Physics
Scientific paper
Apr 1992
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992natur.356..582b&link_type=abstract
Nature (ISSN 0028-0836), vol. 356, no. 6370, April 16, 1992, p. 582, 583.
Physics
8
Charged Particles, Galactic Cosmic Rays, High Energy Interactions, Interstellar Magnetic Fields, Particle Acceleration, Energetic Particles, Galactic Evolution, Magnetic Effects, Stochastic Processes
Scientific paper
Fermi's suggestion that a population of low-energy charged particles could be accelerated by momentum exchange with 'wandering' Galactic magnetic fields has long been a favored mechanism for the generation of cosmic rays. A difficulty with this idea is that unless the scattering centers of strong magnetic fields have velocities close to that of light, the acceleration mechanism is thought to be too slow to produce the highest-energy cosmic rays before particles escape from the Galaxy. It is argued here that this problem is not intrinsic to the Fermi theory, but results only from approximating the essentially stochastic acceleration process as a deterministic one in which particles diffuse upward in energy at some mean rate. A stochastic treatment is presented which suggests that the particles that acquire the highest energies are those on the wings of the statistical energy distribution, which proceed not in a pedestrian manner but are accelerated much more effectively as 'high flyers'.
Bryant Duncan A.
Perry Chris H.
Powell G. I.
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