Related papers: Cosmic Ray Acceleration by E-Parallel Reconnection…
Some general features of cosmic ray acceleration are summarized along with some inferences that can be drawn concerning the origin of the UHE component. The UHE luminosity density is found to be similar to that derived for GeV cosmic rays…
(Abridged) We have recently proposed that the ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) observed above the GZK limit could be mostly protons accelerated in reconnection sites just above the magnetosphere of newborn millisecond pulsars…
Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) have been tried to be related to the most varied and powerful sources known in the universe. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are natural candidates. Here, we argue that cosmic rays can be accelerated by large…
A new mechanism for the acceleration of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) is presented here. It is based on the tunnel-ionization of neutral atoms approaching electrically charged stellar black holes and on the repulsion of the…
Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays, UHECR, are charged particles with energies between $\sim10^{18}\,{\rm eV}$ and $\sim3\times10^{20}\,{\rm eV}\sim50\,{\rm J}$. They exhibit fundamental physics at energies inaccessible to terrestrial…
We here investigate the possibility that the ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) events observed above the GZK limit are mostly protons accelerated in reconnection sites just above the magnetosphere of newborn millisecond pulsars which are…
We develop a model of ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) production via acceleration in a rotation-induced electric field in vacuum gaps in the magnetospheres of supermassive black holes (BH). We show that if the poloidal magnetic field…
Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) can be accelerated by tidal disruption events of stars by black holes. We suggest a novel mechanism for UHECR acceleration wherein white dwarfs (WDs) are tidally compressed by intermediate-mass black…
The possibility that the excess cosmic ray (CR) flux near 10$^{18}$ eV, reported recently by the AGASA group, is due to a compact black hole dynamo associated with the Sgr A* source is considered. Under the assumption that the Galactic…
Understanding the origins of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) - which reach energies in excess of $10^{20}~{\rm eV}$ - stretches particle acceleration physics to its very limits. In this review, we discuss how such energies can be…
We suggest that ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays (CRs) may be accelerated in ultra-relativistic flows via a one-shot mechanism, the "espresso" acceleration, in which already-energetic particles are generally boosted by a factor of…
Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs), particles characterized by energies exceeding $10^{18}$ eV, are generally believed to be accelerated electromagnetically in high-energy astrophysical sources. One promising mechanism of UHECR…
In General Relativity, there is a new field of activity concerning the study of charged stars. In a recent paper, Ray et al. have shown the possibility that the collapse of a charged star could form a charged black hole before all the…
We discuss a representative selection of particle acceleration mechanisms believed to be operating in Active Galactic Nuclei. Starting from direct electrostatic field acceleration in the vicinity of the black hole up to Fermi-type particle…
Large-scale accretion shocks around massive clusters of galaxies, generically expected in the cold dark matter scenario of cosmological structure formation, are shown to be plausible sources of the observed ultrahigh energy cosmic rays…
The origin and composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) remain a mystery. The common lore is that UHECRs are deflected from their primary directions by the Galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. Here we describe an…
We investigate the shock acceleration of particles in massive galaxy mergers or collisions, and show that cosmic rays (CRs) can be accelerated up to the second knee energy ~0.1-1 EeV and possibly beyond, with a hard spectral index Gamma ~…
The dynamic processes of magnetic reconnection and turbulence cause magnetic islands/flux-ropes generation. The in-situ observations suggest that the coalescence or/and contraction of magnetic islands are responsible to the charged particle…
The origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays $($UHECRs$)$ remains a mystery. It has been suggested that UHECRs can be produced by the stochastic acceleration in relativistic jets of gamma-ray bursts $($GRBs$)$ at the early afterglow phase.…
The mechanism accelerating cosmic rays in the Milky Way Galaxy and galaxy clusters is identified and described. The acceleration of cosmic rays is a purely electrostatic process which operates up to the maximum energies of $10^{23}$ eV in…