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An excess of cosmic ray electrons at energies of 300–800 GeV

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"Galactic cosmic rays consist of protons, electrons and ions, most of which are believed to be accelerated to relativistic speeds in supernova remnants1, 2, 3. All components of the cosmic rays show an intensity that decreases as a power law with increasing energy (for example as E-2.7). Electrons in particular lose energy rapidly through synchrotron and inverse Compton processes, resulting in a relatively short lifetime (about 105 years) and a rapidly falling intensity, which raises the possibility of seeing the contribution from individual nearby sources (less than one kiloparsec away)4." Nature 456, 362-365 (20 November 2008)

 

Read More: An excess of cosmic ray electrons at energies of 300–800 GeV, November 19, 2008

Last Updated on Friday, 12 December 2008 02:44  

Newsflash

"The annihilation of these exotic particles with each other would produce normal particles such as electrons, positrons, protons and antiprotons that can be observed by scientists," said Eun-Suk Seo, ATIC lead at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Read More: "Mysterious Source of High-Energy Cosmic Radiation Discovered"
NASA press release 08-301, November 19, 2008