Speaker
Dr
Tom Paul
Description
Cosmic rays with energies as high as 10^20 eV have been observed,
but unveiling their origins and composition is a daunting challenge due
to the rarity of events at this extreme end of the energy spectrum.
I'll review some of the latest efforts on this front, focusing primarily
on The Pierre Auger Observatory. This observatory was designed
specifically to study such ultra-high energy cosmic rays using a giant
array of particle detectors and fluorescence light telescopes. I'll
describe the experimental techniques employed to infer cosmic ray
properties from the extensive air showers they produce
when they interact in Earth's atmosphere, and
present the latest results concerning the energy spectrum,
primary composition, and searches for the cosmic ray sources.
Primary author
Dr
Tom Paul
