Astronomers detect the most energetic cosmic ray 'Amaterasu particle' since 1991
This is the highest energy cosmic ray observed since the 'Oh my God particle' observed in 1991. These cosmic rays are the most energetic
An extremely energetic cosmic ray observed by a surface detector array | Science
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo5095
Telescope array experiment detects the most energetic cosmic ray in history | Kyoto University
https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ja/research-news/2023-11-24
Meet “Amaterasu”: Astronomers detect highest energy cosmic ray since 1991 | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/11/meet-amaterasu-astronomers-detect-highest-energy-cosmic-ray-since-1991/
The most powerful cosmic ray since the Oh-My-God particle puzzles scientists
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03677-0
Cosmic rays , which are high-energy radiation falling from space, have extremely high energies. Cosmic rays exceeding 100 exaelectron volts have been detected multiple times, and the energy of 100 exaelectronvolts is an incredible energy that is more than seven orders of magnitude higher than the energy that can be reached by the largest particle accelerator on earth.
Cosmic rays with such enormous energy come from gamma ray bursts , which are the largest explosive phenomena in the universe, supermassive black holes at the center of active galactic nuclei, jets ejected from them, and strong magnetic neutrons, which have the strongest magnetic field in the universe. It is predicted that it originates from extreme physical phenomena in the universe such as stars ( magnetars ), but the exact source has not been clarified by previous research.
Since cosmic rays are charged particles, they are bent by the cosmic magnetic field, but cosmic rays with extremely high energy are difficult to bend by magnetic fields, so this will become a 'next generation astronomy' in which the direction of arrival points to the source. is expected. The cosmic ray with the highest energy in the history of observation is the ' Oh my God particle ' observed at the Dugway Experiment Station in Utah, USA in 1991, and its energy content was estimated to be as much as 320 exaelectron volts.
A cosmic ray recording the highest energy since the observation of this Oh My God particle, ``244 exaelectron volts,'' was observed in the high-energy cosmic ray observation experiment and telescope array experiment currently in operation in Utah, USA. A research team from Osaka Public University and other institutions likened the newly observed cosmic rays to Japanese mythology and called them the 'Amaterasu particle,' based on the fact that cosmic rays were observed at dawn and the hope that they would serve as a guidepost toward elucidating the origin of cosmic rays. I named it.
The telescope array experiment has been conducted for over 15 years since 2008, and the Amaterasu particle reported this time is the highest energy cosmic ray in the history of observation. Amaterasu particles were observed at 4:35:56 local time on May 27, 2021. The detectors used in the telescope array experiment are each installed more than 1.2 km apart, but a total of 23 detectors are continuously detecting Amaterasu particles almost simultaneously with a time difference of microseconds. .
Analysis of the Amaterasu particle revealed that no strong candidate objects were found in the direction of arrival, and that it had arrived from a cosmic region called a local void in the large- scale structure of the universe near the Milky Way Galaxy. John Matthews, a University of Utah astronomer and spokesperson for the Telescope Array experiment who co-authored the paper reporting the discovery of the Amaterasu particle, said, ``But oh my God, and this new particle... 'If we trace its trajectory back to its source, we can't find enough energy to produce it. That's the biggest mystery of the discovery: What's going on?' Therefore, it has been suggested that the origin may be a new physical origin that goes beyond the Standard Model, such as an unknown celestial phenomenon or the collapse of dark matter.
Associate Professor Toshihiro Fujii of Osaka Public University, who was involved in the research, said, ``When I first discovered this extremely high-energy cosmic ray, I thought there must have been some kind of mistake because the energy value displayed was unprecedented. While I was disappointed that I could not find any candidate objects in the direction of arrival, I also felt excited that I had discovered a new mystery: where did these cosmic rays come from?In the future, I will continue to work on expanding the telescope array experiment that is currently in operation. 'We would like to uncover the source of extremely high-energy cosmic rays through next-generation experiments.'
◆Forum now open
A forum related to this article has been set up on the GIGAZINE official Discord server . Anyone can write freely, so please feel free to comment! If you do not have a Discord account, please create one by referring to the article explaining how to create an account!
• Discord | “What do you think is the true nature of the ultra-high energy “Amaterasu particles” from space? ' | GIGAZINE
https://discord.com/channels/1037961069903216680/1177903426030555166
Related Posts:
in Science, Posted by logu_ii