Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays
A special issue of Universe (ISSN 2218-1997). This special issue belongs to the section "High Energy Nuclear and Particle Physics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 1915
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The study of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (E > 1018 eV) faces two great challenges: the extreme low fluxes; and our limited understanding of particle interaction properties at such high energies, which limits the interpretation of the observed air showers in terms of the composition of the primary cosmic ray. The composition spectrum of cosmic rays is critical to interpreting the features observed in the energy spectrum and to interpreting the observed anisotropy in their arrival directions.
The Pierre Auger Observatory (in the Southern Hemisphere) and the Telescope Array and Yakutsk Observatories (in the Northern Hemisphere) have provided most of the Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Ray data. The Pierre Auger Observatory, with the largest collection area (3000 km2) and after more than 15 years of collecting data, has measured the energy spectrum, established that the arrival directions are anisotropic at the 4% level, and suggested that the cosmic ray composition is not dominated by protons at the highest energies. It has also provided evidence that current high-energy hadronic interaction models are predicting a lesser amount of muons than the ones recorded in air showers. Currently, the Pierre Auger Collaboration is upgrading its ground array. Each ground station will have a scintillation detector and a radio antenna that will operate together with the Water Cherenkov detector. The additional detectors will help to provide better measurements of the different components of the air shower (e.g., electromagnetic and muonic components), which should improve the interpretation in terms of the mass composition and improve our understanding of high-energy hadronic interactions.
The Telescope Array has measured an energy spectrum with similar features to the Auger one. However, there are some differences at the highest energies. More statistics are necessary; therefore, the Telescope Array is expanding its collection area (TA x 4), and its collection area will be similar to that of the Pierre Auger Collaboration.
This Special Issue aims to provide a series of reviews of the most recent measurements of the energy spectrum, mass composition spectrum, and arrival direction anisotropies and studies with air shower measurements regarding the validity of current high-energy hadronic interaction models. We also invite contributions covering other important issues, such as: astrophysical interpretations based on the most recent measurements of the energy spectrum, mass composition, and arrival direction anisotropies; the next generation of cosmic ray detectors for covering the energy range beyond 1019.5 eV; and synergy between ultra-high-energy cosmic ray detectors, gamma-ray detectors, and neutrino ground array detectors for addressing the muon problem in hadronic interaction models and for producing a complete picture of cosmic rays over a wide range of energies.
Dr. Jose Alfredo Bellido
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Universe is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- high-energy cosmic rays
- astroparticle physics
- high-energy hadronic interactions
- high-energy cosmic ray detectors.
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
