Cosmic rays: constraints from future MeV detectors

TL;DR

This paper reviews current knowledge of Galactic cosmic rays, emphasizing the importance of low-energy CRs in galactic processes, and explores how future MeV gamma-ray detectors can advance their study.

Contribution

It proposes new observational strategies using future MeV detectors to better understand the physical properties of Galactic cosmic rays.

Findings

Current gamma-ray observations provide limited insights into low-energy CRs.

Future MeV missions could significantly improve constraints on CR acceleration and propagation.

Enhanced gamma-ray data will help elucidate CR roles in galactic evolution.

Abstract

Cosmic rays are charged energetic particles that permeate the interstellar medium. Their sizeable energy share and penetration power makes them essential players in the dynamical and chemical processes that rule Galactic evolution, such as the launching of outflows and the formation of star and planets. For these processes low-energy (MeV-GeV) CRs are particularly important, both because they are the most abundant and because they have the largest cross-section for ionization. The study of cosmic rays naturally connects with gamma-ray astronomy, as high-energy photons are the principal products of their interaction with the interstellar plasma. In this article, after reviewing our current understanding of Galactic cosmic rays as derived from direct measurements, we present the state of the art regarding Galactic cosmic rays covering their direct observables, their acceleration processes and models for their propagation in the Galactic Disk. We present then an excursus on the current state of gamma-ray observations, and propose new prospects for investigating the physical properties of Galactic cosmic rays, exploiting the observational capability of future MeV missions.