Progenitor model of cosmic ray knee

Abstract

The primary energy spectrum of cosmic rays exhibits a knee at about 3 PeV where a change in the spectral index occurs. Despite many efforts, the origin of such a feature in the spectrum is not satisfactorily solved yet. Here it is proposed that the steepening of the spectrum beyond the knee may be a consequence of the mass distribution of the progenitor of the cosmic ray source. The proposed speculative model can account for all the major observed features of cosmic rays without invoking any fine tuning to match flux or spectra at any energy point. The prediction of the proposed model regarding the primary composition scenario beyond the knee is quite different from most of the prevailing models of the knee, and thereby can be discriminated from precise experimental measurement of the primary composition.