Various aspects of the connection between cloud cover (CC) and cosmic rays (CR) are analysed. We argue that the anticorrelation between the temporal behaviour of low (LCC) and middle (MCC) clouds evidences against causal connection between them and CR. Nevertheless, if a part of low clouds (LCC) is connected and varies with CR, then its most likely value averaged over the Globe should not exceed 20% at the two standard deviation level.
The existence of fast radio bursts (FRBs), a new type of extragalatic transients, has been established recently and quite a few models have been proposed. In this work we discuss the possible connection between the FRB sources and ultra-high energy ($>10^{18}$ eV) cosmic rays. We show that in the blitzar model and the model of merging binary neutron stars, the huge energy release of each FRB central engine together with the rather high rate of FRBs, the accelerated EeV cosmic rays may contribute significantly to the observed ones. In other FRB models including for example the merger of double white dwarfs and the energetic magnetar radio flares, no significant EeV cosmic ray is expected. We also suggest that the mergers of double neutron stars, even if they are irrelevant to FRBs, may play a non-ignorable role in producing EeV cosmic ray protons if supramassive neutron stars were formed in a good fraction of mergers and the merger rate is $gtrsim 10^{3}~{rm yr^{-1}~ Gpc^{-3}}$. Such a possibility will be unambiguously tested in the era of gravitational wave astronomy.
Although Galactic cosmic rays (protons and nuclei) are widely believed to be dominantly accelerated by the winds and supernovae of massive stars, definitive evidence of this origin remains elusive nearly a century after their discovery [1]. The active regions of starburst galaxies have exceptionally high rates of star formation, and their large size, more than 50 times the diameter of similar Galactic regions, uniquely enables reliable calorimetric measurements of their potentially high cosmic-ray density [2]. The cosmic rays produced in the formation, life, and death of their massive stars are expected to eventually produce diffuse gamma-ray emission via their interactions with interstellar gas and radiation. M 82, the prototype small starburst galaxy, is predicted to be the brightest starburst galaxy in gamma rays [3, 4]. Here we report the detection of >700 GeV gamma rays from M 82. From these data we determine a cosmic-ray density of 250 eV cm-3 in the starburst core of M 82, or about 500 times the average Galactic density. This result strongly supports that cosmic-ray acceleration is tied to star formation activity, and that supernovae and massive-star winds are the dominant accelerators.
Interpretations of synchrotron observations often assume a tight correlation between magnetic and cosmic ray energy densities. We examine this assumption using both test-particle simulations of cosmic rays and MHD simulations which include cosmic rays as a diffusive fluid. We find no spatial correlation between the cosmic rays and magnetic field energy densities at turbulent scales. Moreover, the cosmic ray number density and magnetic field energy density are statistically independent. Nevertheless, the cosmic ray spatial distribution is highly inhomogeneous, especially at low energies because the particles are trapped between random magnetic mirrors. These results can significantly change the interpretation of synchrotron observations and thus our understanding of the strength and structure of magnetic fields in the Milky Way and nearby spiral galaxies.
This paper has been withdrawn by the authors. Please see [arXiv:1208.3224]. We investigate a model where dark energy is caused by the photon field coupling to gravitation. The cosmological background expectation value of the electromagnetic scalar potential generates the Planck mass as well as causing an exponential expansion which is identified with dark energy. The Higgs-like mechanism for the vector potential predicts the photon mass to be exactly zero.
The primary cosmic rays particles with energies above 10**20 eV have been observed at many extensive air shower arrays since the beginning of observations over 40 years ago. The validity of measurements of signal s(600) used as energy estimation parameter at the Yakutsk array has been confirmed. Our calculations show that the width of the time pulses increases from nearly 100 ns at a distance of 100 m from the shower axis up to 4 - 5 $mu$s at 1500 m. The calculated estimate of energy of extensive air shower is ~ 1.7 times smaller than the experimental estimate for the same value s(600). The pointing directions of extensive air showers observed at the Pierre Auger Observatory were fitted within +-3.1**o with positions of the nearby active galactic nuclei from the Veron-Cetty and P. Veron catalog. The cosmic ray luminosity of the active galactic nuclei which happened to be a source of the particular cosmic ray event constitutes a fraction ~10**-4 of the optical one if only cosmic ray particles with energies above 6*10**19 eV are produced. If produced cosmic ray particles have a spectrum up to ~ 100 GeV then the cosmic ray luminosity of the active galactic nuclei should be much higher than the optical one.
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