Fine structure in the cosmic ray spectrum: Further analysis and the next step

An analysis is made of the fine structure in the cosmic ray energy spectrum: new facets of present observations and their interpretation and the next step. It is argued that less than about 10% of the intensity of the helium ‘peak’ at the knee at ≈5 PeV is due to just a few sources (SNR) other than the single source. The apparent concavity in the rigidity spectra of protons and helium nuclei which have maximum curvature at about 200 GV is confirmed by a joint analysis of the PAMELA, CREAM and ATIC experiments. The spectra of heavier nuclei also show remarkable structure in the form of ‘ankles’ at several hundred GeV/nucleon. Possible mechanisms are discussed. The search for ‘pulsar peaks’ has not yet proved successful.