5 research outputs found
Cosmic Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory: a global network of detectors to probe contemporary physics mysteries
In the past few years, cosmic-rays beyond the GZK cut-off ( eV) have been detected by leading collaborations such as Pierre Auger
Observatory. Such observations raise many questions as to how such energies can
be reached and what source can possibly produce them. Although at lower
energies, mechanisms such as Fermi acceleration in supernovae front shocks seem
to be favored, top-down scenarios have been proposed to explain the existence
of ultra-high energy cosmic-rays: the decay of super-massive long-lived
particles produced in the early Universe may yield to a flux of ultra-high
energy photons. Such photons might be presently generating so called
super-preshowers, an extended cosmic-ray shower with a spatial distribution
that can be as wide as the Earth diameter. The Cosmic Ray Extremely Distributed
Observatory (CREDO) mission is to find such events by means of a network of
detectors spread around the globe. CREDO's strategy is to connect existing
detectors and create a worldwide network of cosmic-ray observatories. Moreover,
citizen-science constitutes an important pillar of our approach. By helping our
algorithms to recognize detection patterns and by using smartphones as
individual cosmic-ray detectors, non-scientists can participate in scientific
discoveries and help unravel some of the deepest mysteries in physics.Comment: excited QCD Conference, CREDO Collaboration, 7 pages, 3 figure
Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory
The Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) is a newly formed,
global collaboration dedicated to observing and studying cosmic rays (CR) and cosmic-ray ensembles
(CRE): groups of at least two CR with a common primary interaction vertex or the same parent particle.
The CREDO program embraces testing known CR and CRE scenarios, and preparing to observe
unexpected physics, it is also suitable for multi-messenger and multi-mission applications. Perfectly
matched to CREDO capabilities, CRE could be formed both within classical models (e.g., as products
of photon–photon interactions), and exotic scenarios (e.g., as results of decay of Super-Heavy Dark
Matter particles). Their fronts might be significantly extended in space and time, and they might
include cosmic rays of energies spanning the whole cosmic-ray energy spectrum, with a footprint
composed of at least two extensive air showers with correlated arrival directions and arrival times.
As the CRE are predominantly expected to be spread over large areas and, due to the expected wide
energy range of the contributing particles, such a CRE detection might only be feasible when using
all available cosmic-ray infrastructure collectively, i.e., as a globally extended network of detectors.
Thus, with this review article, the CREDO Collaboration invites the astroparticle physics community
to actively join or to contribute to the research dedicated to CRE and, in particular, to pool together
cosmic-ray data to support specific CRE detection strategies