Related papers: From cosmic explosions to terrestrial fires?
Astrophysical explosions result from the release of magnetic, gravitational, or thermonuclear energy on dynamical timescales, typically the sound-crossing time for the system. These explosions include solar and stellar flares, eruptive…
Cosmic rays scattering with neutrinos produced in supernovae induce a flux of supernova neutrinos boosted to high energies. We calculate the neutrino flux arising from this new mechanism in environments with large cosmic-ray and supernova…
Cosmic rays are charged relativistic particles that reach the Earth with extremely high energies, providing striking evidence of the existence of effective accelerators in the Universe. Below an energy around $\sim 10^{17}$ eV cosmic rays…
Most cosmic ray particles observed derive from the explosions of massive stars, which commonly produce stellar black holes in their supernova explosions. When two such black holes find themselves in a tight binary system they finally merge…
It has been suggested that a potentially large fraction of supernovae could be accompanied by relativistic outflows that stall below the stellar surface. In this letter we point out that internal shocks that are believed to accelerate…
Supernova explosions into predecessor stellar winds can lead to particle acceleration, which we suggest can explain most of the observed cosmic rays of the nuclei of Helium and heavier elements, from GeV in particle energies up to near $3…
Observations and models suggest that the conditions to develop lightning may be present in cloud-forming extrasolar planetary and brown dwarf atmospheres. Whether lightning on these objects is similar to or very different from what is known…
Pluto's icy surface has changed colour and its atmosphere has swelled since its last closest approach to the Sun in 1989. The thin atmosphere is produced by evaporating ices, and so can also change rapidly, and in particular carbon monoxide…
The absorption of a high-energy photon from the external cosmic gamma-ray background in the inner neutron star magnetosphere triggers the generation of a secondary electron-positron plasma and gives rise to a lightning - a lengthening and…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are likely to have made a number of significant impacts on the Earth during the last billion years. The gamma radiation from a burst within a few kiloparsecs would quickly deplete much of the Earth's protective ozone…
The process that allows cosmic rays to escape from their sources and be released into the Galaxy is still largely unknown. The comparison between cosmic-ray electron and proton spectra measured at Earth suggests that electrons are released…
Propagation of ultra-high energy photons in the galactic and intergalactic space gives rise to cascades comprising thousands of photons. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate the development of such cascades in the solar…
Large wildfires are becoming more frequent at temperate latitudes. Often, fires generate massive convective columns that can carry solid particles (ash) into the stratosphere. Like their meteorological counterparts, pyrocumulonimbus…
The first and most compelling evidence of the universe's expansion was, and continues to be, the observed redshift of spectra from distant objects. This paper plays "devil's advocate" by providing an alternative explanation with elementary…
A search has been made for a contribution of the changing cosmic ray intensity to the global warming observed in the last century. The cosmic ray intensity shows a strong 11 year cycle due to solar modulation and the overall rate has…
An Earth-like planetary magnetic field has been widely invoked as a requirement for habitability as it purportedly mitigates the fluxes of ionizing radiation reaching the surface and the escape of neutrals and ions from the atmosphere.…
Recent results have strongly confirmed that multiple supernovae happened at distances ~100 pc consisting of two main events: one at 1.7 to 3.2 million years ago, and the other at 6.5 to 8.7 million years ago. These events are said to be…
Atmospheric mass-loss from Hot-jupiters can be large due to the close proximity of these planets to their host star and the strong radiation the planetary atmosphere receives. On Earth, a major contribution to the acceleration of…
Ozone in Earth's atmosphere is known to have a radiative forcing effect on climate. Motivated by geochemical evidence for one or more nearby supernovae about 2.6 million years ago, we have investigated the question of whether a supernova at…
The collision of the hypersonic winds in early-type binaries produces shock heated gas, which radiates thermal X-ray emission, and relativistic electrons, which emit nonthermal radio emission. We review our current understanding of the…