Motivation

There is strong indirect evidence for the supernova shock acceleration of galactic cosmic-ray electrons through observations of non-thermal X-rays and TeV gamma rays from supernova remnants [1]. Current and past electron detectors, typically flown by high altitude balloons, have been limited in their ability to study high energy electrons in the local cosmic-ray flux by their short exposure times and small apertures. To date, no measurements have been made at energies greater than 2 TeV [2]. Yet the detection of high-energy electrons would be extremely significant, yielding information about the spatial distribution of nearby cosmic ray sources. High-energy electrons lose energy rapidly during propagation in the Galaxy through synchrotron and inverse Compton processes and thus TeV electrons reaching the solar system have to originate at distances < 1 kpc, leaving few known supernova remnants from which these particles could originate. The spectral shape of high-energy electrons should, therefore, be strongly affected by the number of nearby sources, and their distance distribution. Conversely, if no such features in the high-energy electron spectrum are observed it will call into question our understanding of cosmic ray sources and propagation.