{"paper":{"title":"A Minimal Interpretation of the Galactic Cosmic-Ray Proton and Helium Spectra from GeV to PeV Energies","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","headline":"A two-population model explains the complex galactic cosmic-ray proton and helium spectra from GeV to PeV energies.","cross_cats":["astro-ph.SR"],"primary_cat":"astro-ph.HE","authors_text":"Bing Theodore Zhang, Felix Aharonian","submitted_at":"2026-02-09T02:54:19Z","abstract_excerpt":"High-precision measurements of the cosmic-ray (CR) proton and helium spectra have revealed significant deviations from a simple power law, characterized by multiple spectral features, including a hardening above $\\sim$100~GeV, a broad excess in the multi-TeV range, and a pronounced structure at PeV energies. We propose a minimal phenomenological two-cosmic-ray-population framework that consistently accounts for the observed spectra of protons and helium across six decades in energy, with agreement at the level of $\\sim 10 \\%$ or better over most of the explored energy range. In this scenario, "},"claims":{"count":4,"items":[{"kind":"strongest_claim","text":"We propose a minimal two-cosmic-ray-population framework that consistently accounts for the observed spectra of protons and helium across six decades in energy. In this scenario, the spectral complexity arises from a transition between two Galactic CR populations in the 10 TeV-1 PeV energy range.","source":"verdict.strongest_claim","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C1","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"weakest_assumption","text":"The assumption that the observed spectral features arise purely from a transition between two galactic populations with the stated sharp cutoff at tens of TeV for low-energy protons and 6.5 PeV exponential cutoff for the high-energy component, without any contribution from nearby sources or non-standard propagation effects.","source":"verdict.weakest_assumption","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C2","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"one_line_summary","text":"A minimal two-component cosmic-ray model accounts for proton and helium spectra from GeV to PeV by transitioning between a low-energy population with a sharp cutoff at tens of TeV and a high-energy population with an exponential cutoff at 6.5 PeV.","source":"verdict.one_line_summary","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C3","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"headline","text":"A two-population model explains the complex galactic cosmic-ray proton and helium spectra from GeV to PeV energies.","source":"verdict.pith_extraction.headline","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C4","attestation":"unclaimed"}],"snapshot_sha256":"f04e36274e19c7018f7416d06dd5890cbc11140e724767987987c4111ed58cfb"},"source":{"id":"2602.08223","kind":"arxiv","version":3},"verdict":{"id":"38b86fd0-aab3-4a09-9cfb-d1c26f5208dc","model_set":{"reader":"grok-4.3"},"created_at":"2026-05-16T06:18:43.313339Z","strongest_claim":"We propose a minimal two-cosmic-ray-population framework that consistently accounts for the observed spectra of protons and helium across six decades in energy. In this scenario, the spectral complexity arises from a transition between two Galactic CR populations in the 10 TeV-1 PeV energy range.","one_line_summary":"A minimal two-component cosmic-ray model accounts for proton and helium spectra from GeV to PeV by transitioning between a low-energy population with a sharp cutoff at tens of TeV and a high-energy population with an exponential cutoff at 6.5 PeV.","pipeline_version":"pith-pipeline@v0.9.0","weakest_assumption":"The assumption that the observed spectral features arise purely from a transition between two galactic populations with the stated sharp cutoff at tens of TeV for low-energy protons and 6.5 PeV exponential cutoff for the high-energy component, without any contribution from nearby sources or non-standard propagation effects.","pith_extraction_headline":"A two-population model explains the complex galactic cosmic-ray proton and helium spectra from GeV to PeV energies."},"integrity":{"clean":true,"summary":{"advisory":0,"critical":0,"by_detector":{},"informational":0},"endpoint":"/pith/2602.08223/integrity.json","findings":[],"available":true,"detectors_run":[],"snapshot_sha256":"c28c3603d3b5d939e8dc4c7e95fa8dfce3d595e45f758748cecf8e644a296938"},"references":{"count":0,"sample":[],"resolved_work":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57","internal_anchors":0},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":1,"snapshot_sha256":"ddcf930d88d43439b3fa72f7576de82c6a08e42974011e2a141eebee15afc093"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}