Abstract
Cosmic rays provide important information about high-energy processes occurring in our galaxy and beyond. Cosmic radiation produced in the sources is usually called primordial cosmic rays. This radiation is modified during its propagation in galactic and extragalactic space. Particles of galactic origin pass on average through a column density of 6 \(\mathrm {g}/\mathrm {cm}^2\) before reaching the top of the Earth’s atmosphere. Of course, the atmosphere does not really have a ‘top’ but it rather exhibits an exponential density distribution.
It will be found that everything depends on the composition of the forces with which the particles of matter act upon one another, and from these forces, as a matter of fact, all phenomena of nature take their origin.
R. J. Boscovich
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The \( 90\% \) confidence limit for \( \delta m^2 \) given by the Super-Kamiokande experiment is \( 1.3 \times 10^{-3}\,\mathrm{eV}^2 \le \delta m^2 \le 3 \times 10^{-3}\,\mathrm{eV}^2 \). The accelerator experiment K2K sending muon neutrinos to the Kamioka mine gets \( \delta m^2 = 2.8 \times 10^{-3}\,\mathrm{eV}^2\) [66]. K2K—from KEK to Kamioka, long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment.
- 2.
KamLAND—Kamioka Liquid-scintillator Anti-Neutrino Detector.
- 3.
NESTOR—Neutrino Extended Submarine Telescope with Oceanographic Research Project.
- 4.
ANTARES—Astronomy with a Neutrino Telescope and Abyss environmental RESearch.
- 5.
NEMO—Neutrino Ettore Majorana Observatory.
- 6.
OSSE—Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment
COMPTEL—imaging COMpton TELescope
EGRET—Energetic Gamma Ray Telescope Experiment
BATSE—Burst And Transient Source Experiment.
- 7.
AGN—Active Galactic Nuclei.
- 8.
BeppoSAX—X-ray satellite named after Guiseppe ‘Beppo’ Occhialini.
- 9.
HETE—High Energy Transient Explorer.
- 10.
AGILE—Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini ultra LEggero, Italian \(\gamma \)-ray satellite.
- 11.
H.E.S.S.—High Energy Stereoscopic System.
- 12.
PSPC—Position Sensitive Proportional Chamber.
- 13.
HRI—High Resolution Imager.
- 14.
HEAO—High Energy Astronomy Observatory.
- 15.
NuSTAR—Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array.
- 16.
KAGRA—Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector.
- 17.
DECIGO—DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (future Japanese space gravitational-wave antenna).
- 18.
AIGO—Australian International Gravitational Observatory.
- 19.
This problem is difficult and its solution is mathematically demanding.
- 20.
The solution to this problem is mathematically demanding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Grupen, C. (2020). Primary Cosmic Rays. In: Astroparticle Physics. Undergraduate Texts in Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27339-2_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27339-2_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-27341-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-27339-2
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)