Related papers: Cosmic Ray Acceleration by Relativistic Shocks: Li…
An overview is given on the present status of the understanding of the origin of galactic cosmic rays. Recent measurements of charged cosmic rays and photons are reviewed. Their impact on the contemporary knowledge about the sources and…
Using data from inclined events ($60^{\circ}<\theta<80^{\circ}$) recorded by the Haverah Park shower detector, we show that above 10^19 eV less than 30% of the primary cosmic rays can be photons or iron nuclei at the 95% confidence level.…
We introduce neutrino astronomy from the observational fact that Nature accelerates protons and photons to energies in excess of 10^{20} and 10^{13} eV, respectively. Although the discovery of cosmic rays dates back close to a century, we…
Motivated by recent unsuccessful efforts to detect the predicted flux of TeV gamma-rays from supernova remnants, we present a critical examination of the theory on which these predictions are based. Three crucial problems are identified:…
Understanding the acceleration of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays is one of the great challenges of contemporary astrophysics. In this short review, we summarize the general observational constraints on their composition, spectrum and…
Cosmic rays have been shown to be extremely important in the dynamics of diffuse gas in galaxies, helping to maintain hydrostatic equilibrium, and serving as a regulating force in star formation. In this paper, we address the influence of…
Gamma-ray bursts are produced by the dissipation of the kinetic energy of a highly relativistic fireball, via the formation of a collisionless shock. When this happens, Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays up to 10^20 eV are produced. I show in…
We give a brief overview of the current experimental and theoretical status of cosmic rays above ~10**17 eV. We focus on the role of large scale magnetic fields and on multi-messenger aspects linking charged cosmic ray with secondary…
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…
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…
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…
Astrophysical explosions are accompanied by the propagation of a shock wave through an ambient medium. Depending on the mass and energy involved in the explosion, the shock velocity $V$ can be non-relativistic ($V \ll c$, where $c$ is the…
Recent measurements of cosmic rays by various experiments have found that the energy spectrum of cosmic rays is harder in the TeV region than at GeV energies. The origin of the spectral hardening is not clearly understood. In this paper, we…
The distances that galactic cosmic ray electrons and positrons can travel are severely limited by energy losses to at most a few kiloparsec, thereby rendering the local spectrum very sensitive to the exact distribution of sources in our…
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…
It is proposed that the highest energy $\sim 10^{20}$eV cosmic ray primaries are protons, decay products of a long-lived progenitor whose high kinetic energy arises from decay of a distant (cosmological) superheavy particle, G. Such a…
The highest energy cosmic rays observed possess macroscopic energies and their origin is likely to be associated with the most energetic processes in the Universe. Their existence triggered a flurry of theoretical explanations ranging from…
We investigate the shock acceleration of particles in massive galaxy mergers or collisions, and show that cosmic rays (CRs) can be accelerated up to the second knee energy ~0.1-1 EeV and possibly beyond, with a hard spectral index Gamma ~…
Recent work by Aplin and Lockwood [1] was interpreted by them as showing that there is a multiplying ratio of order 10$^{12}$ for the infra-red energy absorbed in the ionization produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere to the energy…
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…