Speaker
Description
With the advent of Ultra-High Energy gamma-ray astronomy (photons above 100 TeV energies) it is at last possible to directly probe the most extreme particle accelerators in our galaxy. Two source classes have emerged as highly prominent producers of the cosmic rays above PeV energies, namely massive stellar clusters and microquasars, adding a new dimension to the long held supernova remnant paradigm for galactic cosmic-ray origins. The mechanisms underpinning the energisation of these energetic particles however remains inconclusive. I will review some of the key recent observational developments, progress in theoretical modelling of these sources, and introduce a new open-source software, Sapphire++, that can be used to self-consistently study cosmic-ray plasma physics at extreme energies.
