A pot of gold at the end of the cosmic “raynbow”?

We critically review the common belief that ultrahigh energy cosmic rays are protons or atomic nuclei with masses not exceeding that of iron. We find that heavier nuclei are indeed possible, and discuss possible sources and acceleration mechanisms for such primaries. We also show detailed simulation...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Anchordoqui, Luis Alfredo, Dova, María Teresa, McCauley, Thomas, Paul, Thomas, Reucroft, Stephen, Swain, John
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2001
País:Argentina
Institución:Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Repositorio:SEDICI (UNLP)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:sedici.unlp.edu.ar:10915/81068
Acceso en línea:http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/81068
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Ciencias Exactas
Física
Radiación cósmica
Cascada atmosférica extensa
Descripción
Sumario:We critically review the common belief that ultrahigh energy cosmic rays are protons or atomic nuclei with masses not exceeding that of iron. We find that heavier nuclei are indeed possible, and discuss possible sources and acceleration mechanisms for such primaries. We also show detailed simulations of extensive air showers produced by “superheavy” nuclei, and discuss prospects for their detection in future experiments.