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We examine limits to the energy to which cosmic rays can be accelerated by relativistic shocks, showing that acceleration of light ions as high as 100 EeV is unlikely. The implication of our estimates is that if ultra-high energy cosmic rays are accelerated by shocks, then those shocks are probably not relativistic., Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

We examine limits to the energy to which cosmic rays can be accelerated by relativistic shocks, showing that acceleration of light ions as high as 100 EeV is unlikely. The implication of our estimates is that if ultra-high energy cosmic rays are accelerated by shocks, then those shocks are probably not relativistic., Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Galactic cosmic ray (CR) acceleration to the knee in the spectrum at a few PeV is only possible if the magnetic field ahead of a supernova remnant (SNR) shock is strongly amplified by CR escaping the SNR. A model formulated in terms of the electric charge carried by escaping CR predicts the maximum CR energy and the energy spectrum of CR released into the surrounding medium. We find that historical SNR such as Cas A, Tycho and Kepler may be expanding too slowly to accelerate CR to the knee at the present time., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Galactic cosmic ray (CR) acceleration to the knee in the spectrum at a few PeV is only possible if the magnetic field ahead of a supernova remnant (SNR) shock is strongly amplified by CR escaping the SNR. A model formulated in terms of the electric charge carried by escaping CR predicts the maximum CR energy and the energy spectrum of CR released into the surrounding medium. We find that historical SNR such as Cas A, Tycho and Kepler may be expanding too slowly to accelerate CR to the knee at the present time., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society