Project description
Cosmic mysteries with interferometry
High-energy cosmic rays constantly bombard Earth, yet their origins and acceleration mechanisms remain unknown. When these particles strike the atmosphere, they trigger cascades of secondary particles called air showers. Studying these showers provides insights into fundamental particle interactions, but current methods lack precision. To push the boundaries of astroparticle physics, scientists need better tools to reconstruct air shower properties. In this context, the ERC-funded CR-INTERFEROMETRY project applies interferometry to analyse the radio emissions from air showers. This technique improves reconstruction accuracy, enabling a deeper examination of cosmic particles. By integrating interferometric methods into major observatories, the project will help answer key astrophysical questions and explore the universe’s most extreme accelerators.
Objective
The universe hosts a population of subatomic particles with astonishingly high kinetic energies, so-called cosmic rays. Where and how they obtain this energy is unknown. These particles initiate cascades of particles in the atmosphere called air showers. The particle interactions within air showers are not fully understood and probe a regime not easily accessible by particle accelerator experiments.
I developed a new technique that applies interferometry on the radio emission from air showers. It improves the reconstruction accuracy of air shower properties and hence allows for better determination of the features of cosmic particles. The largest facility for ultra-high-energy cosmic ray detection, the Pierre Auger Observatory, is upgrading its infrastructure to include 1660 radio antennas. This CoG facilitates the interferometric technique for the upgrade by deploying an accurate synchronisation system. The Southern Wide-view Gamma-ray Observatory is a next-generation facility, starting construction in 2026. This CoG augments it with 800 antennas to perform interferometry on air showers.
By improving the air shower reconstruction of these facilities, we aim to extend their capabilities to address major open questions in astroparticle physics. Specifically, the combination of particle detection and interferometry is used to reach these objectives:
- Determine which particles contribute to the cosmic-ray flux at the highest energies, by measuring air shower depth.
- Accurately measure the hadronic interactions in air showers, by simultaneously detailed observations of the muon and electromagnetic components of air showers. The same technique is applied over a wide cosmic-ray energy range.
- Observe astrophysical photons with energies above 1015 eV, to identify the most extreme particle accelerators in our galaxy.
This CoG pioneers the interferometric air shower reconstruction on a large scale and will pave the way for its use in future projects.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) ERC-2024-COG
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6525 XZ Nijmegen
Netherlands
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