Origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays from Supernova Remnants

TL;DR

This paper examines recent cosmic ray and supernova remnant data, demonstrating consistency with the hypothesis that SNRs are the primary sources of Galactic cosmic rays up to 10^17 eV, supported by evidence of efficient particle acceleration.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis linking cosmic ray spectra and SNR emissions, confirming SNRs as the main origin of Galactic cosmic rays up to very high energies.

Findings

CR spectra and positron/electron ratios align with SNR origin up to 10^17 eV

Evidence of magnetic field amplification in SNRs

Gamma-ray emission origins are sometimes ambiguous due to unknown parameters

Abstract

We analyze the results of recent measurements of Galactic cosmic ray (GCRs) energy spectra and the spectra of nonthermal emission from supernova remnants (SNRs) in order to determine their consistency with GCR origin in SNRs. It is shown that the measured primary and secondary CR nuclei energy spectra as well as the observed positron-to-electron ratio are consistent with the origin of GCRs up to the energy 10^17 eV in SNRs. Existing SNR emission data provide evidences for efficient CR production in SNRs accompanied by significant magnetic field amplification. In some cases the nature of the detected gamma-ray emission is difficult to determine because key SNR parameters are not known or poorly constrained.