Injection and acceleration at non-parallel shocks

We discuss new results in the physics of charged-particle acceleration by shock waves propagating at an arbitrary angle to the magnetic field. For the usually discussed case of a parallel shock acceleration by a supernova blast wave up to the knee in the cosmic-ray spectrum requires very special assumptions such as a strong increase in the magnetic field, perhaps due to excitation from the streaming cosmic rays. We show that no such special circumstances are required when one considers acceleration at nearly perpendicular shocks.