Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2008-08-03
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
5 pages, 1 figure; paper contributed to the XXth Rencontres de Blois, "Challenges in Particle Astrophysics"
Scientific paper
A striking concentration of ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) events observed by the Pierre Auger Observatory around the direction of the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A revives the idea that radio galaxies may be dominant sources of UHECR. In this paper, we give a brief overview about processes which may accelerate protons and nuclei in radio galaxies, and their relation to jet power, radio morphology and cosmic source density. We argue that, except for the most powerful FR-II radio galaxies, processes in radio lobes are unlikely to explain the origin of UHECR. However, Fermi acceleration of protons at internal shocks in the "blazarzone" of all radio galaxies, and their photohadronic conversion into neutrons, may lead to the ejection of "UHECR-beams", which remain collimated over several Mpc. Consequences of this hypothesis for the interpretation of the UHECR event distribution, in particular for the special case of Centaurus A, are discussed.
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