PREDNASAJUCI / LECTURER :

Kenji Shinozaki

(1) Astrophysics Division, National Centre for Nuclear Research, Warsaw, Poland

NAZOV / TITLE :

Sciences at the 'Telescope Array' cosmic ray observatory

ABSTRAKT / ABSTRACT :

The nature and origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), specifically
how and where microscopic atom-scale cosmic rays are accelerated to macroscopic
deca-joule energies on the order of 10^20 electronvolts, remain long-standing
questions. These events are only indirectly detected through the ‘air shower’
phenomenon, which involves a vast number of relativistic secondary particles.
“Telescope Array” (TA) is the largest observatory in the Northern Hemisphere,
situated in a dry area in Utah, USA. Using an array of particle detectors and
UV sensitive telescopes, the extremely rare UHECRs are observed by measuring
the air shower particles across an area of approximately 3000 square kilometers.
In this seminar, we will provide a summary of the most current experimental
UHECR physics, discuss the measurement methods for air showers, and present
key findings from the TA collaboration. Additionally, we will describe the DIMS
(Dark matter and Interstellar Meteoroid Study) project at the TA observatory,
in which Astronomical Institute participates to search for macroscopic dark
matter and meteors of extra-Solar System origin.