Composition of cosmic rays accelerated in supernova remnants

Abstract

The kinetic theory of regular acceleration of cosmic rays in supernova remnants is used to investigate the expected chemical composition of the rays. It is shown that the shapes of the calculated profiles of the chemical elements making up the cosmic rays are consistent with experiment wherever the results of measurements are available. The acceleration process is accompanied by relative enrichment of the cosmic rays with heavy elements. If the analogous property of the mechanism underlying the injection of superthermal particles into the acceleration regime is taken into account, such enrichment supports the formation of the required composition of cosmic rays in the energy range up to 10¹⁴–10¹⁵ eV.