Other
Scientific paper
Apr 2000
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000aps..apr.h8003m&link_type=abstract
American Physical Society, April Meeting, April 29-May 2, 2000 Long Beach, CA, abstract #H8.003
Other
Scientific paper
The source or sources of high energy cosmic rays is not known. The spectrum of particles is a (non-thermal) simple power law in energy over many decades of energy. The most notable feature is a steepening from one slope to another between 1000 and 10,000 TeV. The cause of this change, the so-called spectral "knee", is not clear. It occurs in an energy range thought to be the upper limit of energies available from particle acceleration by supernova shock waves. Particle acceleration by strong shocks is an attractive model since it naturally produces a power-law energy spectrum. One consequence of this hypothesis is that the mass composition of the cosmic rays should exhibit a shift to heavier species in association with the spectral change. The flux of particles in the knee region is so low that the mass composition can not be effectively measured by direct means, such as balloon or space-based instruments. Ground based experiments must infer the mass of primary cosmic rays by examination of the characteristics of extensive air showers. Recent experimental results have begun to reveal a consistent picture of the composition of cosmic rays and of the shape of the energy spectrum in this regime.
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