Related papers: Particle Acceleration in Astrophysical Sources
A property common to several different astrophysical sources of high-energy gamma-rays is the presence of bulk motion at relativistic speed. The intrinsic spectra of the nonthermal radiating particles also show interesting similarities,…
Observations of TeV--PeV-energy cosmic neutrinos by the IceCube observatory have suggested that extragalactic cosmic-ray sources should have an optical depth greater than $\sim$0.01 and contribute to more than 10\% of the observed bulk of…
Galactic cosmic rays are believed to be accelerated at supernova remnants via diffusive shock acceleration. Though this mechanism gives fairly robust predictions for the spectrum of particles accelerated at the shock, the spectrum of 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 ray (CR) particles arrive at the top of the Earth's atmosphere at a rate of around 1000 per square meter per second. They are mostly ionized nuclei - about 90% protons, 9% alpha particles traces of heavier nuclei and approximately 1%…
I review several ongoing connections between space physics and astrophysics: a) Measurements of energetic particle spectra have confirmed theoretical prediction of the highest energy to which shocks can accelerate particles, and this has…
Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs), particles characterized by energies exceeding $10^{18}$ eV, are generally believed to be accelerated electromagnetically in high-energy astrophysical sources. One promising mechanism of UHECR…
Suppose that even the highest energy cosmic rays (CRs) observed on Earth are protons accelerated in local Milky Way Galaxy sources, with few if any from more distant sources. In this paper we treat the problem that supernovae remnants…
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…
Young supernova remnants are thought to be the sites where cosmic ray acceleration occurs by the mechanism of diffusive shock acceleration. The maximum energy gained in this process is conventionally extimated to have a value close to, but…
We summarize recent results of the observations of high (1 TeV-100 PeV) and ultrahigh ($\geq 100$ PeV) energy neutrinos, including the detection of a diffuse cosmic high-energy neutrino background, the identification of the first neutrino…
Galactic cosmic rays are believed to be accelerated at supernova remnant shocks. Though very popular and robust, this conjecture still needs a conclusive proof. The strongest support to this idea is probably the fact that supernova remnants…
We review the main observational and theoretical facts about acceleration of Galactic cosmic rays in supernova remnants, discussing the arguments in favor and against a connection between cosmic rays and supernova remnants, the so-called…
This is a summary of a series of lectures on the current experimental and theoretical status of our understanding of origin and nature of cosmic radiation. Specific focus is put on ultra-high energy cosmic radiation above ~10^17 eV,…
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…
The problem of the origin of Cosmic Rays is now over a century old and while there has been substantial progress, especially in the last decade, there are still open questions. The question of "origin" is open to at least three possible…
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,…
Cosmic rays are energetic nuclei that permeate the entire Galactic disk. Their existence requires the presence of powerful particle accelerators. While Galactic supernova explosions may supply the required energy, there is growing evidence…
Supernova remnants (SNRs) are thought to be the most promising sources of Galactic cosmic rays. One of the principal questions is whether they are accelerating particles up to the maximum energy of Galactic cosmic rays ($\sim$ PeV). In this…
The hunt for cosmic TeV particle accelerators is prospering through Imaging Atmospheric Cerenkov Telescopes. We face challenges such as low light levels and MHz trigger rates, and the need to distinguish between particle air showers…