Spectrum and anisotropies of Galactic cosmic rays: a laboratory for magnetic fields

Fuente: arXiv
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Autore principale: Mertsch, Philipp
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Mertsch, Philipp
author_facet Mertsch, Philipp
contents Much has been learned about Galactic cosmic rays in the past decade: On the observational side, the spectra of cosmic ray nuclei have been directly measured with high precision, resolving chemical composition up to TV rigidities. At even higher rigidities, direct detection is making contact with indirect observations from air shower arrays. A number of breaks have been found in the nuclear spectrum, which was previously thought to be a pure power law up to the knee. Data from air shower arrays also show interesting features in the arrival directions of cosmic-ray nuclei. On the theoretical side, more sophisticated models are able to explain the various spectral breaks either with transitions between different classes of sources or with changes in the transport regime. Yet, it has become clear that our ignorance of the structure of the Galactic magnetic fields, both on large and small scales, is limiting precision predictions. Turning this problem into an opportunity though, we can use Galactic cosmic rays as a laboratory for the study of Galactic magnetic fields. In this review talk, delivered at the 39th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2025), I have summarised what is known about the spectrum and anisotropies of Galactic cosmic rays, what is not known yet and what can be learnt in the future.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_05035
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Spectrum and anisotropies of Galactic cosmic rays: a laboratory for magnetic fields
Mertsch, Philipp
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Much has been learned about Galactic cosmic rays in the past decade: On the observational side, the spectra of cosmic ray nuclei have been directly measured with high precision, resolving chemical composition up to TV rigidities. At even higher rigidities, direct detection is making contact with indirect observations from air shower arrays. A number of breaks have been found in the nuclear spectrum, which was previously thought to be a pure power law up to the knee. Data from air shower arrays also show interesting features in the arrival directions of cosmic-ray nuclei. On the theoretical side, more sophisticated models are able to explain the various spectral breaks either with transitions between different classes of sources or with changes in the transport regime. Yet, it has become clear that our ignorance of the structure of the Galactic magnetic fields, both on large and small scales, is limiting precision predictions. Turning this problem into an opportunity though, we can use Galactic cosmic rays as a laboratory for the study of Galactic magnetic fields. In this review talk, delivered at the 39th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2025), I have summarised what is known about the spectrum and anisotropies of Galactic cosmic rays, what is not known yet and what can be learnt in the future.
title Spectrum and anisotropies of Galactic cosmic rays: a laboratory for magnetic fields
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.05035