Kavli Affiliate: Roger Blandford
| First 5 Authors: Noémie Globus, Roger Blandford, , ,
| Summary:
Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays, UHECR, are charged particles with energies
between $sim10^{18},{rm eV}$ and $sim3times10^{20},{rm eV}sim50,{rm
J}$. They exhibit fundamental physics at energies inaccessible to terrestrial
accelerators, challenge experimental physics and connect strongly to
astronomical observations through electromagnetic, neutrino and even
gravitational wave channels. There has been much theoretical and observational
progress in the sixty years that have elapsed since the discovery of UHECR, to
divine their nature and identify their sources. The highest energy UHECR appear
to be heavy nuclei with rigidity extending up to $sim10,{rm EV}$; A
significant ($6.9sigma$) dipole anisotropy has been measured but our poor
understanding of the Galactic magnetic fields makes this hard to interpret; The
UHECR luminosity density is $sim 10^{44}$ erg Mpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$ which
constrains explanations of their origin; The most promising acceleration
mechanisms involve diffusive shock acceleration and unipolar induction; The
most promising sources include intergalactic accretion shocks, and relativistic
jets from stellar-mass or supermassive black holes. We explore the prospects
for using the highest energy events, combined with multimessenger astronomy, to
help us solve the riddle of UHECR.
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