68 research outputs found
Dissipation of Magnetohydrodynamic Waves on Energetic Particles: Impact on Interstellar Turbulence and Cosmic Ray Transport
The physical processes involved in diffusion of Galactic cosmic rays in the
interstellar medium are addressed. We study the possibility that the nonlinear
MHD cascade sets the power-law spectrum of turbulence which scatters charged
energetic particles. We find that the dissipation of waves due to the resonant
interaction with cosmic ray particles may terminate the Kraichnan-type cascade
below wavelengths 10^13 cm. The effect of this wave dissipation has been
incorporated in the GALPROP numerical propagation code in order to asses the
impact on measurable astrophysical data. The energy-dependence of the
cosmic-ray diffusion coefficient found in the resulting self-consistent model
may explain the peaks in the secondary to primary nuclei ratios observed at
about 1 GeV/nucleon.Comment: 15 pages, 20 figures, 1 table, emulateapj.cls; To be published in ApJ
10 May 2006, v.64
Further constraints on electron acceleration in solar noise storms
We reexamine the energetics of nonthermal electron acceleration in solar
noise storms. A new result is obtained for the minimum nonthermal electron
number density required to produce a Langmuir wave population of sufficient
intensity to power the noise storm emission. We combine this constraint with
the stochastic electron acceleration formalism developed by Subramanian &
Becker (2005) to derive a rigorous estimate for the efficiency of the overall
noise storm emission process, beginning with nonthermal electron acceleration
and culminating in the observed radiation. We also calculate separate
efficiencies for the electron acceleration -- Langmuir wave generation stage
and the Langmuir wave -- noise storm production stage. In addition, we obtain a
new theoretical estimate for the energy density of the Langmuir waves in noise
storm continuum sources.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
Turbulent diffusion and drift in galactic magnetic fields and the explanation of the knee in the cosmic ray spectrum
We reconsider the scenario in which the knee in the cosmic ray spectrum is
explained as due to a change in the escape mechanism of cosmic rays from the
Galaxy from one dominated by transverse diffusion to one dominated by drifts.
We solve the diffusion equations adopting realistic galactic field models and
using diffusion coefficients appropriate for strong turbulence (with a
Kolmogorov spectrum of fluctuations) and consistent with the assumed magnetic
fields. We show that properly taking into account these effects leads to a
natural explanation of the knee in the spectrum, and a transition towards a
heavier composition above the knee is predicted.Comment: 17 pp., 6 figures; revised version with minor changes. To appear in
JHE
Systematic effects in the extraction of the 'WMAP haze'
The extraction of a 'haze' from the WMAP microwave skymaps is based on
subtraction of known foregrounds, viz. free-free (bremsstrahlung), thermal dust
and synchrotron, each traced by other skymaps. While the 408 MHz all-sky survey
is used for the synchrotron template, the WMAP bands are at tens of GHz where
the spatial distribution of the radiating cosmic ray electrons ought to be
quite different because of the energy-dependence of their diffusion in the
Galaxy. The systematic uncertainty this introduces in the residual skymap is
comparable to the claimed haze and can, for certain source distributions, have
a very similar spectrum and latitudinal profile and even a somewhat similar
morphology. Hence caution must be exercised in interpreting the 'haze' as a
physical signature of, e.g., dark matter annihilation in the Galactic centre.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures; improved diffusion model; extended discussion
of spectral index maps; clarifying comments, figures and references added; to
appear in JCA
Pulsars as the Source of the WMAP Haze
The WMAP haze is an excess in the 22 to 93 GHz frequency bands of WMAP
extending about 10 degrees from the galactic center. We show that synchrotron
emission from electron-positron pairs injected into the interstellar medium by
the galactic population of pulsars with energies in the 1 to 100 GeV range can
explain the frequency spectrum of the WMAP haze and the drop in the average
haze power with latitude. The same spectrum of high energy electron-positron
pairs from pulsars, which gives rise to the haze, may also generate the
observed excesses in AMS, HEAT and PAMELA. We discuss the spatial morphology of
the pulsar synchrotron signal and its deviation from spherical symmetry, which
may provide an avenue to determine the pulsar contribution to the haze.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures. Corrected errors in fig 1-3 and added discussion
of the detailed spatial morphology of the haze signa
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