1994/02/16 by K. Mannheim, R. Schlickeiser, Mannheim, K. +1 · 1 citation
Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #Radiation Therapy and Dosimetry #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9402042
15 pages, AA-ptex, accepted for publ. in A&A
arxiv created 1994/02/16 · openalex publication_date 1994/02/16 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We present convenient formulae for the energy losses of energetic atomic nuclei over the entire energy range relevant to the physics of cosmic rays. Results are applied to a leaky-box equation with a complete loss term. Thereby we derive the equilibrium spectrum of cosmic rays in various types of galaxies. We emphasize a spectral break energy at 450 MeV independent of the matter density, resulting from the transition from Coulomb and ionization losses to pion production losses as the relevant cooling process for the cosmic ray nuclei . We comment on the possible cosmic ray origin of the cosmic gamma ray background.