Related papers: Origin of the light cosmic ray component below the…
Recent studies, supported by updated hadronic interaction models, suggest that the mass composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays may be heavier than previously assumed. This has significant implications for source identification, as the…
Some general features of cosmic ray acceleration are summarized along with some inferences that can be drawn concerning the origin of the UHE component. The UHE luminosity density is found to be similar to that derived for GeV cosmic rays…
We consider the recent results on UHECR (Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray) composition and their distribution in the sky from ten EeV energy (the dipole anisotropy) up to the highest UHECR energies and their clustering maps: UHECR have been…
The spectral hardenings of cosmic ray nuclei above $\sim 200$ GV followed by softenings around 10 TV, the knee of the all-particle spectrum around PeV energies, as well as the pattern change of the amplitude and phase of the large-scale…
GeV-TeV gamma-ray and PeV-EeV neutrino backgrounds provide a unique window on the nature of the ultra-high-energy cosmic-rays (UHECRs). We discuss the implications of the recent Fermi-LAT data regarding the extragalactic gamma-ray…
A posteriori anisotropy study of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) has shown evidence of excess of cosmic ray particles above 55 EeV within $18^{\circ}$ of the direction of the radio galaxy…
The sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays are still unknown, but assuming standard physics, they are expected to lie within a few hundred megaparsecs from us. Indeed, over cosmological distances cosmic rays lose energy to interactions…
The Sun stands out as the closest and clearest astrophysical accelerator of cosmic rays, while other objects within and beyond the galaxy remain enigmatic. It is probable that the cosmic ray spectrum and mass components from these celestial…
Cosmic rays of energy higher than 10^19 eV may be explained by topological defects produced in the early stages of universe. Two suitable alternatives are: necklaces formed by magnetic monopoles connected by strings, and vortons which are…
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…
The problem in identifying the sites of origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays (CRs) is reviewed. Recent observational evidence from very-high energy (VHE, energies above 100 GeV) gamma-ray measurements is in contradiction with the surmise that…
We consider the recent results on UHECR (Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray), clustering, composition, distribution in the sky, from the energy of several EeV with the dipole anisotropy up to the highest ones. We have suggested since 2008 and we…
The understanding of the particle spectra resulting from acceleration in relativistic shocks as they occur in extragalactic sources, is essential for the interpretation of the cosmic ray spectrum above the ankle ($E_p>3\cdot 10^{18}$ eV).…
One of the models recently proposed to explain the origin of the ultra high energy cosmic rays assumes that these particles may be accelerated by the electromotive force around presently inactive quasar remnants. We study predictions for…
Interactions between cosmic ray protons and the photons of the cosmic microwave background radiation, as well as the expansion of the universe, cause cosmic rays to lose energy in a way that depends on the distance from the cosmic nray…
The origin and composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) remain a mystery. The common lore is that UHECRs are deflected from their primary directions by the Galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. Here we describe an…
We explore in some detail the scenario proposed to explain the observed knee of the cosmic ray (CR) spectrum as due to the effects of photodisintegration of the CR nuclei by interactions with optical and soft UV photons in the source…
The current status of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) is reviewed, with emphasis given to theoretical interpretation of the observed events. The galactic and extragalactic origin, in case of astrophysical sources of UHE particles,…
We briefly review sources of cosmic rays, their composition and spectra as well as their propagation in the galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields, both regular and fluctuating. A special attention is paid to the recent results of the…
In this chapter I give an overview of shock acceleration, including a discussion of the maximum energies possible and the shape of the spectrum near cut-off, interactions of high energy cosmic rays with, and propagation through, the…