Lensing effects of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays propagating in the Galactic magnetic field
D. de Oliveira Franco* and
G. Sigl*: corresponding author
Pre-published on:
September 23, 2025
Published on:
December 30, 2025
Abstract
Since ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are electrically charged particles, they are deflected by magnetic fields. Those magnetic fields can act as lenses, altering their trajectories and (de)magnifying their apparent source images. These deflections of UHECR trajectories can lead to phenomena such as the appearance of multiple images of an extragalactic source. In this study, we investigate the influence of the Galactic Magnetic Field (GMF) on the propagation of UHECRs, considering four different realistic models for the GMF: the $\texttt{PT11}$, the $\texttt{JF12}$, the $\texttt{UF23}$, and the $\texttt{KST24}$ models. We investigate how an isotropic flux on Earth would have entered the edge of the Galaxy for different rigidity values from 1 to 100$\,$EV ($\equiv 10^{18}\,$V). In addition, we investigate the appearance of multiple images of astrophysical point sources. Furthermore, we analyze the modification of the cosmic ray flux from a source as a function of the rigidity and its dependence on the chosen GMF model. Since the deflection induced by the magnetic field depends on the rigidity of the particle, the effects vary among different nuclear species. Consequently, our findings can have implications for interpreting mass-composition and anisotropy observations, as the rigidity-dependent deflections directly alter the observed UHECR arrival direction distribution.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22323/1.501.0256
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