The 2009 Fermi Symposium

Fermi and the Origin of Cosmic Rays

Jonathan Ormes

Abstract:

As we approach the 100th anniversary of the discovery of cosmic rays in 1912, we are getting close to solving many of the puzzles surrounding their origin. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been taking data for more than a year now, and a new picture of the gamma ray sky has emerged, leading to a more nuanced picture of issues related to the origin of galactic cosmic rays through gamma-ray observations. The LAT has also provided measurements of the cosmic ray electron spectrum from 10 GeV to 1 TeV further constraining dark matter scenarios. This talk will focus on the Fermi-LAT findings related to cosmic rays and questions about their sites of origin, their acceleration, and their diffusion in the galaxy.