Models and phenomenology

It is evident that models of the knee should match the observational phenomenology. In this talk I discuss a few aspects of phenomenology, which are important not only for the understanding of the knee origin, but also for the general problem of the origin of cosmic rays. Among them are the shape of the energy spectrum, its irregularity, the sharpness of the knee and its fine structure. The classification of models is given and some examples of the most recent models are discussed. The most probable conclusion deduced from this examination is that the knee has an astrophysical origin and the so called 'source' models of the knee are most likely among them.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, overview talk at 19th European Cosmic Ray Symposium, Firenze, Italy, 30.08-4.09.2004 (to be published in the Int.J.Mod.Phys.A

Lateral distribution on charged particles in EAS

Lateral distribution of charged particles which allow for the finiteness of energy gamma-quanta, the inhomogeneity of the atmosphere and the experimental selection of EAS are needed to interpret experimental data. The effects of finiteness of energy of gamma-quanta which produce the partial electron-photon cascades were considered by substituting K R sub m instead of R sub m in NKG approximation where K was found to be 0.56 from comparison with the experimental data. New results on the lateral distribution of electrons in the partial cascades from gamma-quanta were obtained. It is shown that the coefficient K can be regarded as a constant. The last approximation of K was found to be most adequate when compared with the experimental data. The inhomogeneity of the atmosphere, muons and experimental selection are considered. The calculation of Ne are extended from 100,000 to 10 million for sea level and for Akeno level

Cosmic Rays from Gamma Ray Bursts in the Galaxy

The rate of terrestrial irradiation events by galactic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is estimated using recent standard-energy results. We assume that GRBs accelerate high-energy cosmic rays, and present results of three-dimensional simulations of cosmic rays moving in the Galactic magnetic field and diffusing through pitch-angle scattering. An on-axis GRB extinction event begins with a powerful prompt gamma-ray and neutron pulse, followed by a longer-lived phase from cosmic-ray protons and neutron-decay protons that diffuse towards Earth. Our results force a reinterpretation of reported ~ 10^{18} eV cosmic-ray anisotropies and offer a rigorous test of the model where high-energy cosmic rays originate from GRBs, which will soon be tested with the Auger Observatory.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, ApJ Letters, in press. Clarified limit of test-particle approximation, prediction that Auger will not confirm SUGAR source. (Data may not appear onscreen at low magnification.) Simulations at http://heseweb.nrl.navy.mil/gamma/~dermer/invest/sim/index.ht