Recent findings published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters indicate that the source of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is magnetic turbulence rather than shock waves from extreme astrophysical environments. These cosmic rays possess energies approximately 10 million times greater than particles generated by the Large Hadron Collider.
For years, scientists believed that cosmic rays originated from shock waves produced during stellar explosions, such as those preceding black hole formation. However, the latest research suggests that tangled and twisted magnetic fields in these environments are responsible for accelerating particles to extreme energy levels.
Luca Comisso, an associate researcher at Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory and co-author of the study, stated, "These findings address longstanding questions of great interest to both astrophysicists and particle physicists regarding how cosmic rays gain their energy." This research builds on previous work by Comisso and colleagues, who found that solar energetic particles also arise from magnetic fields in the solar corona.
Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays can reach energies up to 10 20 10
Glennys R. Farrar, another co-author and professor of physics at New York University, remarked, "The data on ultra-high-energy cosmic rays clearly prefer the predictions of magnetic turbulence over shock acceleration. This is a true breakthrough for the field."