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ON THE ORIGIN OF THE CHARGE SPECTRUM OF THE PRIMARY COSMIC RADIATION

Journal Article · · Nuovo Cimento (Italy) Divided into Nuovo Cimento A and Nuovo Cimento B
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02962572· OSTI ID:4257118
The question is raised as to whether the charge spectrum of primary cosmic radiation (i.e., at the top of the atmosphere) is the same as that of ihe original cosmic radiation, or have modifications taken place in travel between the origin and the earth. The most widely held opinion is that no modifications, or at any rate very minor ones, have taken place and that the primary charge spectrum represents essentially the original charge spectrum and also resembles the general abundance of elements in the universe. A consequence of this hypothesis is that cosmic radiation during its existence can not have made many collisions in the galaxy. This means that the lifetime of cosmic rays in the galaxy must be very short (less than 4 million years). Then the cosmic rays must escape rapidly from the galaxy, that is, the trapping field can not be a very efficient one; as a further consequence, the rate of acceleration of cosmic rays must be very rapid to replenish the cosmic rays which escape. Prompted by the apparent success of the explanation of synchrotron radiation from Crab Nebula, Hayakawa was suggested a supernova origin for cosmic rays and pointed to the fact that the inf octed nuclei would be mostly heavy, since a supernova is thought to contain a high abundance of heavy nuclei. (A.C.)
Research Organization:
Univ. of Maryland, College Park
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
NSA Number:
NSA-13-008019
OSTI ID:
4257118
Journal Information:
Nuovo Cimento (Italy) Divided into Nuovo Cimento A and Nuovo Cimento B, Journal Name: Nuovo Cimento (Italy) Divided into Nuovo Cimento A and Nuovo Cimento B Vol. Vol: (10) 8, Suppl. No. 2; ISSN NUCIA
Country of Publication:
Country unknown/Code not available
Language:
English

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