Abstract
The presence of an excess of low-energy antiprotons in the primary cosmic radiation1–3 has given rise to several possible explanations4, some of which involve exotic processes such as mini-black holes and extragalactic antiparticles. Here we consider the latter possibility5 and show that there are interesting implications for the cosmic radiation at higher energies. Indeed, it may be possible to account for a previously puzzling feature of the cosmic ray spectrum—a ‘bump’ in the range 1014–1015 eV—by hypothesizing a primary extragalactic origin for the bulk of the observed cosmic ray antiprotons, although such an explanation is not unique. In this model most of the cosmic rays above 1015 eV are extragalactic. We prescribe a method of testing this hypothesis experimentally.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Get just this article for as long as you need it
$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Golden, R. L. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 1196–1199 (1979).
Bogomolov, E. A. et al. Proc. 16th int. Cosmic Ray Conf. 1, 330–335 (1979).
Buffington, A. et al. Astrophys. J. 248, 1179–1193 (1981).
Protheroe, R. J. in Composition and Origin of Cosmic Rays (ed. Shapiro, M. M.) 119–124 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983).
Stecker, F. W., Protheroe, R. J. & Kazanas, D. Astrophys. Space Sci. 96, 171–177 (1983).
Senjanović, G. & Stecker, F. W. Phys. Lett. 96 B, 285–288 (1980).
Alfven, H. Rev. mod. Phys. 37, 652–665 (1965).
Omnes, R. Phys. Rep. 3, 1–56 (1972).
Brown, R. W. & Stecker, F. W. Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 315–318 (1979).
Sato, K. Phys. Lett. 99 B, 66–70 (1981).
Kuzmin, V. A., Tkachev, I. I. & Shaposhnikov, M. E. Phys. Lett. 105 B, 167–170 (1981).
Stecker, F. W. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 375, 69–89 (1981).
Stecker, F. W. in Progress in Cosmology (ed. Wolfendale, A. W.) (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1982).
Chechetkin, V. M., Khlopov, M. Yu. & Sapozhnikov, M. G. Rev. Nuovo Cimento 5, 1–100 (1982).
Stecker, F. W. in Early Evolution of the Universe and Its Present Structure (eds Abell, G. O. & Chincarini, G.) 1–79 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983).
Ginzburg, V. L. & Syrovatskii, S. I. The Origin of Cosmic Rays (Pergamon, London, 1984).
Hayakawa, S. Cosmic Ray Physics (Wiley, New York, 1969).
Jones, F. C. Astrophys. J. 229, 747–752 (1979).
Dodds, D., Strong, A. W. & Wolfendale, A. W. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 171, 569–577 (1975).
Steçker, F. W. Phys. Rev. Lett. 35, 188–191 (1975).
Ormes, J. F. & Protheroe, R. J. Astrophys. J. 272, 756–764 (1983).
Drury, I., Axford, W. I. & Summers, D. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 198, 833–841 (1982).
Kempa, J., Wdowczyk, J. & Wolfendale, A. W. J. Phys. A7, 1213–1221 (1974).
Kiraly, P. et al. Nature 293, 120–122 (1981).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stecker, F., Wolfendale, A. The case for antiparticles in the extragalactic cosmic radiation. Nature 309, 37–38 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/309037a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/309037a0
This article is cited by
-
Antimatter in the Universe
Il Nuovo Cimento C (1996)
-
Antimatter and the Moon
Nature (1994)
-
Cosmic radiation, production of antimatter and their implications
Il Nuovo Cimento C (1991)
-
Matter and antimatter in the same universe?
La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento (1989)
-
Antimatter and cosmology
Hyperfine Interactions (1989)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
