing mystery of the origin of cosmic rays. Produced in the interactions of accelerated particles in astrophysical objects, they can be used to image cosmic particle accelerators. A first…
Many of the basic problems in the astrophysics of charged Cosmic Rays remain on principle unresolved by in situ observations in the Solar System due to the chaotic nature of the propagation of these particles in Interstellar space. This…
It is shown that the acceleration of particles by a powerful relativistic jet associated with the activity of a supermassive black hole in the Galactic center several million years ago may explain the observed cosmic ray spectrum at…
Cosmic ray particles with energies in excess of 10**(20) eV have been detected. The sources as well as the physical mechanism(s) responsible for endowing cosmic ray particles with such enormous energies are unknown. This report gives a…
A brief summary of some highlights in the study of high energy astrophysical sources over the past decade is presented. It is argued that the great progress that has been made derives largely from the application of new technology to…