Related papers: Cosmic rays and molecular clouds
We explore some basic observational consequences of assuming that the dark matter in the Milky Way consists mainly of molecular clouds, and that cosmic rays can penetrate these clouds. In a favoured model of the clouds, this penetration…
Galactic diffuse continuum gamma-ray emission is intricately related to cosmic-ray physics and radio astronomy. We describe recent results from an approach which endeavours to take advantage of this. Information from cosmic-ray composition…
Galaxies at high redshifts with strong star formation are sources of high-energy cosmic rays. These cosmic rays interact with the baryon and radiation fields of the galactic environment via photo-pair, photo-pion and proton-proton processes…
The total cosmic-ray luminosity of the Galaxy is an important constraint on models of cosmic-ray generation. The diffuse high energy $\gamma$-ray and radio-synchrotron emissions of the Milky Way are used to derive this luminosity. The…
High velocity clouds moving toward the disk will reach the Galactic plane and will inevitably collide with the disk. In these collisions a system of two shocks is produced, one propagating through the disk and the other develops within the…
Recent high energy gamma-ray observations of both single supernova remnants and superbubbles, together with observations of supernovae, star formation regions, and local cosmic ray composition, now provide an integrated framework tying…
Our Galaxy is the largest nuclear interaction experiment which we know, because of the interaction between cosmic ray particles and the interstellar material. Cosmic rays are particles, which have been accelerated in the Galaxy or in…
The little we do know of the physical conditions in gamma-ray bursters makes them conducive to the acceleration of high-energy cosmic rays, especially if they are at cosmological distances. We find that, with the observed statistics and…
We will review the main channels of gamma ray emission due to the acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays, discussing the cases of both galactic and extra-galactic cosmic rays and their connection with gamma rays observations.
The last decade has been dense with new developments in the search for the sources of Galactic cosmic rays. Some of these developments have confirmed the tight connection between cosmic rays and supernovae in our Galaxy, through the…
Cosmic rays are charged energetic particles that permeate the interstellar medium. Their sizeable energy share and penetration power makes them essential players in the dynamical and chemical processes that rule Galactic evolution, such as…
Low-energy cosmic rays are a fundamental source of ionization for molecular clouds, influencing their chemical, thermal and dynamical evolution. The purpose of this work is to explore the possibility that a low-energy component of…
Cosmic rays are appealing as a source of ionization in starburst galaxies because of the great columns they can penetrate, but in the densest regions of starbursts, they may be stopped by pion production and ionization energy losses. I…
Observations of $\gamma$-rays from diffuse gas provide the opportunity to study the distribution of high energy particles in different astrophysical environments. In the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and the intracluster medium (ICM), it is…
The rate of ionization by cosmic rays in interstellar gas directly associated with gamma-ray emitting supernova remnants is for the first time calculated to be several orders of magnitude larger than the Galactic average. Analysis of…
Many star-forming galaxies and those hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) show evidence of massive outflows of material in a variety of phases including ionized, neutral atomic, and molecular. Molecular outflows in particular have been the…
Cosmic rays produce molecular cluster ions as they pass through the lower atmosphere. Neutral molecular clusters such as dimers and complexes are expected to make a small contribution to the radiative balance, but atmospheric absorption by…
Molecular clouds are expected to emit non-thermal radiation due to cosmic ray interactions in the dense magnetized gas. Such emission is amplified if a cloud is located close to an accelerator of cosmic rays and if cosmic rays can leave the…
"Diffuse" gamma rays consist of several components: truly diffuse emission from the interstellar medium, the extragalactic background, whose origin is not firmly established yet, and the contribution from unresolved and faint Galactic point…
The density of cosmic rays inside molecular clouds determines the ionization rate in the dense cores where stars form. It is also one of the drivers of astrochemistry leading to the creation of complex molecules. Through Fermi Large Area…