Spallation processes and nuclear interaction products of cosmic rays

Abstract

Most cosmic-ray nuclei heavier than helium have suffered nuclear collisions in the interstellar gas, with transformation of nuclear composition. The isotopic and elemental composition at the sources has to be inferred from the observed composition near the Earth. The source composition permits tests of current ideas on sites of origin, nucleosynthesis in stars, evolution of stars, the mixing and composition of the interstellar medium and injection processes prior to acceleration. The effects of nuclear spallation, production of radioactive nuclides and the time dependence of their decay provide valuable information on the acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays, their nuclear transformations, and their confinement time in the Galaxy. The formation of spallation products that only decay by electro3 capture and are relatively long-lived permits an investigation of the nature and density fluctuations (like clouds) of the interstelar medium. Since nuclear collisions yield positrons, antiprotons, gamma rays and neutrinos, we shall discuss these topics briefly.