Do cosmic rays drive jets?

Abstract

A sudden release of high energy cosmic rays at the centre of a wind sustaining a spiral magnetic field produces cavities of low density and low magnetic field along the axis. The trajectories of high energy cosmic rays are focussed onto the axis, and lower energy cosmic rays and thermal plasma can escape through the cavities. This may explain the jets often seen in accretion systems and elsewhere.

4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to the Proceedings of the Workshop on 'Physics at the End of the Galactic Cosmic Ray Spectrum' (Aspen, 26-30 April 2005), to be published in the Journal of Physics Conference Series http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/conf