TY - JOUR A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Eichler, David T1 - Origin of ultra-high-energy galactic cosmic rays the isotropy problem T2 - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We study the propagation of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) in the Galaxy, concentrating on the energy range below the ankle in the spectrum at 4 EeV. A Monte Carlo method, based on analytical solutions to the time-dependent diffusion problem, is used to account for intermittency by placing sources at random locations. Assuming a source population that scales with baryon mass density or star formation (e.g., long GRB), we derive constraints arising from intermittency and the observational limits on the composition and anisotropy. It is shown that the composition and anisotropy at 10(18) eV are difficult to reproduce and require that either (1) the particle mean free path is much smaller than a gyroradius, implying the escape time is very long, (2) the composition is heavier than suggested by recent Auger data, (3) the ultra-high-energy sub-ankle component is mostly extragalactic, or (4) we are living in a rare lull in the UHECR production, and the current UHECR intensity is far below the Galactic time average. We therefore recommend a strong observational focus on determining the UHECR composition around 10(18) eV. KW - cosmic rays KW - gamma-ray burst: general Y1 - 2011 UR - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/36481 SN - 0004-637X VL - 742 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER -