SOURCES OF COSMIC RAYS

cosmic rays originating from supernovae. A 1948 proposal by Horace W. Babcock suggested that magnetic variable stars could be a source of cosmic rays. Crab Nebula is also considered  as a source of cosmic rays. Since then, a wide variety of potential sources for cosmic rays began to surface, including supernovae, active galactic nuclei, quasars, and gamma-ray bursts.

In 2009, supernovae were said to have been "pinned down" as a source of cosmic rays . This analysis, however, was disputed in 2011 with data from PAMELA, which revealed that "spectral shapes of [hydrogen and helium nuclei] are different and cannot be described well by a single power law", suggesting a more complex process of cosmic ray formation. In February 2013, though, research analyzing data from Fermi revealed through an observation of neutral pion decay that supernovae were indeed a source of cosmic rays, with each explosion producing roughly 3 × 10⁴² - 3 × 10⁴³ J of cosmic rays. However, supernovae do not produce all cosmic rays, and the proportion of cosmic rays that they do produce is a question which cannot be answered without further study.

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Posted By : Komal Rawat