Related papers: Probing Cosmic Accelerators Using VHE Gamma Rays a…
The possibility that rapidly rotating supermassive black holes associated with quasar remnants may provide sites for the acceleration of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) is considered. It is shown that prodigious TeV emission through…
The accretion of matter onto a massive black hole is believed to feed the relativistic plasma jets found in many active galactic nuclei (AGN). Although some AGN accelerate particles to energies exceeding 10^12 electron Volts (eV) and are…
We explore inferences on ultrahigh energy cosmic ray (UHECR) source environments -- constrained by the spectrum and composition of UHECRs and non-observation of extremely high energy neutrinos -- and their implications for the observed high…
We discuss the prospects of detecting the sources of ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic ray (CR) nuclei via their emission of cosmogenic gamma-rays in the GeV to TeV energy range. These gamma-rays result from electromagnetic cascades initiated…
Very-high-energy (VHE) $\gamma$-rays ($\gtrsim 0.1\rm~TeV$) and neutrinos are crucial for identifying accelerators of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), but this is challenging especially for UHECR nuclei. In this work, we develop a…
Several lines of evidence point to a relationship between gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and the high mass stars that explode as supernovae. Arguments that GRB sources accelerate cosmic rays (CRs) are summarized. High-energy neutrino detection…
We discuss the possibility of observing ultra high energy cosmic ray sources inhigh energy gamma rays. Protons propagating away from their accelerators produce secondary electrons during interactions with cosmic microwave background…
Massive black holes at the centers of galaxies can launch powerful wide-angle winds that, if sustained over time, can unbind the gas from the stellar bulges of galaxies. These winds may be responsible for the observed scaling relation…
Astrophysical sources are extremely efficient accelerators. Some sources emit photons up to multi-TeV energies, a signature of the presence, within them, of particles with energies much higher than those achievable with the largest…
We investigate acceleration of cosmic rays by shocks and accretion flows in galaxy clusters. Numerical results for spectra of accelerated particles and nonthermal emission are presented. It is shown that the acceleration of protons and…
We discuss a representative selection of particle acceleration mechanisms believed to be operating in Active Galactic Nuclei. Starting from direct electrostatic field acceleration in the vicinity of the black hole up to Fermi-type particle…
The origin of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) is a half-century old enigma (Linsley 1963). The mystery has been deepened by an intriguing coincidence: over ten orders of magnitude in energy, the energy generation rates of UHECRs, PeV…
We review basic constraints on the acceleration of ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays (CRs) in astrophysical sources, namely the geometrical (Hillas) criterion and restrictions from radiation losses in different acceleration regimes. Using…
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…
The Very High Energy Gamma Ray Astronomy (VHE) is a rapidly evolving branch of modern astronomy, which covers the range from about 50 GeV to several tens of TeV from the ground. In the past years, the second generation instruments firmly…
The riddle of the origin of Cosmic Rays is open since one century. Recently we got the experimental proof of hadronic acceleration in Supernovae Remnants, however new questions rised and no final answer has been provided so far. Gamma ray…
We discuss the most recent developments in our understanding of the acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays up to the highest energies. In particular we specialize our discussion to three issues: 1) developments in the theory of…
Cosmic high energy neutrinos are inextricably linked to the origin of cosmic rays which is one of the major unresolved questions in astrophysics. In particular, the highest energy cosmic rays observed possess macroscopic energies and their…
The origin of Galactic cosmic rays is still a burning question that forms a major motivation for developments in ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. SNRs are long-thought to be sites for the acceleration of Galactic cosmic rays, and evidence…
The sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are still one of the main open questions in high-energy astrophysics. If UHECRs are accelerated in astrophysical sources, they are expected to produce high-energy photons and neutrinos…