The origin of Galactic cosmic rays: challenges to the standard paradigm

Understand

A critical review of the standard paradigm for the origin of Galactic cosmic rays is presented.

• Recent measurements of local and far-away cosmic rays reveal unexpected behaviours, which challenge the commonly accepted scenario.
• These recent findings are discussed, together with long-standing open issues.
• Despite the progress made thanks to ever-improving observational techniques and theoretical investigations, at present our understanding of the origin and of the behaviour of cosmic rays remains incomplete.