Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
201,818 studies31 sourcesUpdated 8 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Astronomy & Astrophysics

The potential contribution of radiative supernova remnants to the local cosmic ray spectrum

  • P. Cristofari1
  • V. H. M. Phan1,2
  • S. Recchia3,4
  • S. Gabici1,5,6
6 affiliations
  1. 1Laboratoire d’étude de l’Univers et des phénomènes eXtrêmes, LUX, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS
  2. 2Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology, RWTH Aachen University
  3. 3Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
  4. 4(IFJ-PAN) Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences
  5. 5Université de Paris Cité, CNRS, Astroparticule et Cosmologie
  6. 6Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio (OAS)
Open at sourceDOICite

Abstract

Context. Recent observations of very high-energy (VHE) gamma rays from massive stellar clusters and microquasars have demonstrated that these systems can efficiently accelerate particles to very high energies, renewing the debate on the dominant sources of Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) and casting further doubt on the role of supernova remnants (SNRs), long considered the prime candidates. In these astrophysical environments, particle acceleration is generally thought to be driven by diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). The question of the duration of the phase in which DSA can take place efficiently is therefore essential to clarify the contribution of the various candidate CR sources.

Aims. We aim to clarify the contribution of SNRs to the Galactic CR spectrum and the expected efficiency of DSA, especially accounting for possible particle acceleration during part of the radiative phase.

Methods. We compute the total CR proton content in typical SNRs from DSA and reaccelerated preexisting CRs, and discuss the importance of these two mechanisms throughout the adiabatic and early radiative phases.

Results. We find that if DSA and reacceleration occur during a fraction of the radiative phase, the total content of particles energized at SNRs can quickly overcome the typical budget required to account for the bulk of CRs. This suggests that the typical instantaneous efficiency, often defined as the fraction of fluid ram pressure converted into CRs, would need to remain below ≲1% for most of the SNR evolution. Moreover, the radiative phase can contribute to shaping the spectra injected from typical SNRs. We illustrate that the difference between SNRs from thermonuclear and core-collapse supernovae (SNe) could help account for the measured difference in the helium and proton of the local interstellar spectrum.

Related

  1. Supernova Kinetic Yield oN galactic Emission Tracers (SKYNET) I. Contribution of radiative supernova remnants to Galactic N + emission
    Guillaume Vigoureux, Benjamin Godard, Antoine Gusdorf +1
    Astronomy & Astrophysics - A&APreprintCC BY 4.0Full textGalaxiesGeneral physicsHALarXiv
  2. Radio Continuum Study of One of the Brightest Large Magellanic Cloud Supernova Remnants N 132D
    Rami Z. E. Alsaberi, Zachary J. Smeaton, Miroslav D. Filipovic +5
    The Open Journal of AstrophysicsPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0High-energy & particle physicsCrossref
  3. Chemical complexity in feedback from supernova remnants: first detection of PO+ in IC443 and W44
    G Cosentino, F Priestley, S Scibelli +1
    HALPreprintarXiv licenceFull textGalaxiesHigh-energy astrophysicsHALarXiv
  4. Tropospheric Ozone Formation Potential and Related Design Considerations for Radiative Coolers
    Jyothis Anand, Piero Di Carlo, Eleonora Aruffo +2
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textAtmospheric science & meteorologyApplied physics & instrumentationarXiv
  5. Asymptotic scars arising from the remnants of quantum phase transitions
    Leonard Logarić, Shane Dooley, Tsuyoshi Okubo +1
    arXivPreprintCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textQuantum physics & quantum informationarXiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{cristofari2026potential,
  title = {{The potential contribution of radiative supernova remnants to the local cosmic ray spectrum}},
  author = {P. Cristofari and V. H. M. Phan and S. Recchia and S. Gabici},
  journal = {Astronomy \& Astrophysics},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202662838},
  url = {https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202662838},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - The potential contribution of radiative supernova remnants to the local cosmic ray spectrum
AU  - P. Cristofari
AU  - V. H. M. Phan
AU  - S. Recchia
AU  - S. Gabici
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/28
JO  - Astronomy & Astrophysics
DO  - 10.1051/0004-6361/202662838
UR  - https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202662838
AB  - Context. Recent observations of very high-energy (VHE) gamma rays from massive stellar clusters and microquasars have demonstrated that these systems can efficiently accelerate particles to very high energies, renewing the debate on the dominant sources of Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) and casting further doubt on the role of supernova remnants (SNRs), long considered the prime candidates. In these astrophysical environments, particle acceleration is generally thought to be driven by diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). The question of the duration of the phase in which DSA can take place efficiently is therefore essential to clarify the contribution of the various candidate CR sources.  Aims. We aim to clarify the contribution of SNRs to the Galactic CR spectrum and the expected efficiency of DSA, especially accounting for possible particle acceleration during part of the radiative phase.  Methods. We compute the total CR proton content in typical SNRs from DSA and reaccelerated preexisting CRs, and discuss the importance of these two mechanisms throughout the adiabatic and early radiative phases.  Results. We find that if DSA and reacceleration occur during a fraction of the radiative phase, the total content of particles energized at SNRs can quickly overcome the typical budget required to account for the bulk of CRs. This suggests that the typical instantaneous efficiency, often defined as the fraction of fluid ram pressure converted into CRs, would need to remain below ≲1% for most of the SNR evolution. Moreover, the radiative phase can contribute to shaping the spectra injected from typical SNRs. We illustrate that the difference between SNRs from thermonuclear and core-collapse supernovae (SNe) could help account for the measured difference in the helium and proton of the local interstellar spectrum.
SN  - 0004-6361
SN  - 1432-0746
ER  -