Cosmic Ray Electrons and Positrons from Supernova Explosions of Massive Stars

P. L. Biermann, J. K. Becker, A. Meli, W. Rhode, E. S. Seo, and T. Stanev
Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 061101 – Published 4 August 2009

Abstract

We attribute the recently discovered cosmic ray electron and cosmic ray positron excess components and their cutoffs to the acceleration in the supernova shock in the polar cap of exploding Wolf-Rayet and red supergiant stars. Considering a spherical surface at some radius around such a star, the magnetic field is radial in the polar cap as opposed to most of 4π (the full solid angle), where the magnetic field is nearly tangential. This difference yields a flatter spectrum, and also an enhanced positron injection for the cosmic rays accelerated in the polar cap. This reasoning naturally explains the observations. Precise spectral measurements will be the test, as this predicts a simple E2 spectrum for the new components in the source, steepened to E3 in observations with an E4 cutoff.

  • Figure
  • Received 24 March 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.061101

©2009 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

P. L. Biermann*

  • Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy, Bonn, Germany

J. K. Becker

  • Institutionen för Fysik, Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden

A. Meli

  • Erlangen Center for Astroparticle Physics, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

W. Rhode

  • Department of Physics, Universität Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany

E. S. Seo

  • IPST and Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

T. Stanev

  • Bartol Research Institute and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA

  • *Also at Department of Physics and Astronomy, Univ. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Department of Physics., Univ. of Alabama at Huntsville, AL, USA; FZ Karlsruhe, and Physics Department, Univ. Karlsruhe, Germany; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Bonn University, Bonn, Germany.
  • Also at Fakultät für Physik & Astronomie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany.

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Issue

Vol. 103, Iss. 6 — 7 August 2009

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