Deducing the Source of Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays

Abstract

The apparent lack of suitable astrophysical sources for cosmic rays with E > 10^{19.7} eV (UHECRs) is the "GZK Paradox". We argue that whatever mechanism produces them must also account for events down to ~10^{18.7} eV, including their isotropy and spectral smoothness. This rules out galactic sources, distributed sources such as topological defects, and Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). We are lead to identify the powerful radio galaxy Cen A, at 3.4 Mpc, as the probable source of most UHECRs observed at Earth today, and to estimate the extragalactic magnetic field to be ~0.3 microG.

revtex, 5 pp; typos corrected and notation clarified

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• Footprints of Super-GZK Cosmic Rays in the Pilliga State Forest
• Search for Global Dipole Enhancements in the HiRes-I Monocular Data above 10^{18.5} eV
• Using Fractal Dimensionality in the Search for Source Models of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays
• Ultra-high energy cosmic ray propagation in the Universe