Measurement of Energy Spectrum and Elemental Composition of PeV Cosmic Rays: Open Problems and Prospects
Cosmic rays represent one of the most important energy transformation processes of the universe. They bring information about the surrounding universe, our galaxy, and very probably also the extragalactic space, at least at the highest observed energies. More than one century after their discovery,...
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/2/705 |
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| author | Giuseppe Di Sciascio |
| author_facet | Giuseppe Di Sciascio |
| author_sort | Giuseppe Di Sciascio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cosmic rays represent one of the most important energy transformation processes of the universe. They bring information about the surrounding universe, our galaxy, and very probably also the extragalactic space, at least at the highest observed energies. More than one century after their discovery, we have no definitive models yet about the origin, acceleration and propagation processes of the radiation. The main reason is that there are still significant discrepancies among the results obtained by different experiments located at ground level, probably due to unknown systematic uncertainties affecting the measurements. In this document, we will focus on the detection of galactic cosmic rays from ground with air shower arrays up to 10<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>18</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> eV. The aim of this paper is to discuss the conflicting results in the 10<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>15</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> eV energy range and the perspectives to clarify the origin of the so-called <i>‘knee’</i> in the all-particle energy spectrum, crucial to give a solid basis for models up to the end of the cosmic ray spectrum. We will provide elements useful to understand the basic techniques used in reconstructing primary particle characteristics (energy, mass, and arrival direction) from the ground, and to show why indirect measurements are difficult and results are still conflicting. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:58:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-22ec4f048a9643e986ba88c7540b93d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:58:36Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-22ec4f048a9643e986ba88c7540b93d62023-11-23T12:51:24ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-01-0112270510.3390/app12020705Measurement of Energy Spectrum and Elemental Composition of PeV Cosmic Rays: Open Problems and ProspectsGiuseppe Di Sciascio0INFN—Roma Tor Vergata, Department of Physics, University of Roma Tor Vergata, Viale della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma, ItalyCosmic rays represent one of the most important energy transformation processes of the universe. They bring information about the surrounding universe, our galaxy, and very probably also the extragalactic space, at least at the highest observed energies. More than one century after their discovery, we have no definitive models yet about the origin, acceleration and propagation processes of the radiation. The main reason is that there are still significant discrepancies among the results obtained by different experiments located at ground level, probably due to unknown systematic uncertainties affecting the measurements. In this document, we will focus on the detection of galactic cosmic rays from ground with air shower arrays up to 10<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>18</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> eV. The aim of this paper is to discuss the conflicting results in the 10<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>15</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> eV energy range and the perspectives to clarify the origin of the so-called <i>‘knee’</i> in the all-particle energy spectrum, crucial to give a solid basis for models up to the end of the cosmic ray spectrum. We will provide elements useful to understand the basic techniques used in reconstructing primary particle characteristics (energy, mass, and arrival direction) from the ground, and to show why indirect measurements are difficult and results are still conflicting.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/2/705cosmic ray physicsmulti-messenger astrophysicsextensive air showers |
| spellingShingle | Giuseppe Di Sciascio Measurement of Energy Spectrum and Elemental Composition of PeV Cosmic Rays: Open Problems and Prospects Applied Sciences cosmic ray physics multi-messenger astrophysics extensive air showers |
| title | Measurement of Energy Spectrum and Elemental Composition of PeV Cosmic Rays: Open Problems and Prospects |
| title_full | Measurement of Energy Spectrum and Elemental Composition of PeV Cosmic Rays: Open Problems and Prospects |
| title_fullStr | Measurement of Energy Spectrum and Elemental Composition of PeV Cosmic Rays: Open Problems and Prospects |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measurement of Energy Spectrum and Elemental Composition of PeV Cosmic Rays: Open Problems and Prospects |
| title_short | Measurement of Energy Spectrum and Elemental Composition of PeV Cosmic Rays: Open Problems and Prospects |
| title_sort | measurement of energy spectrum and elemental composition of pev cosmic rays open problems and prospects |
| topic | cosmic ray physics multi-messenger astrophysics extensive air showers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/2/705 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT giuseppedisciascio measurementofenergyspectrumandelementalcompositionofpevcosmicraysopenproblemsandprospects |