Related papers: Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays from earth-based obs…
We review the experimental evidences about flux and mass composition of ultra high energy cosmic rays in connection with theoretical scenarios concerning astrophysical sources. In this context, we also address the discussion about the…
We outline two concepts to explain Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs), one based on radio galaxies and their relativistic jets and terminal hot spots, and one based on relativistic Super-Novae (SNe) or Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) in…
Progress reported during the XV International Symposium on Very High-Energy Cosmic-Ray Interactions is summarized. Emphasize is given to experimental work. The actual status, recent results, and their implications on the present…
The Pierre Auger Observatory, a hybrid detector for the study of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), is now approaching completion. After describing Auger present status and performance, with an emphasis on the advantages provided by…
Since their first observation in 1962, the existence of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) remains a mystery in modern astrophysics. Those cosmic rays, with energies well above 50 EeV ($50\times 10^{18}$eV), can hardly be accelerated,…
We discuss the relation between the highest energy cosmic rays (UHECR) and UHE neutrinos. The neutrinos produced in the sources of optically thin astrophysical sources have been linked to the UHECR emissivity of the Universe. The fluxes of…
Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are the most energetic particles known - and yet their origin is still an open question. However, with the precision and accumulated statistics of the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array,…
The present white paper is submitted as part of the "Snowmass" process to help inform the long-term plans of the United States Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation for high-energy physics. It summarizes the science…
We show that the maximum shower depth distributions of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs), as measured by fluorescence telescopes, can be augmented by building a mapping to observables collected by surface detectors. The resulting…
While several arguments can be proposed against the existence of particles with energy in excess of $(3-5)\times 10^{19}$ eV in the cosmic ray spectrum, these particles are actually observed and their origin seeks for an explanation. After…
We propose an observable for ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) physics: the harmonic-space cross-correlation power spectrum between the arrival directions of UHECRs and the large-scale cosmic structure mapped by galaxies. This…
Over the last third of the century, a few tens of events, detected by ground-based cosmic ray detectors, have opened a new window in the field of high-energy astrophysics. These events have macroscopic energies, unobserved sources, an…
We explore scenarios where the highest energy cosmic rays (HECR) are produced by new particle physics near the grand unification scale. Using detailed numerical simulations of extragalactic cosmic and gamma-ray propagation, we show the…
Recent measurements of ultra-high energy cosmic rays and neutrinos are briefly reviewed. With several new large scale observatories nearing completion or becoming fully operational only very recently, a large body of high quality and high…
Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) can be a signal from very early (post-inflationary) Universe. At this cosmological epoch Topological Defects (TD) and long-lived suprheavy (SH) particles are expected to be naturally and effectively…
The focus of this article is on recent results on ultra-high energy cosmic rays obtained with the Pierre Auger Observatory. The world's largest instrument of this type and its performance are described. The observations presented here…
The origin of the highest energy cosmic rays is still unknown. The discovery of their sources will reveal the workings of the most energetic astrophysical accelerators in the universe. Current observations show a spectrum consistent with an…
A checklist of criteria is presented to help establish the sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). These criteria are applied to long-duration GRBs in order to determine if they are UHECR sources. The evidence seems to favor…
If gamma-ray bursts are sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, then radiative signatures of hadronic acceleration are expected in GRB data. Observations with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope offer the best means to search for evidence…
Research in cosmic rays is now nearly a century old, but most of the fundamental questions in this field remain unanswered, on the other hand the perspectives of future studies in the next decade are very bright. New detectors will provide…