Related papers: Cosmic rays and changes in atmospheric infra-red t…
The recent report by the PAMELA team of the observed rise in the cosmic-ray positron fraction above a few GeV and the report of an excess of cosmic-ray electrons around a few hundred GeV by the ATIC collaboration has resulted in a flurry of…
It is shown that, in addition to the Thomson scattering, the absorption due to the electron-electron, electron-ion and the electron -atom collisions in a partially ionized cosmic plasma would also contribute to the optical depth of the…
Cosmic ray propagation is diffusive because of pitch angle scattering by waves. We demonstrate that if the high-amplitude magnetohydrodynamic turbulence with $\tilde B/\langle B\rangle \sim 1$ is present on top of the mean field gradient,…
Cosmic rays are relativistic particles that come to the Earth from outer space. Despite a great effort made in both experimental and theoretical research, their origin is still unknown. One of the main keys to understand their nature is 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…
Cosmic rays in star-forming galaxies are a dominant source of both diffuse $\gamma$-ray emission and ionisation in gas too deeply shielded for photons to penetrate. Though the cosmic rays responsible for $\gamma$-rays and ionisation are of…
We draw attention to observational evidence indicating that a substantial fraction of the well-known cosmic celestial diffuse ultraviolet background radiation field is actually due not to dust-scattered starlight, but rather---considering…
The exploration of cosmic rays, which are high-energy particles originate from space and the atmosphere, has historically been associated with particle physics and astrophysics. In the last 20 years, these particles have evolved into…
The atmospheres of planets (including Earth) and the outer layers of stars have often been treated in radiative transfer as plane-parallel media, instead of spherical shells, which can lead to inaccuracy, e.g. limb darkening. We give an…
Cosmic rays (CRs) are the probes of the deep space. They allow us to study particle acceleration, chemical composition of the interstellar medium, and global properties of our Galaxy. However, until recently studies of CRs were similar to…
We examine limits to the energy to which cosmic rays can be accelerated by relativistic shocks, showing that acceleration of light ions as high as 100 EeV is unlikely. The implication of our estimates is that if ultra-high energy cosmic…
The measurement of ultra-high energy cosmic rays is an unique way to study article interactions at energies which are well above the capability of current accelerators. Significant progress in this field has occurred during last years,…
The origin of cosmic rays is one of the major unresolved astrophysical questions. In particular, the highest energy cosmic rays observed possess macroscopic energies and their origin is likely to be associated with the most energetic…
The physics of energetic particle propagation in magnetised environments plays a crucial role in both the processes of acceleration and transport of cosmic rays. Recent theoretical developments in the field of cosmic ray research have been…
We derive explicit, algebraic expressions for the steady-state number density of cosmic ray electrons as a function of position and energy using Green's function of the diffusion equation with energy losses for an axisymmetric distributions…
We consider the advantages of and the problems associated with hypotheses to explain the origin of ulthrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECR: E > 10 EeV) and the "trans GZK" cosmic rays (TGZK: E > 100 EeV), both through "old physics"…
In the last years the direct measurement of cosmic rays received a push forward by the possibility of conducting experiments on board long duration balloon flights, satellites and on the International Space Station. The increase in the…
The detection of cosmic rays with energy around and in excess of $10^{20}$ eV raises many questions that future experiments will help answering to. I address here my view of some of these open issues, as they are now and as they might be…
Nearly 50 years ago, the first radio signals from cosmic ray air showers were detected. After many successful studies, however, research ceased not even 10 years later. Only a decade ago, the field was revived with the application of…
The ultra-high energy cosmic rays observed at the Earth are most likely accelerated in extra-galactic sources. For the typical luminosities invoked for such sources, the electric current associated to the flux of cosmic rays that leave them…