Acceleration and propagation of ultra-high energy cosmic rays

Abstract

We review the physics of the highest energy cosmic rays. The discovery of their sources, still unknown, will reveal the most energetic astrophysical objects in the universe and could unveil new physics beyond the standard model of particle physics. We discuss the details of propagation of these high-energy particles, their interaction with astrophysical photon backgrounds and intergalactic magnetic fields, and the production of secondary cosmogenic particles associated to their transport. We examine different models of acceleration, reviewing the principal astrophysical objects that could energize cosmic rays until the highest energies. Given the uncertainties in the observed mass composition, we review the two alternative scenarios of a composition of protons only or of protons and heavier nuclei, and we discuss the consequences of the two scenarios in terms of sources, acceleration mechanisms, and production of secondary cosmogenic gamma rays and neutrinos.