The ubiquitous mechanism accelerating cosmic rays at all the energies

Abstract

The mechanism accelerating cosmic rays in the M ilky W ay Galaxy and galaxy clusters is identified and described. The acceleration of cosmic rays is a purely electrostatic process which operates up to the maximum energies of 1023 eV in galaxy clusters. Galactic cosmic rays are accelerated in a pervasive electrostatic field active in the whole Galaxy except in restricted regions shielded by interstellar and stellar plasmas as, for instance, the region occupied by the solar system. It is proved that the energy spectrum of the cosmic radiation in the Milky Way Galaxy, in the region where the solar system resides, has a constant spectral index comprised between 2.64-2.68 and the maximum energies of Galactic protons are 3.0 × 1019 eV . The agreement of these results with the experimental data is discussed in detail and underlined.