paper

On the spectrum of high-energy cosmic rays produced by supernova remnants in the presence of strong cosmic-ray streaming instability and wave dissipation

arXiv:astro-ph/0408025 · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20041517

Abstract

The cosmic-ray streaming instability creates strong magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the precursor of a SN shock. The level of turbulence determines the maximum energy of cosmic-ray particles accelerated by the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism. The present consideration continues our work Ptuskin & Zirakashvili (2003). It is assumed that the Kolmogorov type nonlinear wave interactions together with the ion-neutral collisions restrict the amplitude of random magnetic field. As a result, the maximum energy of accelerated particles strongly depends on the age of a SNR. The average spectrum of cosmic rays injected in the interstellar medium over the course of adiabatic SNR evolution (the Sedov stage) is approximately at energies larger than 10-30 Gev/nucleon and with the maximum particle energy that is close to the knee position in cosmic ray spectrum observed at eV. At earlier stage of SNR evolution - the ejecta dominated stage described by the Chevalier-Nadyozhin solution, the particles are accelerated to higher energies and have rather steep power-law distribution on momentum. These results suggest that the knee may mark the transition from the ejecta-dominated to the adiabatic evolution of SNR shocks which accelerate cosmic rays.

12 pages, 2 figures, LATEX

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