Related papers: Cosmic Particle Acceleration: Basic Issues
I discuss some central issues in particle physics which are potentially relevant to cosmology. I first briefly review the present (glorious) experimental status of the Standard Model, emphasizing that it provides a firm foundation both for…
Galactic cosmic rays are believed to be accelerated at supernova remnant shocks. Gamma-ray observations of both supernova remnants and associated molecular clouds have been used in several occasions to test (so far quite successfully) this…
Astrophysics is gaining increased attention from the particle and nuclear physics communities, as budget cuts, delays, and cancellations limit opportunities for breakthrough research at accelerator laboratories. Observations of cosmic rays…
The existence of cosmic rays of energies exceeding 10^20 eV is one of the mysteries of high energy astrophysics. The spectrum and the high energy to which it extends rule out almost all suggested source models. The challenges posed by…
It is generally regarded that the bulk of cosmic rays originate in the Galaxy and that those below the 'knee' (the rapid steepening in the energy spectrum) at a few PeV come from Galactic supernovae, the particles being accelerated by the…
We give a short review of processes of stochastic acceleration in the Galaxy. We discuss: how to estimate correctly the number of accelerated particles, and at which condition the stochastic mechanism is able to generate power-law…
It is possible to generate an accelerated period of expansion from reasonable potentials acting between the universe particle constituents. The pressure of primordial nucleons interacting via a simple nuclear potential is obtained via…
The search for the origin of cosmic rays is as active as ever, mainly driven by new insights provided by recent pieces of observation. Much effort is being channelled in putting the so called supernova paradigm for the origin of galactic…
Cosmic Ray (CR) acceleration still challenges the researchers. Fast particles may be accelerated in astrophysical environments by a variety of processes. Acceleration in magnetic reconnection sites in particular, has lately attracted the…
A review is given of the main properties of the charged component of galactic cosmic rays, particles detected at Earth with an energy spanning from tens of MeV up to about 10^19 eV. After a short introduction to the topic and an historical…
Diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) of particles at collisionless shocks is the major accepted paradigm about the origin of cosmic rays (CRs). As a theory it was developed during the late 1970s in the so-called test-particle case. If one…
The non-linear back reaction of accelerated cosmic rays at the shock fronts, leads to the formation of a smooth precursor with a length scale corresponding to the diffusive scale of the energetic particles. Past works claimed that shocklets…
The past few years have seen dramatic breakthroughs and spectacular and puzzling discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology. In many cases, the new observations can only be explained with the introduction of new fundamental physics. Here we…
The exploration of cosmic rays, which are high-energy particles originate from space and the atmosphere, has historically been associated with particle physics and astrophysics. In the last 20 years, these particles have evolved into…
"Diffuse" gamma rays consist of several components: truly diffuse emission from the interstellar medium, the extragalactic background, whose origin is not firmly established yet, and the contribution from unresolved and faint Galactic point…
We examine limits to the energy to which cosmic rays can be accelerated by relativistic shocks, showing that acceleration of light ions as high as 100 EeV is unlikely. The implication of our estimates is that if ultra-high energy cosmic…
We evaluate the current status of supernova remnants as the sources of Galactic cosmic rays. We summarize observations of supernova remnants, covering the whole electromagnetic spectrum and describe what these obser- vations tell us about…
Particle colliders have been remarkably successful tools in particle and nuclear physics. What are the future trends and limitations of accelerators as they currently exist, and are there possible alternative approaches? What would the…
I discuss the scientific rationale and opportunities in the study of high energy particle accelerators away from the Earth; mostly, those outside the Solar System. I also briefly outline the features to be desired in telescopes used to…
Accretion flows onto supergalactic-scale structures are accompanied with large spatial scale shock waves. These shocks were postulated as possible sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. The highest particle energies were expected for…