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We re-examine the possibility of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays beingaccelerated in nearby dormant quasars. We particularize our study to heavynuclei to accommodate the spectrum and nuclear composition recently reported bythe Pierre Auger Collaboration. Particle acceleration is driven by theBlandford-Znajek mechanism, which wires the dormant spinning black holes asFaraday unipolar dynamos. We demonstrate that energy losses are dominated byphotonuclear interactions on the ambient photon fields. We argue that the localdark fossils of the past quasar activity can be classified on the basis of howsource parameters (mass of the central engine and photon background surroundingthe accelerator) impact the photonuclear interaction. In this classification itis possible to distinguish two unequivocal type of sources: those in whichnuclei are completely photodisintegrated before escaping the accelerationregion and those in which photopion production is the major energy dampingmechanism. We further argue that the secondary nucleons from thephotodisintegrated nuclei (which have a steep spectral index at injection) canpopulate the energy region below "the ankle" feature in the cosmic rayspectrum, whereas heavy and medium mass nuclei (with a harder spectral index)populate the energy region beyond "the ankle", all the way to the high energyend of the spectrum. In addition, we show that five potential quasar remnantsfrom our cosmic backyard correlate with the hot-spot observed by the TelescopeArray.

Ultrahigh energy cosmic ray nuclei from remnants of dead quasars