Constraints on the acceleration of anomalous cosmic rays

Abstract

The recent determination of an upper limit of 0.2 pc on the distance to the source of the anomalous cosmic rays, and the implied upper limit on their age imposes a significant observational constraint on possible acceleration mechanisms. Adiabatic cooling in the expanding wind makes the constraints significantly more stringent. In the light of these constraints, the rate of second-order Fermi acceleration is much too low to play a significant role. Diffusive shock acceleration, even at the strong termination shock of the solar wind, is sufficient only if one discards the standard expression for the maximum acceleration rate based on the Bohm limit. Only diffusive acceleration at the quasi-perpendicular solar wind termination shock has a high enough acceleration rate to be the source of the anomalous component.