Cosmic Rays from PeV to ZeV, Stellar Evolution, Supernova Physics and Gamma Ray Bursts

The recent success of a proposal from some time ago to explain the spectrum of cosmic rays allows some strong conclusions to be made on the physics of supernovae: In the context of this specific proposal to explain the origin of cosmic rays, the mechanism for exploding supernovae of high mass has to be the one proposed by Bisnovatyi-Kogan more than 30 years ago, which was then based on a broader suggestion by Kardashev: A combination of the effects of rotation and magnetic fields explodes the star. Interestingly, this step then leads inevitably to some further suggestions, useful perhaps for the study of gamma ray bursts and the search of a bright standard candle in cosmology.