Cosmic Rays: From Fundamental Symmetry Tests to Civil Applications

A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 7102

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, via Branze 38, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Interests: particle physics; BSM physics; cosmic rays; muon tomography; muon radiography; cosmic-ray neutron sensing; machine-learning

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Co-Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Brescia, Italy
Interests: experimental physics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Symmetry lies at the foundation of nature. It pervades every area of physics and has successfully acted as a guiding principle in postulating the existence of new particles and interactions in the last century. In this context, the discovery of the cosmic radiation has played a crucial role: it has made the experimental verification of many of the theory’s predictions possible. Even today, despite the availability of high-energy particle colliders, cosmic rays still represent an invaluable probe to test fundamental principles in cosmology and particle physics, as well as to look for new physics. Examples include tests for violation of the Lorentz symmetry, and the related CPT symmetry, searches for dark matter candidates, and tests to probe fundamental interactions at ultra-high energies.

Cosmic rays have also been used beyond fundamental research since the mid-1950s, when E.P. George estimated the thickness of rock above an underground tunnel by measuring the flux attenuation of cosmic-ray (CR) muons. Since then, applications of CR muons have steadily grown in numbers, especially in recent decades. Imaging methods based on measurements of the flux attenuation and/or scattering angles of CR muons, collectively referred to as muography, have been successfully applied to many different fields requiring penetrating probes. Examples include the inspection or monitoring of large natural or civil structures, such as volcanoes or dams, the search for heavy metals in containers and trucks, the control of nuclear wastes, and studies on middle atmosphere dynamics. In addition to muon-based imaging, some authors have also investigated the possibility of using CR muons for the metrology of structures, such as historical buildings. This technique, generally referred to as muon metrology, is based on the measurement of how the relative alignment of a system of detectors, some integral to the structure of interest and others to the surrounding environment, evolves over time.

As the large number of applications mentioned above show, the research areas covered by this Special Issue are very active and growing, with still plenty of room for new ideas. We hereby solicit both review and research papers on recent advances in cosmic-ray physics and applications, including (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • Cosmic rays as a probe for fundamental physics;
  • Search for dark matter with cosmic rays;
  • Extreme energy cosmic rays;
  • Muography applications;
  • Applications of muon metrology;
  • Algorithms for muon imaging and metrology;
  • Cosmic-ray muon generators;
  • Muon detectors and detection systems for muography.

Prof. Dr. Davide Pagano
Guest Editor

Prof. Dr. Germano Bonomi
Co-Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Cosmic rays
  • Dark matter
  • Extreme energy cosmic rays
  • Muography
  • Muon tomography
  • Muon radiography
  • Muon metrology
  • Muon imaging algorithm
  • Muon detector

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 507 KiB  
Article
Cosmic Ray Antihelium Probe for the Origin of the Baryonic Matter in the Universe
by Vladislav Golubkov, Maxim Khlopov, Anastasia Kirichenko, Alexandra Kravtsova, Andrey Mayorov and Rustam Yulbarisov
Symmetry 2022, 14(9), 1953; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym14091953 - 19 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2122
Abstract
Several candidates for antihelium events have been found in the AMS-02 experiment. They cannot be created by natural astrophysical sources and, if confirmed, imply the existence of antimatter stars in our galaxy. This immediately reduces the class of inflationary models with baryosynthesis to [...] Read more.
Several candidates for antihelium events have been found in the AMS-02 experiment. They cannot be created by natural astrophysical sources and, if confirmed, imply the existence of antimatter stars in our galaxy. This immediately reduces the class of inflationary models with baryosynthesis to those that can provide the creation of an antimatter domain of surviving size together with the general baryon asymmetry of the Universe. To confront the future results of experimental searches for cosmic antihelium with predictions of this hypothesis, we develop numerical studies of the creation and propagation of antihelium flux from antimatter globular clusters in the Galaxy. This article presents the results of such a simulation: a function of the magnetic cut-off for the penetration of antihelium nuclei into the Galaxy disk and an estimate of the energy range in which the search and detection of antihelium is most optimal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cosmic Rays: From Fundamental Symmetry Tests to Civil Applications)
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15 pages, 4834 KiB  
Article
Hybrid Method for Detecting Anomalies in Cosmic ray Variations Using Neural Networks Autoencoder
by Oksana Mandrikova and Bogdana Mandrikova
Symmetry 2022, 14(4), 744; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym14040744 - 4 Apr 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2138
Abstract
Cosmic rays were discovered by the Austrian physicist Victor Hess in 1912 in a series of balloon experiments performed between 1911 and 1912. Cosmic rays are an integral part of fundamental and applied research in the field of solar–terrestrial physics and space weather. [...] Read more.
Cosmic rays were discovered by the Austrian physicist Victor Hess in 1912 in a series of balloon experiments performed between 1911 and 1912. Cosmic rays are an integral part of fundamental and applied research in the field of solar–terrestrial physics and space weather. Cosmic ray data are applied in different fields from the discovery of high-energy particles coming to Earth from space, and new fundamental symmetries in the laws of nature, to the knowledge of residual matter and magnetic fields in interstellar space. The properties of interplanetary space are determined from intensity variations, angular distribution, and other characteristics of galactic cosmic rays. The measure of cosmic ray flux intensity variability is used as one of the significant space weather factors. The negative impact of cosmic rays is also known. The negative impact can significantly increase the level of radiation hazard and pose a threat to astronauts, crews, and passengers of high-altitude aircraft on polar routes and to modern space equipment. Therefore, methods aimed at timely detection and identification of anomalous manifestations in cosmic rays are of particular practical relevance. The article proposes a method for analyzing cosmic ray variations and detecting anomalous changes in the rate of galactic cosmic ray arrival to the Earth. The method is based on a combination of the Autoencoder neural network with wavelet transform. The use of non-linear activation functions and the ability to flexibly change the structure of the network provide the ability of the Autoencoder to approximate complex dependencies in the recorded variations of cosmic rays. The article describes the numerical operations of the method implementation. Verification of the adequacy of the neural network model is based on the use of Box–Ljung Q-statistics. On the basis of the wavelet transform constructions, data-adaptive operations for detecting complex singular structures are constructed. The parameters of the applied threshold functions are estimated with a given confidence probability based on the α-quantiles of Student’s distribution. Using data from high-latitude neutron monitor stations, it is shown that the proposed method provides efficient detection of anomalies in cosmic rays during increased solar activity and magnetic storms. Using the example of a moderate magnetic storm on 10–11 May 2019, the necessity of applying different methods and approaches to the study of cosmic ray variations is confirmed, and the importance of taking them into account when making space weather forecast is shown. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cosmic Rays: From Fundamental Symmetry Tests to Civil Applications)
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14 pages, 29801 KiB  
Article
Method of Wavelet-Decomposition to Research Cosmic Ray Variations: Application in Space Weather
by Oksana Mandrikova and Bogdana Mandrikova
Symmetry 2021, 13(12), 2313; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13122313 - 3 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2051
Abstract
Since their discovery, cosmic rays have been an integral part of the development of fundamental physics, from the discovery of radiation coming to the Earth from outer space and the identification of high-energy particles in it, as well as new fundamental symmetries in [...] Read more.
Since their discovery, cosmic rays have been an integral part of the development of fundamental physics, from the discovery of radiation coming to the Earth from outer space and the identification of high-energy particles in it, as well as new fundamental symmetries in the laws of nature, to the knowledge of residual matter and magnetic fields in interstellar space. Cosmic rays are used in a number of fundamental and applied research in solar-terrestrial physics and are important in the research of the near-Earth space processes. Cosmic ray variations observed on the Earth’s surface are an integral result of various solar, heliospheric, magnetospheric and atmospheric phenomena. The most significant changes in cosmic ray parameters are caused by coronal mass ejections and subsequent changes in the parameters of the interplanetary magnetic field and solar wind. Therefore, the study of cosmic rays makes it possible to obtain valuable information about the processes in the near-Earth space and in the Earth’s magnetosphere during disturbed periods. This article proposes a method for analyzing cosmic ray variations. It is based on the use of wavelet data decomposition operations and their combination with threshold functions. By using adaptive thresholds, the operations for detecting anomalous changes in data and for suppressing the noise were developed. Anomalies in cosmic rays can cause radiation hazard for astronauts, radio communication failures, as well as malfunctions in satellites, leading to the loss of orientation and destruction. Therefore, the task of timely diagnostics of anomalies is urgent. The paper describes the algorithms for the implementation of the method and shows their application in the space weather problem. We used data from the network of ground stations of neutron monitors. The efficiency of the method for detecting abnormal changes of different amplitudes and durations is shown. Application of the method made it possible to detect clearly and to evaluate Forbush effects in cosmic rays, which precede the onset of magnetic storms of various nature and strength. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cosmic Rays: From Fundamental Symmetry Tests to Civil Applications)
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