Related papers: Constraints on Particle Acceleration from the Diff…
Possible existence of extragalactic ultra-high energy cosmic ray sources giving a very small particle flux on the Earth is considered. Accretion discs around supermassive black holes where particles are accelerated in electric fields are…
The gamma-ray background is still a subject under great debate. All phenomena in the universe emitting gamma-rays can contribute directly as diffuse emission or as an isotropic component from unresolved point sources. The question of the…
Particle acceleration is expected to take place at shocks that form during the process of large scale structure formation. Electrons accelerated at such shocks can upscatter a small fraction of the photons in the cosmic microwave background…
Gamma-ray bursts and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays provide an important testing ground for fundamental physics. A simple-minded analysis of some gamma-ray bursts would lead to a huge estimate of the overall energy emitted, and this…
The nonthermal radiation observed from a handfull of clusters of Galaxies is the proof that particle acceleration occurs in the intracluster medium. It is often believed that shock surfaces associated with either mergers of clusters of…
Laboratory experiments to explore plasma conditions and stimulated particle acceleration can illuminate aspects of the cosmic particle acceleration process. Here we discuss the cosmic-ray candidate source object variety, and what has been…
It is suggested that the outflowing plasma in the jets of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is inhomogeneous and consists of separate clouds. These clouds are strongly magnetized and move away from the central engine at relativistic speeds. The…
Extragalactic plasma jets are some of the few astrophysical environments able to confine ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, but whether they are capable of accelerating these particles is unknown. In this work, we revisit particle acceleration…
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).…
A mechanism of ultra-high energy cosmic ray acceleration in extragalactic radio sources, at the interface between the relativistic jet and the surrounding medium, is discussed as a supplement to the shock acceleration in `hot spots'. Due to…
In this chapter, we review some features of particle acceleration in astrophysical jets. We begin by describing four observational results relating to the topic, with particular emphasis on jets in active galactic nuclei and parallels…
The enhanced star forming activity, typical of starburst galaxies, powers strong galactic winds expanding on kiloparsec (kpc) scales and characterized by bubble structures. Here we discuss the possibility that particle acceleration may take…
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays interacting with the radiation fields in the universe cause electromagnetic cascades resulting in a flux of extragalactic gamma rays, detectable to some 100 GeV. Recent precise measurements of the extragalactic…
Gamma rays constitute a privileged point of view for the study of the extreme Universe. Unlike charged cosmic rays, which are thought to have a common origin, gamma rays are not deflected by galactic and intergalactic magnetic fields. This…
The most powerful persistent accelerators in the Universe are jetted active galaxies. Blazars, galaxies whose jets are directed towards Earth, dominate the extragalactic gamma-ray sky. Still, most of the highest-energy particle accelerators…
The nonthermal radiation observed from a handfull of clusters of galaxies (CG) is the proof that particle acceleration occurs in the intracluster medium (ICM). It is often believed that shock surfaces associated with either mergers of CG,…
In this paper intergalatic electromagnetic cascades are used as a probe of cosmic ray sources. This is achieved as follows. In extragalactic space cosmic rays initiate electromagnetic cascades in which gamma-ray and neutrino emission…
Here is reviewed our current understanding of Galactic and extragalactic diffuse gamma-ray emission. The spectrum of the extragalactic gamma-ray background above 30 MeV can be well described by a power law with photon index s=2.1. In the…
The Z-burst mechanism invoked to explain ultra-high energy cosmic rays is severely constrained by measurements of the cosmic gamma-ray background by EGRET. We discuss the case of optically thick sources and show that jets and hot spots of…
We investigate acceleration of cosmic rays by shocks and accretion flows in galaxy clusters. Numerical results for spectra of accelerated particles and nonthermal emission are presented. It is shown that the acceleration of protons and…