Description
Cosmic radiation has been an active field of study at least since the heroic balloon flights of Viktor F. Hess in the first decade of this century. In the earliest days, cosmic ray physics meant a study of the basic properties of electricity and magnetism. Later, it was particle physics before accelerators were built. Still later, it became astrophysics — studying the Galactic sources of the lower energy cosmic rays, the magnetic fields in the heliosphere and the Galaxy, and the acceleration mechanisms in supernova shocks. Today, cosmic ray astrophysics touches on the nuclear astrophysics of stars and supernova, particle physics at energies above those achievable by terrestrial accelerators, the cosmology of the microwave and IR backgrounds, the Galactic physics of chemical evolution and interstellar medium processes, and unexplored physics at extremely high energies. This book deals with charged cosmic rays. Primarily nuclei, from Galactic and extra-Galactic sources.
