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T: Teilchenphysik

T 101: Hauptvortr
äge I

T 101.2: Hauptvortrag

Freitag, 4. März 2005, 11:05–11:55, TU H105

Cosmic ray physics - past, present and future — •Francis Halzen — University of Wisconsin

Nearly a century after they were first discovered, the origin of cosmic rays remains a profound mystery. We anticipate that its resolution will lead us to astronomy not revealed by conventional astronomical telescopes or to physics beyond the energy reach of particle accelerators, possibly to both. Mystery is fertile ground for progress: we will review the observations and puzzle over their interpretation. Speculations on the origin of cosmic rays range from the decay of oscillating cosmic strings to conjectures that Nature may have constructed highly efficient particle accelerators in the cores of supernovae, quasars or gamma ray bursts. A realistic hope exists that the oldest problem in astronomy will be solved by ambitious experimentation: air shower arrays with an area of 10,000 kilometer -square, arrays of air Cherenkov telescopes and kilometer-scale neutrino detectors. Construction of such instruments is underway and their predecessors have, as expected, already led to unexpected science such as a better understanding of the cosmic background of infrared light and the discovery of neutrino mass.