2009/02/28 by D. Allard, R. J. Protheroe · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Acceleration #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Context (archaeology) #Cosmic ray #Electron #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Particle acceleration #Photon #Radiation #Rigidity (electromagnetism) #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #astro-ph.HE
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200911839
14 pages, 11 figures A few paragraphs and one figure added for clarity, figures slightly redesigned, no changes in the results
openalex publication_date 2009/06/15 · arxiv created 2009/06/17 · arxiv updated 2015/05/12 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
In this paper, we study the diffusive shock acceleration of cosmic-ray protons and nuclei, taking all the relevant interaction processes with photon backgrounds into account. We investigate how the competition between protons and nuclei is modified by such acceleration parameters as the acceleration rate, its rigidity dependence, the photon density, and the confinement capability of the sources. We find that protons are likely to be accelerated to higher energies than nuclei in the case of interaction-limited acceleration processes, whereas nuclei are accelerated to higher energies than protons for confinement-limited acceleration. Finally, we discuss our results in the context of possible astrophysical accelerators and in the light of recent cosmic-ray data.