Related papers: The mass composition of cosmic rays above 10^17 eV
The significant attenuation of the cosmic-ray flux above $\sim 5 10^{19}$ eV suggests that the observed high-energy spectrum is shaped by the so-called GZK effect. This interaction of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with the ambient…
We show that the large-scale cosmic ray anisotropy at ~10 TeV can be explained by a modified Compton-Getting effect in the magnetized flow field of old supernova remnants. This approach suggests an optimum energy scale for detecting the…
We show that the simplest assumptions for the dynamics of particle production allow us to understand the fluxes of hadrons and photons at mountain altitudes as well as the structure of individual events. The analysis requires a heavy…
The highest energy cosmic rays observed possess macroscopic energies and their origin is likely to be associated with the most energetic processes in the Universe. Their existence triggered a flurry of theoretical explanations ranging from…
We suggest that the highest energy $ \gsim 10^{20} eV$ cosmic ray primaries may be relativistic magnetic monopoles. Motivations for this hypothesis are that conventional primaries are problematic, while monopoles are naturally accelerated…
The origin of the particles in the highest energy end of the cosmic ray spectrum is discussed in the context of the wider problem of the origin of the whole cosmic radiation as observed at the Earth. In particular we focus our attention on…
We have carried out a detailed study to understand the observed energy spectrum and composition of cosmic rays with energies up to ~10^18 eV. Our study shows that a single Galactic component with subsequent energy cut-offs in the individual…
A brief review of the energy spectrum of primary cosmic rays above $10^{10}$ eV and the measurement techniques used to investigate the ultra high energy ones is given. This is followed by a discussion of the atmospheric shower profile of…
The magnetic field in our Galaxy is not well known and is difficult to measure. A spiral regular field in the disk between the Galactic arms is favored by observations, however it is still controversial if the field reverses from arm to…
The study of high energy cosmic rays is a diversified field of observational and phenomenological physics addressing questions ranging from shock acceleration of charged particles in various astrophysical objects, via transport properties…
We suggest that the highest energy $ \gsim 10^{20}$ eV cosmic ray primaries may be relativistic magnetic monopoles. Motivations for this hypothesis are twofold: (i) conventional primaries are problematic, while monopoles are naturally…
We demonstrate by numerical flux calculations that neutrino beams producing the observed highest energy cosmic rays by weak interactions with the relic neutrino background require a non-uniform distribution of sources. Such sources have to…
Suppose that even the highest energy cosmic rays (CRs) observed on Earth are protons accelerated in local Milky Way Galaxy sources, with few if any from more distant sources. In this paper we treat the problem that supernovae remnants…
The observation of twenty cosmic-ray air-showers at and above 10^{20} eV poses fascinating problems for particle astrophysics: how the primary particles are accelerated to these energies, how the primaries get here through the 2.7K…
Recent results from the Pierre Auger Observatory are presented, focusing on a measurement of the cosmic-ray energy spectrum above 10^18 eV, cosmic-ray composition, and the anisotropy in the cosmic ray arrival directions. The flux of cosmic…
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 small change in the spectral slope of the overall intensity of cosmic rays near 1 PeV may be associated with the endpoint energy of supernova shock acceleration. A crucial test of this connection and other ideas of the origin of the…
In this Letter we examine the arrival directions of the most energetic cosmic rays (E > 2 * 10^19 eV) detected by several air shower experiments. We find that data taken by different air shower arrays show positive correlations, indicating…
We show that the photodisintegration of heavy cosmic ray nuclei with energies above 10^20 eV is dominated by interactions with photons from the cosmic microwave background radiation, rather than from infrared ones. This implies that the…
It is shown that the relativistic jets associated with the growth and past activity of the supermassive black hole in the Andromeda galaxy could be the main source of cosmic rays with energies above $10^{15}$ eV. Most of the cosmic ray…