Related papers: Cosmic rays acceleration at ultrarelativistic subs…
We review the physics of relativistic shocks, which are often invoked as the sources of non-thermal particles in pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets, and as possible sources of…
The origin of cosmic rays (CRs) has puzzled scientists since the pioneering discovery by Victor Hess in 1912. In the last decade, however, modern supercomputers have opened a new window on the processes regulating astrophysical…
Particle acceleration in relativistic shocks of electron-positron plasmas with proton admixture is investigated through two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The upstream plasma, with a bulk Lorentz factor of $10$ and a…
The origin, propagation, and mechanisms of acceleration of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are not yet well understood. Aiming for a better interpretation of the available experimental data, these data have to be confronted with…
Galactic cosmic rays are believed to be accelerated at supernova remnants via diffusive shock acceleration. Though this mechanism gives fairly robust predictions for the spectrum of particles accelerated at the shock, the spectrum of the…
Collisionless shock waves, found in supernova remnants, interstellar, stellar, and planetary environments, and laboratories, are one of nature's most powerful particle accelerators. This study combines in situ satellite measurements with…
In this paper, we have made an accurate investigation of proton acceleration in GRBs and we have predicted a possible signature of cosmic rays, in a sufficiently baryon-loaded fireball, via GeV $\gamma$-ray emission produced by…
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays are the most extreme energetic particles detected on Earth, however, their acceleration sites are still mysterious. We explore the contribution of low-luminosity gamma-ray bursts to the ultra-high energy cosmic…
(abridged abstract) Theoretical arguments indicate that close-in terrestial exoplanets may have weak magnetic fields, especially in the case of planets more massive than Earth (super-Earths). Planetary magnetic fields, however, constitute…
The self-consistent interaction between energetic particles and self-generated hydromagnetic waves in a cosmic-ray pressure dominated plasma is considered. Using a three-dimensional hybrid MHD-kinetic code, which utilises a spherical…
Context. Supernova remnants (SNRs) are thought to be the primary candidates for the sources of Galactic cosmic rays. According to the diffusive shock acceleration theory, SNR shocks produce a power-law spectrum with an index of s = 2,…
Understanding the heating of electrons to quasi-thermal energies at collisionless shocks has broad implications for plasma astrophysics. It directly impacts the interpretation of X-ray spectra from shocks, is important for understanding how…
Cosmic-ray production in young supernova remnant (SNR) shocks is expected to be efficient and strongly nonlinear. In nonlinear, diffusive shock acceleration, compression ratios will be higher and the shocked temperature lower than…
We use fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations with unprecedentedly large transverse box sizes to study particle acceleration in weakly-magnetized mildly relativistic shocks traveling at a velocity $\approx 0.75c$ and a Mach number of…
Structure formation shocks are believed to be the largest accelerators of cosmic rays in the Universe. However, little is still known about their efficiency in accelerating relativistic electrons and protons as a function of their…
Cosmic ray (CR) transport and acceleration is determined by the properties of magnetic turbulence. Recent advances in MHD turbulence call for revisions in the paradigm of cosmic ray transport. We use the models of magnetohydrodynamic…
There is evidence that cosmic rays were present in galaxies at moderately high redshift. This suggests that magnetic fields were also present. If cosmic rays and magnetic fields must always be close to equipartition, as they are to an order…
A number of seemingly {\it exotic} phenomena seen in the highest cosmic-ray experiments are briefly discussed. We argue that they indicate existence of non-statistical fluctuations and strong correlations in the fragmentation region of…
We review the physics of the highest energy cosmic rays. The discovery of their sources, still unknown, will reveal the most energetic astrophysical objects in the universe and could unveil new physics beyond the standard model of particle…
The maximum cosmic ray energy achievable by acceleration by a relativistic blast wave is derived. It is shown that forward shocks from long GRB in the interstellar medium are powerful enough to produce the Galactic cosmic-ray component up…