Microquasars
What happens to relativistic particles after they leave a microquasar? This is a new idea for AMS, we do not yet know what is measurable: Microquasars are energetic systems - probably binary star systems with a regular star and a neutron star - that eject streams ("jets") of high-energy particles. Astronomers can see these streams in radio and x-ray telescopes, streaking out away from the star at close to the speed of light. We don't know exactly how these particles are accelerated, but it is very different than the acceleration that occurs in supernova shocks (which is where most cosmic rays come from). Shock-accelerated cosmic rays are spread out over all energies (in a "power-law" distribution), while microquasar-accelerated particles are all at the same energy. AMS might possibly see a "bump" in the cosmic ray spectrum if there is a microquasar nearby.
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Technical details
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