Propagation of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays in Extragalactic Magnetic Fields

Abstract

In this paper we will discuss the problem of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) and show that the idea of a Single Source Model established by Erlykin and Wolfendale (1997) to explain the features seen in cosmic ray energy spectra around the 10**15 eV region can be successfully applied also for the much higher energies. The propagation of UHECR (of energies higher than 10**19 eV) in extragalactic magnetic fields can no longer be described as a random walk (diffusion) process and the transition to rectilinear propagation gives a possible explanation for the so-called Greisen-Zatzepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cut-off which still remains an open question after almost 40 years. A transient "single source" located at a particular distance and producing UHECR for a finite time is the proposed solution.