Escape-limited Model of Cosmic-ray Acceleration Revisited

TL;DR

This paper revisits the escape-limited model of cosmic-ray acceleration, analyzing how CR spectra depend on physical conditions at acceleration sites like supernova remnants and active galactic nuclei, and how this explains observed CR spectra.

Contribution

It provides a generalized framework for the escape-limited model, incorporating shock evolution and cooling effects, to better understand CR spectra from various astrophysical sources.

Findings

CR spectra depend on physical parameters at acceleration sites.

Escaping CR spectra can be both softer and harder than the source spectra.

The model explains spectral indices of Galactic and extragalactic CRs.

Abstract

The spectrum of cosmic rays (CRs) is affected by their escape from an acceleration site. This may have been observed not only in the gamma-ray spectrum of young supernova remnants (SNRs) such as RX J1713.7-3946, but also in the spectrum of CRs showering on the Earth. The escape-limited model of cosmic-ray acceleration is studied in general. We discuss the spectrum of CRs running away from the acceleration site. The model may also constrain the spectral index at the acceleration site and the ansatz with respect to the unknown injection process into the particle acceleration. We apply our model to CR acceleration in SNRs and in active galactic nuclei (AGN), which are plausible candidates of Galactic and extragalactic CRs, respectively. In particular, for young SNRs, we take account of the shock evolution with cooling of escaping CRs in the Sedov phase. The spectrum of escaping CRs generally depends on the physical quantities at the acceleration site, such as the spectral index, the evolution of the maximum energy of CRs and the evolution of the number of CRs. It is found that the spectrum of run-away particles can be both softer and harder than that of the acceleration site. The model could explain spectral indices of both Galactic and extragalactic CRs produced by SNRs and AGNs, respectively, suggesting the unified picture of CR acceleration.