Seminar: Anastasia Baluta - Multi-messenger studies of the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using the upgraded Pierre Auger Observatory

Speaker: Anastasia Baluta, Center for Astrophysics and Cosmology, Slovenia

Title: Multi-messenger studies of the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using the upgraded Pierre Auger Observatory

Abstract

Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are the most energetic particles in nature, reaching energies far beyond those achievable by terrestrial accelerators. Their origin, acceleration mechanisms, and composition remain among the central open questions of astroparticle physics. When these particles interact with the atmosphere, they produce extensive air showers (EAS) with hadronic, muonic and electromagnetic components. Studying the longitudinal and lateral development of EAS provides information on the energy and the arrival direction of the primary cosmic ray, and the constraints on its mass. The Pierre Auger Observatory, the world’s largest facility for UHECR detection, combines surface and fluorescence detectors to study cosmic rays. Its recent upgrade, AugerPrime, aims to improve the understanding of UHECR mass composition, primarily through enhanced muon measurements. In parallel, multi-messenger strategies that correlate UHECRs with neutrino and photon observations promise new insights into their sources.

In this seminar I will provide an overview of cosmic rays and their detection, present Pierre Auger Observatory detection techniques, and outline my PhD research directions including multi-messenger studies using AugerPrime upgrade.