The History of Cosmic Rays

This chapter focuses on how gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are emerging as unique tools in the study of broad areas of astronomy and physics by virtue of their special properties. The unassailable fact about GRBs that makes them such great probes is that they are fantastically bright and so can be seen to the farthest reaches of the observable Universe. In parallel with the ongoing study of GRB events and progenitors, new lines of inquiry have burgeoned: using GRBs as unique probes of the Universe in ways that are almost completely divorced from the nature of GRBs themselves. Topics discussed include studies of gas, dust, and galaxies; the history of star formation; measuring reionization and the first objects in the universe; neutrinos, gravitational waves, and cosmic rays; quantum gravity and the expansion of the universe; and the future of GRBs.

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Sparks, Lightning, Cosmic Rays. An Anecdotal History of Electricity. Dayton C. Miller

Isis ◽

10.1086/347722 ◽

1940 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 382-383

Author(s):

I Bernard Cohen

Keyword(s):

Cosmic Rays ◽

History Of ◽

History Of Electricity

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Hydrogen molecular ions and the violent birth of the Solar System

Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences ◽

10.1098/rsta.2018.0403 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 377 (2154) ◽

pp. 20180403 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Cecilia Ceccarelli ◽

Cecile Favre ◽

Ana López-Sepulcre ◽

Francesco Fontani

Keyword(s):

Cosmic Rays ◽

Solar System ◽

Past History ◽

Classical Problem ◽

Galactic Cosmic Rays ◽

Energetic Particles ◽

Molecular Ions ◽

Observational Constraints ◽

The Past ◽

History Of

Many pieces of evidence indicate that the Solar System youth was marked by violent processes: among others, high fluxes of energetic particles (greater than or equal to 10 MeV) are unambiguously recorded in meteoritic material, where an overabundance of the short-lived 10 Be products is measured. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain from where these energetic particles originate, but there is no consensus yet, mostly because of the scarcity of complementary observational constraints. In general, the reconstruction of the past history of the Solar System is best obtained by simultaneously considering what we know of it and of similar systems nowadays in formation. However, when it comes to studying the presence of energetic particles in young forming stars, we encounter the classical problem of the impossibility of directly detecting them toward the emitting source (analogously to what happens to galactic cosmic rays). Yet, exploiting the fact that energetic particles, such as cosmic rays, create H 3 + and that an enhanced abundance of H 3 + causes dramatic changes on the overall gas chemical composition, we can indirectly estimate the flux of energetic particles. This contribution provides an overview of the search for solar-like protostars permeated by energetic particles and the discovery of a protocluster, OMC-2 FIR4, where the phenomenon is presently occurring. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Advances in hydrogen molecular ions: H 3 + , H 5 + and beyond’.

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