Events

Network in Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Symmetries (N3AS) Seminars

<< Fall 2022 Spring 2023 Summer 2023 >>
Subscribe your calendar or receive email announcements of events
Reacceleration of Galactic Cosmic Rays Beyond the Knee at the Termination Shock of a Cosmic-Ray-Driven Galactic Wind
Date: Tuesday, February 28th
Time: 2:00 pm
Place: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 912 3071 4547
Speaker: Payel Mukhopadhyay , UC-Berkeley
Abstract: The origin of cosmic rays above the knee in the spectrum is an unsolved problem. We present a wind model in which interstellar gas flows along a non-rotating, expanding flux tube with a changing speed and cross-sectional area. Cosmic rays from Galactic sources, such as supernova remnants, which are coupled to the plasma via Alfvén waves, provide the main pressure source for driving this outflow. These cosmic rays are then subject to diffusive shock reacceleration at the Galactic wind termination shock, which is located at a distance ~200 kpc. Some of the highest-energy reaccelerated particles propagate upstream against the wind and can contribute to the PeV-EeV range of the spectrum. We analyze the conditions under which efficient reacceleration can occur and find that rigidities ~10-40 PV can be obtained and that the termination shock may account for half of the proton spectrum measured in IceCube/IceTop experiment. The highest-energy particles that escape downstream from our termination shock, and similar shocks surrounding most galaxies, can be further accelerated by intergalactic shock fronts.
Host: A. Baha Balantekin
Add this event to your calendar