A signature of EeV protons of Galactic origin

We investigate signatures that would be produced in the spectrum and sky distribution of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) by a population of the Galactic sources of high-energy protons in the energy range around 1 EeV, i.e. around the diffusive-to-ballistic transition. In this regime, the CR flux has to be calculated numerically. We employ the approach that consists in backtracking anti-protons from Earth through the Galaxy and integrating the source emissivity along the trajectory. This approach makes evident two generic features of the transition region: sharp increase of the total flux as the energy decreases across the transition region, and its strong anisotropy (appearance of a bright compact spot) all the way until the onset of the diffusive regime. We then discuss and compare several methods to experimentally detect or constrain these features. We find that a few per cent admixture of the Galactic protons can in principle be detected by the current UHECR experiments.SCOPUS: ar.j