Study of Highest Energy Cosmic Rays

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Cosmic rays have been observed up to energies in excess of 10^20 eV. It is not at all clear how these particles are accelerated up to such energies, since standard acceleration scenarios have difficulties above about 10^15 eV or so. It is clear, though, that the sources of these extremely high-energy cosmic rays must be nearby. Otherwise interactions with the microwave background will degrade the particle energies, and thereby prevent them from getting to us from distant sources. The Auger experiment is designed to study these highest energy particles. Auger would be the first air shower array large enough (9000 km^2-sr) to detect a reasonable number of 10^20 eV events, and it may have sufficient angular resolution to trace them back to their sources in the sky. This proposal will aid in the Auger project development through simulations, prototype installation and necessary activities leading to formation of the international collaboration.