International School of Cosmic Ray Astrophysics

16^th  Course: "Gamma Ray and Cosmic Ray Astrophysics: From below GeV to beyond EeV Energies"

 5-12 July 2008
Ettore Majorana Centre
Erice, Sicily, Italy

Topic: What We Learn from Observation of Cosmic-Ray Isotopic Composition
Lecturer: Martin Israel

The abundances of various kinds of isotopes in the Galactic cosmic rays give various kinds of information about the sources of cosmic rays and their life in the Galaxy. Beta-decay isotopes measure the storage time of cosmic rays in the Galaxy. Isotopes that decay only by electron capture reveal the history of cosmic rays and their acceleration. Stable primary elements carry the signatures of the source region.