Upper limits for shock-accelerated particle energies

Abstract

Simple arguments show that cosmic rays above 1015 eV cannot easily be produced in shocks surrounding galactic supernova remnants. In addition, it is possible to put an upper limit on the energy of electrons accelerated in shock waves, as they are subject to losses through the emission of synchrotron radiation. It is interesting that the observed frequency of the synchrotron emission is bounded above by a value which is independent of the magnetic field.

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Identifiers

DOI

10.1093/mnras/207.1.1p

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