Cosmic ray escape from supernova remnants

Galactic cosmic rays are believed to be accelerated at supernova remnants via diffusive shock acceleration. Though this mechanism gives fairly robust predictions for the spectrum of particles accelerated at the shock, the spectrum of the cosmic rays which are eventually injected in the interstellar medium is more uncertain and depends on the details of the process of particle escape from the shock. Knowing the spectral shape of these escaping particles is of crucial importance in order to assess the validity of the supernova remnant paradigm for cosmic ray origin. Moreover, after escaping from a supernova remnant, cosmic rays interact with the surrounding ambient gas and produce gamma rays in the vicinity of the remnant itself. The detection of this radiation can be used as an indirect proof of the fact that the supernova remnant was indeed accelerating cosmic rays in the past.

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