Inhomogeneity in cosmic ray sources as the origin of the electron spectrum and the PAMELA anomaly.
We show that inhomogeneity of cosmic ray (CR) sources, due to the concentration of supernova remnants (SNRs) towards the galactic spiral arms, can naturally explain the anomalous increase in the positron/electron ratio observed by PAMELA. We consistently recover the observed positron fraction between 1 and 100 GeV using SNRs as the sole source of CRs. The contribution of a few known nearby SNRs dominates the CR electron spectrum above approximately 100 GeV, leading to the relatively flat spectrum observed by Fermi and to the sharp cutoff observed by H.E.S.S.
Shaviv
Nir J
NJ
Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
Nakar
Ehud
E
Piran
Tsvi
T