Projects / Programmes
January 1, 2004
- December 31, 2008
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 1.02.00 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
Physics |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| P211 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
High energy interactions, cosmic rays |
osmic rays, astrophysics, elementary paticles, cosmology, symmetries, LIDAR
Researchers (12)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
Pierre Auger collaboration is currently building the world largest observatory for detection of cosmic-ray induced air-shower. Since the flux of cosmic rays with energies above 10 on 20 eV is rather minute (1 event/km2/century) and since the spatial dimensions of the shower at the ground level is around 10 km, the detector should cover as much of the atmospheric volume as possible. There are two types of sub-detectors comprising the Pierre Auger Observatory. Čerenkov surface detector array is covering an area of 3.000 km2, sampling showers at 1.400 m a.s.l. Above the surface array four fluorescence detectors are gathering information from fluorescence light produced by the electromagnetic part of the shower cascade in the atmosphere. At the time of the completion of the Pierre Auger Observatory, it will be at least 10 times larger as any other existing experiment. Next to that, it will be the only detector ever built which will operate in hybrid mode.
Research effort of the Slovenian team within the Pierre Auger collaboration is covering the following fields: development and deployment of the LIDAR systems for on-line acquisition of optical properties of the atmosphere, development of remote control and data acquisition for the detectors, fluorescence detector calibration, Monte Carlo simulations of air-shower development and simulations of detectors response, on-line and off-line hybrid data analysis, analysis of cosmic-ray spectrum and determination of possible astronomical sources, modeling of cosmic-ray propagation trough the Universe.
Understanding of the cosmic-ray spectrum will certainly be the focal point of the air-shower analysis. Special attention will be given to events detected in the hybrid mode. These events, in contrast to other existing experiments, provide detailed information on systematic errors. We beleive that by comparing simulations based on standard models, and measurements of events with center of mass energies up to 1.000 TeV, new insights in primary interactions will be gained at energies which can not be achieved by existing colliders.
Since inter- and intra-galactic magnetic fields only minutely affect the travel direction of cosmic rays at extreme energies, a detailed study of cosmic-ray sources, acceleration mechanisms, and differentiation between isotropic and point-like sources will become possible.
BELLE experiment is operated by an international collaboration at KEK in Tsukuba, Japan. Since 1973 the CP symmetry is as an intrinsic property of the electro-weak interaction included in the Standard model. This symmetry should manifest itself not only in the decays of K mesons, where it was discovered, but also in other processes in nature. Due to the complexity of the experiments, the experimental verification of CP non-invariance outside the neutral kaon system has been achieved only as late as 2001. BELLE experiment was one of two detectors which observed CP symmetry breaking in decays of B mesons. Their results are within experimental accuracy in agreement with the predictions of the Standard model. Nevertheless, many physicists doubt that Standard model is the ultimate theory. Precise measurements of CP symmetry violation are indirectly sensitive to the existence of new physical processes and physics beyond the Standard model. In the next five years, the BELLE experiment will be conducting intensive data taking. Our research activities will be mainly focused on the data analysis and study of the influence of symmetries on the evolution of the Universe.
DELPHI collaboration at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, is finalizing its data analysis. In the next two years we will continue to for possible new particles and study their conection with the existence of ultra-high energy cosmic rays.
Significance for science
The Research Programme is relevant for integration into research projects of EU: The largest financial and manpower contributors for the Auger South Observatory are institutions from EU (Germany, France, Italy). For the Northern Auger Observatory these institutions will be in the process of applying for separate and common European projects. The preliminary scientific results of the first phase of simulations of the detector response and performance will greatly influence the final design of the detector and therefore also the financial and organizational requirements for the proposed EU projects. All these issues will be addressed also within our group and it therefore carries strong relevance for the future Europe-wide projects. The study of black holes and the early universe has undergone dramatic progress in recent years and we believe that in the coming years this trend will continue aided also by some exciting experiments that will become active in early 2009 - LHC in CERN for the high-energy physics aspects of string theory - and PLANCK for the study of the early Universe, in addition the full functioning of the Pierre Auger detector means an increase in our understanding of the physics of extra-galactic objects such as Active Galactic Nuclei and in particular rotating black-holes. We await many insights in the next four years and some of these insights will lie within the various proposed avenues of study that we have outlined above. The recent dramatic experimental results related to the asymmetry in CP-violation are indicating interesting new physics beyond the highly successful standard model for elementary particle physics. The further refinement of the accelerator and detectors will lead us to a deeper understanding of this new physics which is of fundamental importance for the future development of the field of high-energy particle physics and our understanding of the physical world from the microscopic to cosmic scales.
Significance for the country
One of the important goals is also to establish student and researcher exchange relations with all research groups from the Belle and the Pierre Auger Collaborations, as well as other international research partners. This will not only increase the scientific output, but also provide necessary education on scientific mobility to our PhD students from the Young Researchers program. Our studies will provide a deeper insight into the description of our world and in particular the gravitational force that drives the evolution of our Universe. We will in particular have a clearer picture of the beginnings of the Universe and of physics on extremely small distance and time scales. Our search for a deeper understanding of these phenomena is part of the search for a unifying principle that organizes our physical world, and is of benefit to everyone on both a cultural level and also a technical level as understanding inevitably leads to the development of tools beneficial to society. The research associated with the Pierre Auger and Belle collaborations is particularly interesting both in socio-economic and cultural terms. Apart from the real possibility of understanding physics beyond the standard model of particle physics, the demands of new detector design will expand our understanding of modern materials in extreme conditions and the related technological advances can be of benefit in other fields of science and engineering.
Most important scientific results
Final report,
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Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Final report,
complete report on dLib.si
