Extremely Fast Acceleration of Cosmic Rays in a Supernova Remnant
Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) are widely believed to be accelerated by shock waves associated with the expansion of supernova ejecta into the interstellar medium. A key issue in this long-standing conjecture is a theoretical prediction that the interstellar magnetic field can be substantially amplified at the shock of a young supernova remnant (SNR) through magnetohydrodynamic waves generated by cosmic rays. Here we report a discovery of the brightening and decay of X-ray hot spots in the shell of theSNRRXJ1713.723946 on a one-year timescale. This rapid variability shows that the X-rays are produced by ultrarelativistic electrons through a synchrotron process and that electron acceleration does indeed take place in a strongly magnetized environment, indicating amplification of the magnetic field by a factor of more than 100. The X-ray variability also implies that we have witnessed the ongoing shock-acceleration of electrons in real time. Independently, broadband X-ray spectrometric measurements of RXJ1713.723946 indicate that electron acceleration proceeds in the most effective ('Bohm-diffusion') regime. Taken together, these two results provide a strong argument for acceleration of protons and nuclei to energies of 1 PeV (10{sup 15} eV) and beyond in young supernova remnants.
- Research Organization:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- OSTI ID:
- 918532
- Report Number(s):
- SLAC-PUB-12913; TRN: US0805397
- Journal Information:
- Nature 449:576-578,2007, Vol. 449
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Discovery of Interacting Molecular Gas toward the TeV Gamma-Ray Peak of the SNR G 347.3–0.5
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journal | October 2003 |
Discovery of Non-Thermal X-Rays from the Northwest Shell of the New SNR RX J1713.7–3946: The Second SN 1006?
|
journal | June 1997 |
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