Element acceleration in the Milky Way galaxy

Thanks to a special study combining data from ESO's Extra Large Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, astronomers shed light on the mystery of the acceleration of the Milky Way galaxy. . They show that cosmic rays from our galaxy are effectively accelerated in the rest of the exploded stars.

During Apollo flights, astronauts reported that they saw very strange flashes, visible even when they closed their eyes. Since then we have discovered that the cause is cosmic rays - particles of high energy especially from outside the Solar System to Earth . When they reach Earth, they still have enough energy to create problems with electrical devices.

Cosmic rays come from many sources within our galaxy, the Milky Way, and consist of most protons moving close to the speed of light, the 'speed limit' in the universe. The protons have been accelerated to energy much larger than the energy that CERN's Large Hadron Collision Ring can produce.

Eveline Helder of Utrecht Astronomy Institute, University of Utrecht, Netherlands, the lead author of the new study, said: 'For a long time scientists have argued that the phenomenon of' super-acceleration 'creates sparks. This pillar in the Milky Way galaxy is an open space created by floating stars, but our observations provide evidence for this hypothesis. '

Collaborator Jacco Vink, of the Utrecht Astronomical Academy, said: 'We have even determined the scale of cosmic ray acceleration to their enormous amount of energy'.

The image of a remnant of a star exploded in 185 AD. Through detailed study of this remainder, a team of astronomers shed light on the mystery of the super-efficient particle acceleration of the Milky Way. The team showed that the shock waves seen in this area are very effective in accelerating the particles, and the energy used in this process matches the number of cosmic rays observed on Earth. . The north is on the upper right, and the east is on the upper left. (Photo: ESO / E. Helder & NASA / Chandra)

For the first time, Helder, Vink and colleagues made measurements that elucidated the long-standing astronomical question: whether exploding stars produced enough accelerated elements to explain the number. cosmic rays reach the Earth's atmosphere. The group's research showed that it was a completely correct thing and at the same time told us how much energy released from the gas was excited during the stellar explosion and used to accelerate the particles.

Helder said: 'When a star explodes, we call it supernova phenomenon, a large part of the explosion energy is used to accelerate some elements to tremendous energy. The energy used for accelerating particles is similar to the energy needed to heat gas, so it is much colder than the theory predictions'.

The researchers looked at the remains of a star exploded in AD 185, recorded by Chinese astronomers. The rest, called RCW 86, lies 8200 light-years away towards the Circinus constellation. This may be the oldest record of a stellar explosion.

Using ESO's huge telescope, the team measured the temperature of the gas immediately after the shockwave was created by the stellar explosion. They also measured the speed of shock waves, using images captured by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. They found this shockwave moving at 10 to 30 million kilometers per hour, about 1 to 3% of the speed of light.

The temperature of the gas is determined to be around 30 million degrees Celsius. This is a relatively high temperature compared to normal, but much lower than expected based on the speed of the shock wave.

Vink concluded: 'The lack of energy is the cause of cosmic rays'.

Refer:

1. EA Helder et al.A supernova remnant of high efficiency.Science, June 26, 2009