Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Scientific paper
2010-12-21
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Scientific paper
The origin of the prominent 'knee' in the cosmic ray energy spectrum at an energy of several PeV is still uncertain. A recent mechanism has shown promise, however; this involves particles from a very young pulsar interacting with the radiation field from a very young supernova remnant. The ensuing nuclear reaction of the particles with the photons by way of e+e- production then causes the characteristic knee. In an earlier paper we argued that the mechanism would imply only one source of a very rare type - if it were to explain the spectral shape. Here we examine the mechanism in more detail and conclude that for even a single source to work its characteristics would need to be so unusual that the mechanism would not be possible for any known type of pulsar-supernova combination.
Wibig Tadeusz
Wolfendale Arnold W.
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