Related papers: Cosmic Ray Physics
Extensive air showers still are our only access to the highest-energy particles in the universe, namely cosmic-ray nuclei with energies up to several 100 EeV. Studying open questions in cosmic-ray physics, like their yet unknown origin…
We study the large-scale distribution of the arrival directions of the highest energy cosmic rays observed by various experiments. Despite clearly insufficient statistics, we find a deficit of cosmic rays at energies higher than 10^{20} eV…
I review here some of the physics we are learning and expect to learn in the near future through the observation of cosmic rays. The study of cosmic rays involves a combination of data from accelerators, ground arrays, atmospheric…
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…
We develop a theory to account for the cosmic ray spectrum between 1 GeV and 10^4 GeV following the earlier papers of this series. We use the basic concept that the cosmic ray particles are accelerated in a supernova shock that travels…
The high school project on astrophysics research with cosmics (HiSPARC) employs a large number of small detection stations that sample the footprint of extensive cosmic ray air showers. The majority of these stations has two 0.5…
One century ago Viktor Hess carried out several balloon flights that led him to conclude that the penetrating radiation responsible for the discharge of electroscopes was of extraterrestrial origin. One century from the discovery of this…
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…
Candidate astrophysical acceleration sites capable of producing the highest energy cosmic rays (E > 10^{19.5} eV) appear to be at far greater distances than is compatible with their being known particles. The properties of a new particle…
In 1965 it was discovered that cosmic ray air showers emit impulsive radio signals at frequencies below 100 MHz. After a period of intense research in the 1960s and 1970s, however, interest in the detection technique faded almost…
The field of ultra-high energy cosmic rays made a lot of progresses last years with large area experiments such as the Pierre Auger Observatory, HiRes and the Telescope Array. A suppression of the cosmic ray flux at energies above…
Motivated by recent measurements of the major components of the cosmic radiation around 10 TeV/nucleon and above, we discuss the phenomenology of a model in which there are two distinct kinds of cosmic ray accelerators in the galaxy.…
The primary cosmic rays particles with energies above 10**20 eV have been observed at many extensive air shower arrays since the beginning of observations over 40 years ago. The validity of measurements of signal s(600) used as energy…
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…
Although cosmic rays were discovered a century ago, we do not know where or how they are accelerated. There is a realistic hope that the oldest problem in astronomy will be solved soon by ambitious experimentation: air shower arrays of…
Over the past decade, radio detection of cosmic rays has matured from small-scale prototype experiments to installations spanning several km$^2$ with more than a hundred antennas. The physics of the radio signal is well understood and…
Cosmic rays are a fundamental source of ionization for molecular and diffuse clouds, influencing their chemical, thermal, and dynamical evolution. The amount of cosmic rays inside a cloud also determines the $\gamma$-ray flux produced by…
Laboratory experiments to explore plasma conditions and stimulated particle acceleration can illuminate aspects of the cosmic particle acceleration process. Here we discuss the cosmic-ray candidate source object variety, and what has been…
Cosmic-rays are ubiquitous, but their origins are surprisingly difficult to understand. A review is presented of some of the basic issues common to cosmic particle accelerators and arguments leading to the likely importance of diffusive…
A fundamental question that can be answered in the next decade is: WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE HIGHEST ENERGY COSMIC PARTICLES? The discovery of the sources of the highest energy cosmic rays will reveal the workings of the most energetic…