New insights on hadron acceleration at supernova remnant shocks

TL;DR

This paper discusses how self-amplified magnetic fields influence nuclei acceleration at supernova remnant shocks and proposes an enhancement to existing theories to better match recent gamma-ray observations.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that increased velocity of magnetic irregularities is necessary to reconcile theory with observations in supernova remnant shocks.

Findings

Magnetic field amplification is crucial for particle acceleration.

Enhanced magnetic irregularity velocity improves theoretical predictions.

Revised theory aligns better with gamma-ray observations.

Abstract

We outline the main features of nuclei acceleration at supernova remnant forward shocks, stressing the crucial role played by self-amplified magnetic fields in determining the energy spectrum observed in this class of sources. In particular, we show how the standard predictions of the non-linear theory of diffusive shock acceleration has to be completed with an additional ingredient, which we propose to be the enhanced velocity of the magnetic irregularities particles scatter against, to reconcile the theory of efficient particle acceleration with recent observations of gamma-ray bright supernova remnants.