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arXiv · 0709.1541

Propagation of high-energy cosmic rays in extragalactic turbulent magnetic fields: resulting energy spectrum and composition

Abstract

We extend previous studies of mixed-composition extragalactic cosmic-ray source models, by investigating the influence of a non-negligible extragalactic magnetic field on the propagated cosmic-ray spectrum and composition. We study the transport of charged particles in turbulent fields and the transition from a ballistic to a diffusive propagation regime. We introduce a method allowing a fast integration of the particle trajectories, which allows us to calculate extragalactic cosmic-ray spectra in the general case, without using either the diffusive or the rectilinear approximation. We find that the main features of the mixed-composition models -- regarding the interpretation of the ankle and the non-monotonous evolution of the average cosmic-ray mass -- remain essentially unchanged as long as the magnetic field intensity does not exceed a few nG.

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N. Globus, D. Allard, E. Parizot. 2007-09-11. Propagation of high-energy cosmic rays in extragalactic turbulent magnetic fields: resulting energy spectrum and composition. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20078653

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