Cosmic ray acceleration to very high energy through the non-linear amplification by cosmic rays of the seed magnetic field |
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| Authors: | A R Bell S G Lucek |
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| Institution: | Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ |
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| Abstract: | The maximum energy for cosmic ray acceleration at supernova shock fronts is usually thought to be limited to around 1014–1015 eV by the size of the shock and the time for which it propagates at high velocity. We show that the magnetic field can be amplified non-linearly by the cosmic rays to many times the pre-shock value, thus increasing the acceleration rate and facilitating acceleration to energies well above 1015 eV. A supernova remnant expanding into a uniform circumstellar medium may accelerate protons to 1017 eV and heavy ions, with charge Ze , to Z ×1017 eV. Expansion into a pre-existing stellar wind may increase the maximum cosmic ray energy by a further factor of 10. |
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| Keywords: | acceleration of particles magnetic fields plasmas shock waves turbulence cosmic rays |
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