The Relation of Cosmic Radio Emission to The Electronic Component of Cosmic Rays

Abstract

The similarity between the spectra of cosmic rays and of the relativistic electrons responsible for cosmic radio waves suggests that the electrons may derive from the collisions of primary cosmic rays with the interstellar gas. The relation to be expected from this process is examined, and it is shown that the form of the electron energy spectrum is determined primarily by the different losses which prevail for different parts of the electron energy spectrum. It is found that the observed spectra of various different types of radio source agree with the theoretical spectra, and that it is possible to obtain information on various physical conditions in the radio sources.