Cosmic rays: particles from outer space
Earth is subject to a constant bombardment of subatomic particles
that can reach energies far higher than the largest machines
In August 1912, Austrian physicist Victor Hess made a historic balloon flight that opened a new
window on matter in the universe. As he ascended to 5300 metres, he measured the rate of
ionization in the atmosphere and found that it increased to some three times that at sea level.
He concluded that penetrating radiation was entering the atmosphere from above. He had
discovered cosmic rays.
These high-energy particles arriving from outer space are mainly (89%) protons – nuclei of
hydrogen, the lightest and most common element in the universe – but they also include nuclei
of helium (10%) and heavier nuclei (1%), all the way up to uranium. When they arrive at Earth,
they collide with the nuclei of atoms in the upper atmosphere, creating more particles, mainly
pions. The charged pions can swiftly decay, emitting particles called muons. Unlike pions, these
do not interact strongly with matter, and can travel through the atmosphere to penetrate below
ground. The rate of muons arriving at the surface of the Earth is such that about one per second
passes through a volume the size of a person’s head.
The rate at which these particles arrive at the top of the atmosphere falls off with increasing
energy, from about 10,000 per square metre per second at 1 GeV to less than one per square
kilometre per century for the highest energy particles. The very high-energy cosmic rays
generate huge showers of up to 10 billion secondary particles or more, which can be picked up
by particle detectors when they spread over areas as large as 20 square kilometres at the surface
of the Earth
Cosmic accelerators
Just how do cosmic rays reach such high energies? Where are the natural accelerators?
The lowest energy cosmic rays arrive from the Sun in a stream of charged particles
known as the solar wind, but pinning down the origin of the higher-energy particles is
made difficult as they twist and turn in the magnetic fields of interstellar space.
Clues have come through studying high-energy gamma rays from outer space. These are far
fewer than the charged cosmic rays, but being electrically neutral they are not influenced by
magnetic fields. They generate showers of secondary particles that can be detected on Earth and
which point back towards the point of origin of the gamma rays. Sources of the highest energy
gamma rays in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, include the remnants of supernovae, such as the
famous Crab Nebula(link is external); the shock waves from these stellar explosions have long
been proposed as possible natural accelerators. Other sources of ultra-high-energy gamma rays
lie in other galaxies, where exotic objects such as supermassive black holes may drive the
acceleration. There is also evidence that the highest energy charged cosmic rays also have
similar origins in other galaxies.
For the first time, we have proof that the highest-energy cosmic rays are of
extragalactic origin,” says Alan Watson, a UK astronomer and co-founder of
the observatory. The result comes as a relief to the researchers, after previous
claims regarding their origin made ten years ago by the Pierre Auger
Collaboration subsequently turned out to be premature
Current science
We know today that galactic cosmic rays are atom fragments such as protons
(positively charged particles), electrons (negatively charged particles) and atomic nuclei.
While we know now they can be created in supernovas, there may be other sources
available for cosmic ray creation. It also isn't clear exactly how supernovas are able to
make these cosmic rays so fast.
Cosmic rays constantly rain down on Earth, and while the high-energy "primary" rays
collide with atoms in the Earth's upper atmosphere and rarely make it through to the
ground, "secondary" particles are ejected from this collision and do reach us on the
ground.
But by the time these cosmic rays get to Earth, it's impossible to trace where they came
from. That's because their path has been changed as they travelled through multiple
magnetic fields (the galaxy's, the solar system's and Earth's itself.)
According to NASA, cosmic rays therefore come equally from all directions of the sky. So
scientists are trying to trace back cosmic ray origins by looking at what the cosmic rays
are made of. Scientists can figure this out by looking at the spectroscopic "signature"
each nucleus gives off in radiation, and also by weighing the different isotopes (types) of
elements that hit cosmic ray detectors.
The result, NASA adds, shows very common elements in the universe. Roughly 90
percent of cosmic ray nuclei are hydrogen (protons) and 9 percent are helium (alpha
particles). Hydrogen and helium are the most abundant elements in the universe and
the origin point for stars, galaxies and other large structures. The remaining 1 percent
are all elements, and it's from that 1 percent that scientists can best search for rare
elements to make comparisons between different types of cosmic rays.
Scientists can also date the cosmic rays by looking at radioactive nuclei that decrease over
time. Measuring the "half life" of each nuclei gives an estimate of how long the cosmic
ray has been out there in space.
