Features of the Energy Spectrum of Cosmic Rays above 2.5×10^{18} eV Using the Pierre Auger Observatory

Cosmic ray feedback in galaxies and galaxy clusters: A pedagogical introduction and a topical review of the acceleration, transport, observables, and dynamical impact of cosmic rays

Understanding the physical mechanisms that control galaxy formation is a fundamental challenge in contemporary astrophysics. Recent advances in the field of astrophysical feedback strongly suggest that cosmic rays (CRs) may be crucially important for our understanding of cosmological galaxy formation and evolution. The appealing features of CRs are their relatively long cooling times and relatively strong dynamical coupling to the gas. In galaxies, CRs can be close to equipartition with the thermal, magnetic, and turbulent energy density in the interstellar medium, and can be dynamically very important in driving large-scale galactic winds. Similarly, CRs may provide a significant contribution to the pressure in the circumgalactic medium. In galaxy clusters, CRs may play a key role in addressing the classic cooling flow problem by facilitating efficient heating of the intracluster medium and preventing excessive star formation. Overall, the underlying physics of CR interactions with plasmas exhibit broad parallels across the entire range of scales characteristic of the interstellar, circumgalactic, and intracluster media. Here we present a review of the state-of-the-art of this field and provide a pedagogical introduction to cosmic ray plasma physics, including the physics of wave-particle interactions, acceleration processes, CR spatial and spectral transport, and important cooling processes. The field is ripe for discovery and will remain the subject of intense theoretical, computational, and observational research over the next decade with profound implications for the interpretation of the observations of stellar and supermassive black hole feedback spanning the entire width of the electromagnetic spectrum and multi-messenger data.

An extremely energetic cosmic ray observed by a surface detector array

Cosmic rays are energetic charged particles from extraterrestrial sources, with the highest-energy events thought to come from extragalactic sources. Their arrival is infrequent, so detection requires instruments with large collecting areas. In this work, we report the detection of an extremely energetic particle recorded by the surface detector array of the Telescope Array experiment. We calculate the particle's energy as [Formula: see text] (~40 joules). Its arrival direction points back to a void in the large-scale structure of the Universe. Possible explanations include a large deflection by the foreground magnetic field, an unidentified source in the local extragalactic neighborhood, or an incomplete knowledge of particle physics.

Astrophysical interpretation of Pierre Auger Observatory measurements of the UHECR energy spectrum and mass composition

We present a combined fit of a simple astrophysical model of Ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray sources to both the energy spectrum and mass composition data measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory. The astrophysical model we adopted consists of identical sources uniformly distributed in a comoving volume, where nuclei are accelerated with a rigidity-dependent mechanism. The fit has been performed at first for energies above 5 EeV, i.e., the region of the all-particle spectrum above the so-called “ankle” feature, and has then been extended to lower energies in order to include this feature. The fit results and their astrophysical implications in both cases are discussed.

Gravitational Waves, Event Horizons and Black Hole Observation: A New Frontier in Fundamental Physics

The observation of supermassive black holes by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration and the detection of gravitational waves emitted during the merging phase of compact binary objects to stellar-mass black holes by the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA collaboration constitute major achievements of modern science. Gravitational wave signals emitted by stellar-mass black holes are being used to test general relativity in an unprecedented way in the regime of strong gravitational fields, as well as to address other physics questions such as the formation of heavy elements or the Hawking Area Theorem. These discoveries require further research in order to answer critical questions about the population density and the formation processes of binary systems. The detection of supermassive black holes considerably extends the range of scientific investigation by making it possible to probe the structure of spacetime around the horizon of the central mass of our galaxy as well as other galaxies. The huge amount of information collected by the VLBI worldwide network will be used to investigate general relativity in a further range of physical conditions. These investigations hold the potential to pave the way for the detection of quantum-mechanical effects such as a possible graviton mass. In this paper we will review, in a cursory way, some of the results of both the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA and the EHT collaborations.

Sensitivity of Cross-Correlation Studies by Using Xmax Information

The investigation about cosmic-ray sources through the study of the arrival direction of the particles is completely dependent on primary mass compositions. This is due to heavier particles having an average larger deflection during propagation in galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. Recent result from the Auger Collaboration made it possible to obtain information on the chemical composition of the cosmic rays on an event-by-event basis in addition to data from the surface detector. Here, we have investigated the gain in detection efficiency of standard cross-correlation using the Landy–Szalay estimator. Our sample contained only events with the highest Xmax values (corresponding to the lightest charged particles, for which the deflections in magnetic fields are smaller on average). We obtained results showing that that gain depends on the proton fraction ranging from a factor of ∼2 to ∼4.

Progress in the Simulation and Modelling of Coherent Radio Pulses from Ultra High-Energy Cosmic Particles

In the last decade, many experiments have been planned, designed or constructed to detect Ultra High Energy showers produced by cosmic rays or neutrinos using the radio technique. This technique consists in detecting short radio pulses emitted by the showers. When the detected wavelengths are longer than typical shower length scales, the pulses are coherent. Radio emission can be simulated by adding up the contributions of all the particle showers in a coherent way. The first program to use this approach was based on an algorithm developed more than thirty years ago and referred to as “ZHS”. Since then, much progress has been obtained using the ZHS algorithm with different simulation programs to investigate pulses from showers in dense homogeneous media and the atmosphere, applying it to different experimental initiatives, and developing extensions to address different emission mechanisms or special circumstances. We here review this work, primarily led by the authors in collaboration with other scientists, illustrating the connections between different articles, and giving a pedagogical approach to most of the work.

Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory

The Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) is a newly formed, global collaboration dedicated to observing and studying cosmic rays (CR) and cosmic-ray ensembles (CRE): groups of at least two CR with a common primary interaction vertex or the same parent particle. The CREDO program embraces testing known CR and CRE scenarios, and preparing to observe unexpected physics, it is also suitable for multi-messenger and multi-mission applications. Perfectly matched to CREDO capabilities, CRE could be formed both within classical models (e.g., as products of photon–photon interactions), and exotic scenarios (e.g., as results of decay of Super-Heavy Dark Matter particles). Their fronts might be significantly extended in space and time, and they might include cosmic rays of energies spanning the whole cosmic-ray energy spectrum, with a footprint composed of at least two extensive air showers with correlated arrival directions and arrival times. As the CRE are predominantly expected to be spread over large areas and, due to the expected wide energy range of the contributing particles, such a CRE detection might only be feasible when using all available cosmic-ray infrastructure collectively, i.e., as a globally extended network of detectors. Thus, with this review article, the CREDO Collaboration invites the astroparticle physics community to actively join or to contribute to the research dedicated to CRE and, in particular, to pool together cosmic-ray data to support specific CRE detection strategies.