Research on Cosmic Rays and Their Impact on Human Activities

Dear Colleagues,

The cosmic ray spectrum extends over 14 orders of magnitudes in energy and about 12 in intensity.

There are two main classes of cosmic ray detection methods. First, there is the “direct detection” of the primary cosmic rays in space or at high altitude, which includes experiments on stratospheric balloons, satellites or orbiting space stations.
Second, there is the “indirect detection” of secondary particles, namely, the extensive air showers produced by a primary cosmic rays entering the atmosphere; in this case, it is possible to detect on ground secondary particles forming extensive air showers or the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the showers in the atmosphere.
Usually, these two methods are employed to investigate the cosmic ray spectrum at low and extremely high energies, respectively, the former presenting a stricter relation to phenomena closer to Earth, such as solar activity, and the latter having a farther (galactic or extragalactic) origin. In any case, whatever their source may be, both have had and continue to have effects on a vast number of human activities. 
The last few decades have seen a flourishing of new techniques applied to space science, with experiments taking center stage in the unveiling of the properties of cosmic radiation at low and high energy, and to ground experiments with combined hybrid techniques that have allowed investigating a plethora of phenomena—many of which are not well understood yet—affecting the lower portion of the energy spectrum, as well as capturing the rarest and most puzzling high-energy cosmic rays.
In this Special Issue, we invite submissions exploring the development of technology built for measuring the cosmic ray flux in different energy regimes, possibly highlighting how such technologies would help in studying, understanding and—hopefully in some cases—forecasting cosmic ray variations on multiple time-scales. Contributions can focus on platforms, detectors, algorithms, models, techniques or integrated monitoring systems. Survey papers and reviews are also welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Roberta Sparvoli
Dr. Matteo Martucci
Guest Editors

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