Where are the Pevatrons that Form the Knee in the Spectrum of the Cosmic Ray Nucleon Component around 4 PeV?

TL;DR

This paper estimates the location of pevatrons responsible for the 4 PeV knee in cosmic ray nucleon spectrum using a superdiffusion model and DAMPE data, finding they are about 0.75 kpc away.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel method combining superdiffusion modeling and DAMPE data to estimate pevatrons' distances in the galaxy.

Findings

Pevatrons are approximately 0.75 kpc from Earth.

The superdiffusion model effectively links electron and nucleon spectra.

The knee at 4 PeV is associated with nearby galactic sources.

Abstract

The paper discusses an approach that made it possible to estimate the distance to the nearest pevatrons, which form a knee in the spectrum of the cosmic ray nucleon component of about $4$ PeV. It is based on the spectra of nucleons and electrons obtained by the authors in the framework of the superdiffusion model of nonclassical cosmic rays diffusion, which have a knee, on the assumption that nucleons and electrons are accelerated by the same type sources and their propagation in an inhomogeneous turbulent galactic medium is characterized by the same diffusion coefficient, and also on the knee in the spectrum of the electronic component in the region of $0.9$ TeV, established in the DAMPE experiment. It is shown that pevatrons, which form a knee in the spectrum of the cosmic ray nucleon component of about $4$ PeV, are located at distances of the order of $0.75$ kpc from the Earth.