We compute the production of cosmic rays in the dynamical superbubble produced by a cluster of massive stars. Stellar winds, supernova remnants and turbulence are found to accelerate particles so efficiently that the nonlinear feedback of the particles must be taken into account in order to ensure that the energy balance is not violated. High energy particles do not scatter efficiently on the turbulence and escape quickly after each supernova explosion, which makes both their intensity inside the bubble and injection in the interstellar medium intermittent. On the other hand, the stochastic acceleration of low energy particles hardens the spectra at GeV energies. Because cosmic rays damp the turbulence cascade, this hardening is less pronounced when nonlinearities are taken into account. Nevertheless, spectra with hard components extending up to 1 to 10 GeV and normalised to an energy density of 1 to 100 eV cm$^{-3}$ are found to be typical signatures of cosmic rays produced in superbubbles. Efficient shock reacceleration within compact clusters is further shown to produce hard, slightly concave spectra, while the presence of a magnetised shell is shown to enhance the confinement of cosmic rays in the bubble and therefore the collective plasma effects acting on them. We eventually estimate the overall contribution of superbubbles to the galactic cosmic ray content and show typical gamma-ray spectra expected from hadronic interactions in superbuble shells. In both cases, a qualitative agreement with observations is obtained.
After a hundred years of searching for the origin of cosmic rays, where and how they are made has finally become clear. Here we briefly trace that odyssey through both astronomical observations and cosmic ray measurements.
Recent high energy gamma-ray observations of both single supernova remnants and superbubbles, together with observations of supernovae, star formation regions, and local cosmic ray composition, now provide an integrated framework tying together the sources, injection, acceleration and propagation of the cosmic rays, so that it is possible to determine their relative contributions to cosmic ray acceleration for all but the very highest energies.
We study the propagation of cosmic rays generated by sources residing inside superbubbles. We show that the enhanced magnetic field in the bubble wall leads to an increase of the interior cosmic ray density. Because of the large matter density in the wall, the probability for cosmic ray interactions on gas peaks there. As a result, the walls of superbubbles located near young cosmic ray sources emit efficiently neutrinos. We apply this scenario to the Loop~I and Local Superbubble: These bubbles are sufficiently near such that cosmic rays from a young source as Vela interacting in the bubble wa…
The nearby Orion-Eridanus superbubble, which was blown by multiple supernovae several Myr ago, has likely produced cosmic rays. Its turbulent medium, still energised by massive stars, can impact cosmic-ray transport locally. The gamma rays produced in cosmic-ray interactions with interstellar gas were used to compare the GeV to TeV cosmic-ray spectrum in the superbubble and in other regions near the Sun. We used ten years of Fermi-LAT data in the 0.25-63 GeV energy range to study the closer (Eridanus) end of the superbubble. We modelled the spatial and spectral distributions of the gamma rays …
We calculate spectra of escaping cosmic rays (CRs) accelerated at shocks produced by expanding Galactic superbubbles powered by multiple supernovae producing a continuous energy outflow in star-forming galaxies. We solve the generalized Kompaneets equations adapted to expansion in various external density profiles, including exponential and power-law shapes, and take into account that escaping CRs are dominated by those around their maximum energies. We find that the escaping CR spectrum largely depends on the specific density profiles and power source properties, and the results are compared …
Supernova remnants are believed to be a major source of cosmic-rays in the Galaxy. As their progenitors are commonly found clustered in OB associations, one has to consider the possibility of collective effects in the acceleration process. In this work we investigate the shape of the spectrum of protons accelerated inside the superbubbles blown around clusters of massive stars. To do so we embed semi-analytical models of particle acceleration and transport inside Monte-Carlo simulations of OB associations timelines. We consider regular acceleration at the shock front of supernova remnants, as …
We discuss processes in galactic cosmic ray (GCR) acceleration sites - supernova remnants, compact associations of young massive stars, and superbubbles. Mechanisms of efficient conversion of the mechanical power of the outflows driven by supernova shocks and fast stellar winds of young stars into magnetic fields and relativistic particles are discussed. The high efficiency of particle acceleration in the sources implies the importance of nonlinear feedback effects in a symbiotic relationship where the magnetic turbulence required to accelerate the CRs is created by the accelerated CRs themsel…
Core collapse supernovae of massive (> 8 Mo) stars are formed primarily in OB associations and help blow giant superbubbles, where their collective shocks accelerate most of the Galactic cosmic rays. The spatial distribution of these stars is thus important to our understanding of the propagation of the observed cosmic rays. In order to better model the Galactic cosmic-ray distribution and propagation, we construct s three-dimensional spatial model of the massive star distribution based primarily on the emission of the H II envelopes surrounding the giant superbubbles which are maintaned by th…
The Cygnus Cocoon is the first gamma-ray superbubble powered by a massive stellar association, the OB2 association. It was postulated that the combined effects of the stellar winds of all the massive O-type stars of the OB2 association can accelerate the cosmic rays to PeV energy in the Cocoon. The conclusive proof of acceleration to PeV energy in the Cocoon will identify the stellar association as a PeV cosmic-ray accelerator, known as PeVatron. However, the Cocoon has been previously studied only up to 10 TeV. In this contribution, using 1343 days of High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) obse…
Using analytic methods and $1$-D two-fluid simulations, we study the effect of cosmic rays (CRs) on the dynamics of interstellar superbubbles (ISBs) driven by multiple supernovae (SNe)/stellar winds in OB associations. In addition to CR advection and diffusion, our models include thermal conduction and radiative cooling. We find that CR injection at the reverse shock or within a central wind-driving region can affect the thermal profiles of ISBs and hence their X-ray properties. Even if a small fraction ($10-20\%$) of the total mechanical power is injected into CRs, a significant fraction of t…
Recent precise observations of cosmic rays (CRs) by AMS-02 experiment clearly show (1) harder spectra of helium and carbon compared to protons by $\propto R^{0.08}$, and (2) concave breaks in proton and helium spectra at a rigidity $R \sim 300$ GV. In particular the helium and carbon spectra are exactly similar, pointing to the same acceleration site. We examine possible interpretations of these features and identify a chemically enriched region, that is, superbubbles as the most probable origin of Galactic CRs in high rigidity $R>30$ GV. The similar spectra of CR carbon and helium further sug…
Starforming factories in galaxies produce compact clusters and loose associations of young massive stars. Fast radiation-driven winds and supernovae input their huge kinetic power into the interstellar medium in the form of highly supersonic and superalfvenic outflows. Apart from gas heating, collisionless relaxation of fast plasma outflows results in fluctuating magnetic fields and energetic particles. The energetic particles comprise a long-lived component which may contain a sizeable fraction of the kinetic energy released by the winds and supernova ejecta and thus modify the magnetohydrody…
Recent observations by CREAM and ATIC-2 experiments suggest that (1) the spectrum of cosmic ray (CR) helium is harder than that of CR proton below the knee 10^15 eV and (2) all CR spectra become hard at > 10^11 eV/n. We propose a new picture that higher energy CRs are generated in more helium-rich region to explain the hardening (1) without introducing different sources for CR helium. The helium to proton ratio at ~100 TeV exceeds the Big Bang abundance Y=0.25 by several times, and the different spectrum is not reproduced within the diffusive shock acceleration theory. We argue that CRs are pr…
Two main hypotheses for the origin of Galactic cosmic rays are the "supernova" and "superbubble" origin hypotheses. We analyse the evidence for the superbubble hypothesis provided by the measurements of the relativive abundances of isotopes of cobalt and nickel in the cosmic ray flux. We compare the measured upper limit on the abundance of 59Ni in the cosmic ray flux with the 59Ni abundance predictions of the up-to-date stellar evolution models. Non-detection of 59Ni in the cosmic ray flux has previously been attributed to a large time delay of the order of 1e5 yr between the moment of superno…
OB-associations and superbubbles being energetically essential galactic powerhouses are likely to be the important acceleration sites of galactic cosmic rays (CRs). The emission profile of gamma-ray sources related to superbubbles and stellar clusters indicates on continuous particle acceleration by winds of massive stars. One of the most luminous galactic gamma-ray sources is Cygnus Cocoon superbubble, observed by multiple instruments, such as Fermi-LAT, ARGO, and, recently, HAWC. We discuss a model of particle acceleration and transport in a superbubble to explain GeV-TeV gamma-ray spectrum …
We present evidence of diffuse, non-thermal X-ray emission from the superbubble 30 Doradus C (30 Dor C) using hard X-ray images and spectra from NuSTAR observations. For this analysis, we utilize data from a 200 ks targeted observation of 30 Dor C as well as 2.8 Ms of serendipitous off-axis observations from the monitoring of nearby SN 1987A. The complete shell of 30 Dor C is detected up to 20 keV, and the young supernova remnant MCSNR J0536-6913 in the southeast of 30 Dor C is not detected above 8 keV. Additionally, six point sources identified in previous Chandra and XMM-Newton investigation…
We analyzed the 2.6-mm CO and 21-cm HI lines toward the Magellanic superbubble 30 Doradus C, in order to reveal the associated molecular and atomic gas. We uncovered five molecular clouds in a velocity range from 251 to 276 km s$^{-1}$ toward the western shell. The non-thermal X-rays are clearly enhanced around the molecular clouds on a pc scale, suggesting possible evidence for magnetic field amplification via shock-cloud interaction. The thermal X-rays are brighter in the eastern shell, where there are no dense molecular or atomic clouds, opposite to the western shell. The TeV $γ$-ray distri…
We model the contribution of the nearest young supernova remannt Vela to the local cosmic ray flux taking into account both the influence of the Local Superbubble and the effect of anisotropic diffusion. The dominant contribution of this source in the energy region around the cosmic ray knee can naturally explain the observed fluxes of individual groups of nuclei and their total flux. Adding the CR flux from a 2-3 Myr old local CR source suggested earlier, the CR spectra in the whole energy range between 200 GeV and the transition to extragalactic CRs are described well by the combined fluxes …
Galactic cosmic-rays (GCRs) are thought to be accelerated in strong shocks induced by massive star winds and supernova explosions sweeping across the interstellar medium. But the phase of the interstellar medium from which the CRs are extracted has remained elusive until now. Here, we study in detail the GCR source composition deduced from recent measurements by the AMS-02, Voyager 1 and SuperTIGER experiments to obtain information on the composition, ionisation state and dust content of the GCR source reservoirs. We show that the volatile elements of the CR material are mainly accelerated fro…
30 Doradus C is a superbubble which emits the brightest nonthermal X- and TeV gamma-rays in the Local Group. In order to explore detailed connection between the high energy radiation and the interstellar medium, we have carried out new CO and HI observations using the Atacama Large Millimeter$/$Submillimeter Array (ALMA), Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment, and the Australia Telescope Compact Array with resolutions of up to 3 pc. The ALMA data of $^{12}$CO($J$ = 1-0) emission revealed 23 molecular clouds with the typical diameters of $\sim$6-12 pc and masses of $\sim$600-10000 $M_{\odo…
In this review, we first reassess the supernova remnant paradigm for the origin of galactic cosmic rays in the light of recent cosmic-ray data acquired by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. We then describe the theory of light element nucleosynthesis by nuclear interaction of cosmic rays with the interstellar medium and outline the problem of explaining the measured Be abundances in old halo stars of low metallicity with the standard model for the galactic cosmic ray origin. We then discuss the various cosmic ray models proposed in the literature to account for the measured evolution of the light eleme…
Cosmic rays could be produced via shock acceleration powered by supernovae. The supernova hypothesis implies that each supernova injects on average some 1e50 erg in cosmic rays, while the shock acceleration model predicts a powerlaw cosmic ray spectrum with the slope close to 2. Verification of these predictions requires measurements of spectrum and power of cosmic ray injection from supernova population(s). Here we obtain such measurements based on gamma-ray observation of Constellation III region of Large Magellanic Cloud. We show that gamma-ray emission from this young star formation region…
We examine the question of the origin of the Galactic cosmic-rays (GCRs) in the light of the data available at the highest energy end of the spectrum. We argue that the data of the Pierre Auger Observatory and of the KASCADE-Grande experiment suggest that the transition between the Galactic and the extragalactic components takes place at the energy of the ankle in the all-particle cosmic-ray spectrum, and at an energy of the order of $10^{17}$ eV for protons. Such a high energy for Galactic protons appears difficult to reconcile with the general view that GCRs are accelerated by the standard d…
Massive stars blow powerful winds and eventually explode as supernovae. By doing so, they inject energy and momentum in the circumstellar medium, which is pushed away from the star and piles up to form a dense and expanding shell of gas. The effect is larger when many massive stars are grouped together in bound clusters or associations. Large cavities form around clusters as a result of the stellar feedback on the ambient medium. They are called superbubbles and are characterised by the presence of turbulent and supersonic gas motions. This makes star clusters ideal environments for particle a…
We give a brief review of the origin and acceleration of cosmic rays (CRs), emphasizing the production of CRs at different stages of supernova evolution by the first-order Fermi shock acceleration mechanism. We suggest that supernovae with trans-relativistic outflows, despite being rather rare, may accelerate CRs to energies above 10$^{18}$ eV over the first year of their evolution. Supernovae in young compact clusters of massive stars, and interaction powered superluminous supernovae, may accelerate CRs well above the PeV regime. We discuss the acceleration of the bulk of the galactic CRs in …
We report new Chandra hard X-ray ($>2\rm~keV$) and JVLA C-band observations of the nuclear superbubble of NGC 3079, an analog of the "Fermi bubble" in our Milky Way. We detect extended hard X-ray emission on the SW side of the galactic nucleus with coherent multi-wavelength features in radio, H$α$, and soft X-ray. The hard X-ray feature has a cone shape with possibly a weak cap, forming a bubble-like structure with a diameter of $\sim1.1\rm~kpc$. A similar extended feature, however, is not detected on the NE side, which is brighter in all other wavelengths such as radio, H$α$, and soft X-ray. …
An analysis of 7.5 years of data in the high-energy starting event sample has been recently published by the IceCube collaboration. The hottest spot in a search for neutrino sources was found far above the Galactic plane and is thus, at first sight, difficult to reconcile with a Galactic origin. In this work, we calculate the cosmic ray (CR) density around nearby, young supernova remnants assuming anisotropic diffusion. Combining the obtained CR densities with the matter distribution deduced from extinction maps, we find two prominent hot spots: The one close to the most significant point in t…
The composition of Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) presents strong similarities to the standard (cosmic) composition, but also noticeable differences, the most important being the high isotopic ratio of Ne22/Ne20 which is about 5 times higher in GCR than in the Sun. This ratio provides key information on the GCR origin. We investigate the idea that GCR are accelerated by the forward shocks of supernova explosions, as they run through the presupernova winds of the massive stars and through the interstellar medium. We use detailed wind and core yields of rotating and non-rotating models of massive st…
We propose a model where a supernova explodes in some vicinity of our solar system (some tens of parsecs) in the recent past (some tens of thousands years) with the energy release in cosmic rays of order of $ 10 ^ {51} $ erg. The flux from this supernova is added to an isotropic flux from other sources. We consider the case where the Sun's location is not in some typical for Our Galaxy average environment, but in the Local Superbubble about 100 pc across, in which the diffusion coefficient $D (E) = D_0 \times E ^ {0.6} $, with the value of $ D_0 \sim 10 ^ {25} cm^ 2 s^ {-1} $. We describe the …
Cosmic rays with energies up to a few PeV are known to be accelerated within the Milky Way. Traditionally, it has been presumed that supernova remnants were the main source of very-high-energy cosmic rays but theoretically it is difficult to get protons to PeV energies and observationally there simply is no evidence to support the remnants as sources of hadrons with energies above a few tens of TeV. One possible source of protons with those energies is the Galactic Center region. Here we report observations of 1-100 TeV gamma rays coming from the 'Cygnus Cocoon', which is a superbubble surroun…
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer has released high-precision data for cosmic rays, and has verified an excess of positrons relative to expectations from cosmic ray interactions in the interstellar medium. An exciting and well-known possibility for the excess is production of electron-positron pairs by annihilating dark matter particles in the halo of the Galaxy. We have constructed a new scenario for propagation of cosmic rays, based on the 2000 SMILI results and various other astrophysics observations and measurements, in which the positron excess is due to secondary production. The scenario i…
Recent measurements of cosmic-ray light nuclei by AMS-02 have shown that there is an unexpected component of cosmic-ray (CR) lithium whose spectral index is harder than that expected from the secondary production scenario. We propose the nearby Type Ia supernova following a nova eruption as the origin of lithium nuclei in the CRs. By fitting the data of CR protons, helium, and lithium fluxes provided by AMS-02 with our theoretical model we show that this scenario is consistent with the observations. The observational tests that can check our hypothesis are briefly discussed.
We review here some magnetic phenomena in astrophysical particle accelerators associated with collisionless shocks in supernova remnants, radio galaxies and clusters of galaxies. A specific feature is that the accelerated particles can play an important role in magnetic field evolution in the objects. We discuss a number of CR-driven, magnetic field amplification processes that are likely to operate when diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) becomes efficient and nonlinear. The turbulent magnetic fields produced by these processes determine the maximum energies of accelerated particles and result…
The measurement of gamma rays from cosmic sources at MeV energies is one of the key tools for nuclear astrophysics, in its study of nuclear reactions and their impacts on objects and phenomena throughout the universe. Gamma rays trace nuclear processes most directly, as they originate from nuclear transitions following radioactive decays or high-energy collisions with excitation of nuclei. Additionally, the unique gamma-ray signature from the annihilation of positrons falls into this astronomical window and is discussed here: Cosmic positrons are often produced from beta-decays, thus also of n…
The measurement of gamma rays at MeV energies from cosmic radioactivities is one of the key tools for nuclear astrophysics, in its study of nuclear reactions and how they shape objects such as massive stars and supernova explosions. Additionally, the unique gamma-ray signature from the annihilation of positrons falls into this same astronomical window, and positrons are often produced from radioactive beta decays. Nuclear gamma-ray telescopes face instrumental challenges from penetrating gamma rays and cosmic-ray induced backgrounds. But the astrophysical benefits of such efforts are underline…
Recently, the first lithium detection outside of the Milky Way was made in low-metallicity gas of the Small Magellanic Cloud, which was at the level of the expected primordial value. Part of the observed lithium in any environment has primordial origin, but there is always some post-BBN (Big Bang Nucleosynthesis) contamination, since lithium can also be produced in cosmic-ray interactions with the interstellar medium. Using the fact that processes involving cosmic rays produce lithium, but also gamma rays through neutral pion decay, we use the Small Magellanic Cloud gamma-ray observations by F…
IceCube has detected a cumulative flux of PeV neutrinos, which origin is unknown. Blazars, active galactic nuclei with relativistic jets pointing to us, are long and widely expected to be one of the strong candidates of high energy neutrino sources. The neutrino production depends strongly on the cosmic ray power of blazar jets, which is largely unknown. The recent null results in stacking searches of neutrinos for several blazar samples by IceCube put upper limits on the neutrino fluxes from these blazars. Here we compute the cosmic ray power and PeV neutrino flux of Fermi-LAT blazars, and fi…
Galactic cosmic-ray source compositions, (Z/H)GCRS from H to Pb and ~10^8 - 10^14 eV, differ from solar-local interstellar, (Z/H)SS or (Z/H)ISM by ~20-200x. Both are mostly just mixes of core collapse (CCSN) and thermonuclear (SN Ia) supernova ejecta. The (Z/H)ISM come from steady unbiased accumulation over Gyrs. But the cosmic ray mass mixing ratio, universal ISM/CCSN ~4:1 of swept-up ISM and ~10x metallicity ejecta show that (Z/H)GCRS come from basic Sedov-Taylor bulk mixing of homologous, expanding CCSN in their OB cluster self-generated superbubbles, further enriched by highly biased grain…
In this paper we investigate the effect of stochasticity in the spatial and temporal distribution of supernova remnants on the spectrum and chemical composition of cosmic rays observed at Earth. The calculations are carried out for different choices of the diffusion coefficient D(E) experienced by cosmic rays during propagation in the Galaxy. In particular, at high energies we assume that D(E)\sim E^δ, with $δ=1/3$ and $δ=0.6$ being the reference scenarios. The large scale distribution of supernova remnants in the Galaxy is modeled following the distribution of pulsars, with and without accoun…
The high-energy universe has revealed that energetic particles are ubiquitous in the cosmos and play a vital role in the cultivation of cosmic environments on all scales. Energetic particles in our own galaxy, galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), engage in a complex interplay with the interstellar medium and magnetic fields in the galaxy, giving rise to many of its key characteristics. This White Paper is the first of a two-part series highlighting the most well-known high-energy cosmic accelerators and contributions that MeV gamma-ray astronomy will bring to understanding their energetic particle phe…
A flux of extra-terrestrial neutrinos at energies $\gg10^{15}$ eV has the potential to serve as a cosmological probe of the high-energy universe as well as tests of fundamental particle interactions. Cosmogenic neutrinos, produced from the interactions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with cosmic photon backgrounds, have been regarded as a guaranteed flux. However, the expected neutrino flux depends on the composition of UHECRs at the highest energies; heavier nuclei result in lower neutrino fluxes compared to lighter nuclei and protons. The objective of this study is to estimate the …
We propose a novel model to produce ultrahigh-energy cosmic-rays (UHECRs) in gamma-ray burst jets. After the prompt gamma-ray emission, hydrodynamical turbulence is excited in the GRB jets at or before the afterglow phase. The mildly relativistic turbulence stochastically accelerates protons. The acceleration rate is much slower than the usual first-order shock acceleration rate, but in this case it can be energy-independent. The resultant UHECR spectrum is so hard that the bulk energy is concentrated in the highest energy range, resulting in a moderate requirement for the typical cosmic ray l…
Using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics simulations, we show that the efficiency of cosmic-ray (CR) production at supernova remnants (SNRs) is over-predicted if it could be estimated based on proper motion measurements of H$α$ filaments in combination with shock-jump conditions. Density fluctuations of upstream medium make shock waves rippled and oblique almost everywhere. The kinetic energy of the shock wave is transferred into that of downstream turbulence as well as thermal energy which is related to the shock velocity component normal to the shock surface. Our synthetic observation sh…
The origin of Galactic cosmic rays remains a matter of debate, but supernova remnants are commonly considered to be the main place where high-energy cosmic rays are accelerated. Nevertheless, current models predict cosmic-ray spectra that do not match observations and the efficiency of the acceleration mechanism is still undetermined. On the other hand, the contribution of other kinds of sources to the Galactic cosmic-ray population is still unclear, and merits investigation. In this work we explore a novel mechanism through which microquasars might produce cosmic rays. In this scenario, micro…
Secondary nuclear production physics is receiving increased attention given the high-quality measurements of the gamma-ray emissivity of local interstellar gas between ~50 MeV and ~40 GeV, obtained with the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi space observatory. More than 90% of the gas-related emissivity above 1 GeV is attributed to gamma-rays from the decay of neutral pions formed in collisions between cosmic rays and interstellar matter, with lepton-induced processes becoming increasingly important below 1 GeV. The elementary kinematics of neutral pion production and decay are re-examine…
As smaller analogs of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), X-ray Binaries (XRBs) are also capable of launching jets that accelerate particles to high energies. In this work, we reexamine XRB jets as potential sources of high-energy cosmic rays (CRs) and explore whether they could provide a significant second Galactic component to the CR spectrum. In the most intriguing scenario, XRB-CRs could dominate the observed spectrum above the so-called "knee" feature at $\sim 3 \times 10^{15}$ eV, offering an explanation for several key issues in this transition zone from Galactic to extragalactic CRs. We disc…
We study the impact of possible spiral-arm distributions of Galactic cosmic-ray sources on the flux of various cosmic-ray nuclei throughout our Galaxy. We investigate model cosmic-ray spectra at the nominal position of the sun and at different positions within the Galaxy. The modelling is performed using the recently introduced numerical cosmic ray propagation code \textsc{Picard}. Assuming non-axisymmetric cosmic ray source distributions yields new insights on the behaviour of primary versus secondary nuclei. We find that primary cosmic rays are more strongly confined to the vicinity of the s…
Massive stars blow powerful stellar winds throughout their evolutionary stages from the main sequence to Wolf-Rayet phases. The amount of mechanical energy deposited in the interstellar medium by the wind from a massive star can be comparable to the explosion energy of a core-collapse supernova that detonates at the end of its life. In this study, we estimate the kinetic energy deposition by massive stars in our Galaxy by considering the integrated Galactic initial mass function and modeling the stellar wind luminosity. The mass loss rate and terminal velocity of stellar winds during the main …
The galactic cosmic rays are the main source of ionization in the Earth stratosphere and troposphere. The induced by primary cosmic ray particles ionization is important in various processes related to atmospheric physics and chemistry, specifically the minor constituents. The ion production in the atmosphere is enhanced compared to the average following major solar energetic particles events, specifically over the polar caps. During the solar cycle 23 we observed several strong ground level enhancements, one of the strongest among them been the Bastille day event on 14 July 2000. In the work …
Secondary astrophysical production of $e^+$ and $\bar{p}$ cosmic rays is considered. Inclusive $π$, $K$, and $\bar{p}$ production cross sections in $pp$ collisions at large $\sqrt{s}$ are parametrised using recent experimental data at LHC energies. The astrophysical production rate ratio $Q_{e^+}/Q_{\bar{p}}$ is calculated for an input cosmic ray proton flux consistent with local measurements. At $10<E<100$$\sim$GeV the cosmic ray flux ratio $J_{e^+}/J_{\bar{p}}$ measured by AMS02 falls below the production rate ratio by about 50\%, while at high energy $E>100$$\sim$GeV the measured flux ratio…
Antimatter nuclei in cosmic rays (CRs) are a promising tool for the indirect detection of dark-matter annihilation signatures. However, the search of new-physics signals in CRs relies on our knowledge of the astrophysical antimatter background which, in turns, depends critically on the several fragmentation cross-sections that regulate production and destruction of antiparticles in the interstellar medium. In this work, we have re-evaluated the astrophysical background of CR antiproton, antineutron, and antihelium nuclei in Galactic CRs using improved calculations. The production cross-section…
The possible effect of solar variability, accordingly cosmic rays variation on atmospheric physics and chemistry is highly debated over the last years. According to several recent models the induced by cosmic rays atmospheric ionization plays a key role in several different processes. At recent, an apparent effect on minor constituents and aerosols over polar regions during major solar proton events was observed. The ion production rate during ground level enhancements is a superposition of the contribution of cosmic rays with galactic and solar origin. The solar cycle 23 provided several stro…
Cosmic-ray observatories necessarily rely on Monte Carlo simulations for their design, calibration and analysis of their data. Detailed simulations are very demanding computationally. We present a python-based package called ShowerModel to model cosmic-ray showers, their light production and their detection by an array of telescopes. It is based on parameterizations of both Cherenkov and fluorescence emission in cosmic-ray induced air showers. The package permits the modelling of fluorescence telescopes, imaging air Cherenkov telescopes, wide-angle Cherenkov detectors or any hybrid design. Sho…
Cosmic ray (CR) sources leave signatures in the isotopic abundances of CRs. Current models of Galactic CRs that consider supernovae (SNe) shocks as the main sites of particle acceleration cannot satisfactorily explain the higher ${\rm ^{22}Ne/^{20}Ne}$ ratio in CRs compared to the interstellar medium. Although stellar winds from massive stars have been invoked, their contribution relative to SNe ejecta has been taken as a free parameter. Here we present a theoretical calculation of the relative contributions of wind termination shocks (WTSs) and SNe shocks in superbubbles, based on the hydrody…
Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays with energies above ~ 10^18 eV provide an unique window to study hadronic interactions at energies well above those achieved in the largest man-made accelerators. We argue that at those energies string percolation may occur and play an important role on the description of the induced Extensive Air Showers by enhancing strangeness and baryon production. This leads to a significant increase of the muon content of the cascade in agreement with recent data collected at UHECR experiments. In this work, the effects of string percolation in hadronic interactions are impl…
