Related papers: Astroparticle Physics: The High Energy Tail of the…
We describe a method to analyse inclined air showers produced by ultra high energy cosmic rays using an analytical description of the muon densities. We report the results obtained using data from inclined events…
Astroparticles offer a new path for research in the field of particle physics, allowing investigations at energies above those accesible with accelerators. Ultra-high energy cosmic rays can be studied via the observation of the showers they…
Recent results from the Pierre Auger Observatory are presented, focusing on a measurement of the cosmic-ray energy spectrum above 10^18 eV, cosmic-ray composition, and the anisotropy in the cosmic ray arrival directions. The flux of cosmic…
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…
Detection of (ultra-) high-energy cosmic rays with the use of radio frequency emission from extensive air showers has been proven as complimentary to existing ground array detection techniques. Great progress has been made in the…
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are the highest energy messengers of the present universe, with energies up to $10^{20}$ eV. Studies of astrophysical particles (nuclei, electrons, neutrinos and photons) at their highest observed…
The origin and nature of the highest energy cosmic ray events is currently the subject of intense investigation by giant air shower arrays and fluorescent detectors. These particles reach energies well beyond what can be achieved in…
Observations of cosmic rays have been improving at all energies, with higher statistics and reduced systematics. Fundamental questions remain regarding the origins of cosmic rays both within the Galaxy and in extragalactic sources, and new…
Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR), of energy >10 EeV, arrive at the Earth regularly, but their sources, acceleration mechanisms, details of propagation through the universe, and particle composition remain mysteries. In addition, their…
The energy spectrum of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) provides essential information on the most energetic phenomena in the Universe. Beyond EeV energies, the Telescope Array and Pierre Auger Observatory have the largest exposures…
We describe a new approach to establishing the mass composition at high energies. Based on measuring both the vertical and inclined shower rates, it has the potential to distinguish heavy nuclei from light nuclei. We apply the method to…
The greater part of this paper is concerned with a historical discussion of the development of the search for the origins of the highest-energy cosmic-rays together with a few remarks about future prospects. Additionally, in section 6, the…
Radio Cherenkov emission underlines detection of high energy particles via a signal growing like the particle-energy-squared. Cosmic ray-induced electromagnetic showers are a primary application. While many studies have treated the…
The shape of the longitudinal development of the showers generated in the atmosphere by very high energy cosmic ray particles encodes information about the mass composition of the flux, and about the properties of hadronic interactions that…
We review some of the recent progress in our knowledge about high-energy cosmic rays, with an emphasis on the interpretation of the different observational results. We discuss the effects that are relevant to shape the cosmic ray spectrum…
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…
Air showers, produced by the interaction of energetic cosmic rays with the atmosphere, are an excellent alternative to study particle physics at energies beyond any human-made particle accelerator. For that, it is necessary to identify…
The Pierre Auger Observatory has already collected more ultra high energy cosmic ray data than all the previous experiments. With an hybrid detection technique, it can provide coherent results on the flux, energy spectrum and arrival…
The properties of cosmic rays with energies above 10**6 GeV have to be deduced from the spacetime structure and particle content of the air showers which they initiate. In this review we summarize the phenomenology of these giant air…
This paper begins with a pedagogical discussion of the propagation of cosmic rays and the showers produced when a cosmic ray primary hits the upper atmosphere. The paper focusses cosmic rays, with energy > 10^19 eV. Emphasis is placed on…