Related papers: White Paper on Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays
With each passing decade, we gain new appreciation for the dynamic, connected, and often violent nature of the Universe. This reality necessarily places the study of high-energy processes at the very heart of modern astrophysics. This White…
We briefly discuss some open problems and recent developments in the investigation of the origin and propagation of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs).
We introduce neutrino astronomy from the observational fact that Nature accelerates protons and photons to energies in excess of 10^{20} and 10^{13} eV, respectively. Although the discovery of cosmic rays dates back close to a century, we…
The origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays is discussed in light of the latest observational results from the Pierre Auger Observatory, highlighting potential astrophysical sources such as active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, and…
Cosmic ray astronomy attempts to identify and study the sources of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. It is unique in its reliance on charged particles as the information carriers. While no discrete source of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays has…
It is shown that the acceleration of particles by a powerful relativistic jet associated with the activity of a supermassive black hole in the Galactic center several million years ago may explain the observed cosmic ray spectrum at…
The origin of highest energy cosmic rays is yet unknown. An appealing possibility is the so-called Z-burst scenario, in which a large fraction of these cosmic rays are decay products of Z bosons produced in the scattering of ultrahigh…
This paper presents a brief review of the current status of ultrahigh energy cosmic ray observations and discusses nearby starburst-like galaxies as their possible origin.
Cosmic rays have been observed up to energies $10^8$ times larger than those of the best particle accelerators. Studies of astrophysical particles (hadrons, neutrinos and photons) at their highest observed energies have implications for…
I give a brief discussion of possible sources of high energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin over the energy range from $\sim 10^{12}$ eV to $\sim 10^{25}$ eV. In particular I shall review predictions of the diffuse neutrino intensity.…
We review the basic ideas on the origin of cosmic rays with energy in excess of $\sim 10^{19}$ eV, in the light of the most recent observational findings. The limited statistics of events detected by the two largest experiments currently…
The quest for the origin(s) of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) continues to be a far-reaching pillar of high energy astrophysics. The source scrutiny is mostly based on three observables: the energy spectrum, the nuclear composition,…
Cosmic rays with energies above $10^{18}$ eV are currently of considerable interest in astrophysics and are to be further studied in a number of projects which are either currently under construction or the subject of well-developed…
We discuss the production of ultra high energy neutrinos coming from the propagation of ultra high energy cosmic rays and in the framework of top-down models for the production of these extremely energetic particles. We show the importance…
Nature produces cosmic ray particles, probably protons, with energies well above $10^{20}$ eV -- how are they produced? Where do they come from? Gamma rays with energies above $10^{13}$ eV are produced in jets of active galaxies -- are…
We review open questions and prospects for progress in ultrahigh-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) research, based on a series of discussions that took place during the `The High-Energy Universe: Gamma-Ray, Neutrino, and Cosmic-ray Astronomy' MIAPP…
It is argued that there are three `origins' of cosmic rays; the origin of the particles, the origin of the energy, and the site of the acceleration. The evidence for each origin is discussed and a plausible synthesis outlined for the…
Recent studies, supported by updated hadronic interaction models, suggest that the mass composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays may be heavier than previously assumed. This has significant implications for source identification, as the…
High energy astrophysics is one of the most active branches in contemporary astrophysics. It studies astrophysical objects that emit X-ray and gamma-ray photons, such as accreting super-massive and stellar-size black holes, and various…
The article gives a brief overview, aimed at nonspecialists, about the goals and selected recent results of the detection of very-high energy gamma-rays (energies above 100 GeV) with ground based detectors. The stress is on the physics…