International School of Cosmic Ray Astrophysics, Maurice M. Shapiro, 22nd Course: From cosmic particles to gravitational waves: now and to come

Europe/Rome
Erice, Sicily, Italy

Erice, Sicily, Italy

Ettore Majorana Center for Scientific Culture, Erice, Sicily, Italy
John Wefel (Louisiana State University), Jörg Hörandel (Radboud University Nijmegen dep. Astrophysics), Todor Stanev (Bartol Research Institute)
Description

We plan the 22nd course of the ISCRA to be held from July 30th to August 7th, 2022.

The International school of Cosmic Ray Astrophysics (ISCRA) holds biennial courses for graduate students and young researchers that stress the inter-relationships between sub-disciplines in Astrophysics, Particle Physics and Cosmology and focus upon recent results from different specialty areas.

The ISCRA is not a conference or a workshop, but is a School that provides lectures by outstanding scientists who cover the latest results and also the background and steps that lead to them. Everyone is encouraged to question the experts both during the lectures and informally over relaxing meals so that one often finds beginners dining with experts in an ambiance of friendship and science that otherwise might never happen. Discussions naturally happen — sometimes a seemingly simple question may pause the expert and in the by and by lead to new research. Additionally many attendees have developed their careers following contacts made at the School. Complementing the lectures is the unique opportunity to talk informally, at coffee and meal breaks, with the experts on subjects that interests the attendee: future ideas, experiences, anecdotes, employment opportunities, etc; often things that never reach scientific literature, but which may have profound impacts on the experts.

Many attendees have advanced their careers following contacts made at previous Schools. Over the last 42 years most of the scientists who now hold influential positions in cosmic-ray astrophysics have attended the ISCRA including several Nobel laureates, most attending before they won the prize. Graduate students and postdoctoral scientists (experiment & theory) are encouraged to register as soon as possible on this INDICO page as numbers are constrained by the Centre; late applicants may be disappointed.

A local expense fee of 1350 Euros, payable upon arrival, covers lodging, meals, transportation between the Palermo airport and Erice (provided by the Centre) and all course activities. Participants dine at their choice of a number of Erice restaurants.

 

Please be aware of covid-related safety measures:

In order to enter Italy and to attend the school, you need to be prepared with respect to covid. Our host, the Ettore Majorana foundation in Erice requires that participants must bring with them and show documentation of their vaccination or their green pass on arrival. In the lecture hall(s) and in common areas we will need to keep a safe distance and wear a face mask. Please bring face masks with you.

You need to have a „green pass“ to be able to attend the school - we need to verify this at your arrival.
Useful information on the „green pass“ can be found here
https://www.italia.it/en/covid19
There is also a list of accepted/recognized vaccines given on this web page.
More information is available here:
https://www.romewise.com/italy-green-pass.html#what-is-eu-green-pass
In short, you need to be vaccinated or have a very recent negative test. EU citizens should get an EU-certificate already at home to make their travel smooth.

If you are in doubt, please check with your travel agent about the current rules for Italy, they also may depend on the country you are departing from. Also please keep looking for updates. We all have experienced frequent adaptions of the rules due to recent developments.

Please be aware that we as school organizers/directors can only give advice with respect to covid regulations, ultimately it will be your responsibility to have the required documents and permissions.
 

    • 3
      Opening
      Speaker: Jörg Hörandel (Radboud University Nijmegen dep. Astrophysics)
    • 4
      Historical introduction - basic properties of cosmic rays

      A brief overview is given about the research in the last hundred years, which formed our present understanding of cosmic rays. The basic properties of cosmic rays will be introduced and embedded in historical context.

      Speaker: Jörg Hörandel (Radboud University Nijmegen dep. Astrophysics)
    • 5
      Ground-based Gamma-ray Astronomy with Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes

      The focus of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy lies in studying the origins of energetic Cosmic Rays (CRs) through the gamma-ray emission produced in the interactions of CRs with their environment. Since the first TeV sources were detected by ground-based instruments around 30 years ago the field has matured considerably, with over 200 Very-High-Energy (VHE, > 1TeV) sources currently known. Just within the last couple of years, considerable progress has been made particularly in the field of transient sources like GRBs and Novae. The successful scientific development of the field is also reflected in the phase transition from closed experiments to the Cherenkov Telescope Array, the first open astronomical observatory in ground-based gamma-ray astronomy, currently under construction.

      Speaker: Christian Stegmann (DESY)
    • 11:15 AM
      coffee
    • 6
      Cosmic-ray Electrons at GeV–TeV energies and the Calorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET)

      Electrons (and positrons) are unique among the cosmic-ray species. Due to their relatively low masses, they are more strongly affected by the large-scale magnetic fields which govern cosmic-ray diffusion in the Galaxy. Source modeling indicates that a nearby accelerator such as the Vela supernova remnant could produce a clear signature in the energy spectrum of cosmic-ray electrons at TeV energies. In addition, some dark matter candidates could decay through a leptonic channel, producing a line signature in the electron spectrum at an energy governed by their masses.
      This talk will discuss the motivation for and the current state of direct observations of cosmic-ray electrons, mostly in the context of the Calorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET). CALET is a current, space-based cosmic-ray electron telescope on the International Space Station (ISS) designed for direct, calorimetric detection of electrons at 1 GeV–10+ TeV energies, gamma rays at 1 GeV–1 TeV energies, and cosmic-ray hadrons up to PeV energies. Electromagnetic calorimetry, detector calibration and response, and the detection and reconstruction of cosmic-ray events will be summarized in the context of CALET, and current results will be compared with those of other instruments, including DAMPE, AMS-02, and Fermi-LAT. Finally, the analysis of photon events and their similarities to electrons will be summarized.

      Speaker: Nicholas Cannady (University of Maryland, Baltimore County/NASA GSFC/CRESST-II)
    • 1:00 PM
      lunch
    • 7
      Gamma Ray Astronomy with EAS arrays

      Ground-based gamma ray detectors allows us to study the highest energy gamma rays whose flux is too small to measured by satellites. In this talk we will describe the physics of the extensive air showers and the techniques developed to separate the small number of gamma ray induced showers from the background of hadron induced showers.

      Speaker: Jordan Goodman (University of Maryland)
    • 8
      Magnetic-Rigidity Spectrometers: Essential tools for Cosmic-Ray research

      Abstract: Magnetic-rigidity spectrometers, making use of the curved tracks of charged particles traversing strong magnetic fields in the bores of permanent or superconducting magnets, are among the most versatile tools available for cosmic ray research. As the only instruments that can determine charge sign except at very low energies, they are essential in antimatter measurements and searches. They are also the most sensitive means of distinguishing isotopes at energies above a few hundred MeV/nucleon. The requirements for a successful magnetic-rigidity spectrometer and its components will be reviewed together with a brief discussion of their history, important examples, and a review of important scientific results.

      Speaker: John Mitchell (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
    • 5:00 PM
      coffee
    • 9
      Visit to museums
    • 10
      Ultra high energy cosmic rays in the multi messenger era

      In this series of lessons, a general overview will be given of the sources and propagations features of UHECR; I will then describe the extensive air showers and the experimental techniques to detect them. The current status of the field will then be presented from an experimental point of view, showing the most recent results, underlining the open problems and discussing the possible future directions of this field of research.

      Speaker: Antonella Castellina (INAF and INFN)
    • 11
      Ground-based Gamma-ray Astronomy with Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes
      Speaker: Christian Stegmann (DESY)
    • 11:15 AM
      coffee
    • 12
      Radio detection of extensive air showers - Precision measurements of the properties of cosmic rays

      Cosmic rays with high energies induce extensive air showers when they impinge on the atmosphere of the Earth. A large number of the particles in air showers are electrons and positrons. They interact with the magnetic field of the Earth and emit radio waves. Radio waves with frequencies of tens of Megahertz are used as a tool to measure the properties of cosmic rays, such as their energy, particle type (mass) and arrival direction. The basic mechanisms of the emission process, actual detectors, and recent results will be discussed.

      Speaker: Jörg Hörandel (Radboud University Nijmegen dep. Astrophysics)
    • 1:00 PM
      lunch
    • 13
      Recent results from HAWC

      The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-ray Observatory in the high mountains of Mexico is giving us a new view of the TeV sky. HAWC operates 24hrs/day with over a 95% on-time and observes the entire overhead sky (~8sr over the course of the day). HAWC has accumulated more seven years of data and has recently completed our “Pass 5” re-analysis giving us significant improvements in our low energy response, angular resolution, background rejection and an expanded field of view. This talk will present an overview of these recent HAWC results showing our updated sky catalog, our view of the highest energy gamma-ray sky (including sources above 50 and 100 TeV), long-term monitoring of nearby AGN and recent observations of galactic Pevatrons. In addition, we will present recent limits on primordial black holes, Lorentz invariance violation and multi-messenger observations, as well as comparisons of HAWC and IACT measurements.

      Speaker: Jordan Goodman (University of Maryland)
    • 14
      Cosmic ray anisotropy in the TeV region
      Speaker: Markus Ahlers (Niels Bohr Institute)
    • 5:00 PM
      coffee
    • 15
      Measurement of high-energy muon bundles in air showers with IceTop and IceCube
      Speaker: Stef Verpoest (Ghent University)
    • 16
      A Combined Fit of the Diffuse Neutrino Spectrum using IceCube Muon Tracks and Cascades
      Speaker: Richard Naab
    • 17
      Search for neutrinos from gamma-ray bursts
      Speaker: Kunal Deoskar (Stockholm University)
    • 18
      Ultra high energy cosmic rays in the multi messenger era
      Speaker: Antonella Castellina
    • 19
      Ground-based Gamma-ray Astronomy with Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes
      Speaker: Christian Stegmann (DESY)
    • 11:15 AM
      coffee
    • 20
      Cosmic-Ray Anisotropies in the TeV-PeV Range

      The arrival directions of Galactic cosmic rays are highly isotropic. This is expected from the presence of turbulent magnetic fields in our Galactic environment that repeatedly scatter charged particles during propagation. However, various cosmic-ray observatories have identified weak anisotropies of TeV-PeV cosmic rays on various angular scales and with relative intensities of up to a level of 1 part in 1,000. Whereas large-scale anisotropies are generally predicted by standard diffusion models, the appearance of small-scale anisotropies down to an angular size of 10 degrees is surprising. In my lectures I will summarise the current experimental status of cosmic-ray anisotropies and review theoretical ideas for their origin on large and small scales.

      Speaker: Markus Ahlers (Niels Bohr Institute)
    • 1:00 PM
      lunch
    • 21
      Recent results from LHAASO and future arrays

      The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) has recently been completed and has produced some of the highest energy observations of the gamma ray sky. LHAASO is a new generation multi-component facility located in China, at an altitude of 4410 meters. It consists of a km2 array plus three large water Cherenkov detectors. In this talk I will review recent LHAASO results and talk about future plans for a similar scale detector in the southern hemisphere (SWGO).

      Speaker: Jordan Goodman (University of Maryland)
    • 22
      Cosmic Magnetic Fields and Cosmic Ray Propagation Connections
      Speaker: Stela Faria (Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas - Universidade de São Paulo)
    • 23
      PIC simulations of SNR’s shock waves with a turbulent upstream medium
      Speaker: Karol Fułat
    • 24
      Study on the magnetized wind from white dwarfs
      Speaker: YICI ZHONG (THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO)
    • 5:00 PM
      coffee
    • 25
      Poster session - courtyard San Rocco
    • 27
      Ultra high energy cosmic rays in the multi messenger era
      Speaker: Antonella Castellina
    • 28
      Direct observations of hadronic cosmic rays with CALET and other instruments

      This talk will focus on the measurement of energy spectra for cosmic-ray protons, helium, and heavier nuclei with electromagnetic calorimeters such as CALET. The particle showers resulting from nuclear interactions of these species inside the detector are considerably different from the pure electromagnetic showers of electrons and photons, necessitating some differences in event reconstruction and analysis. The process of Bayesian unfolding will be discussed in the context of combining real observations with simulated instrument responses to produce energy spectra.
      In the past decade+, the precision and range of direct cosmic-ray measurements have been improved signfiicantly, and features in the spectra of various elemental species are emerging. The acceleration and transport of cosmic rays and the nature of primary and secondary species will be summarized. Results for various elemental spectra from CALET as well as DAMPE, AMS-02, and others will be shown and their implications for cosmic-ray astrophysics will be discussed.

      Speaker: Nicholas Cannady (University of Maryland, Baltimore County/NASA GSFC/CRESST-II)
    • 11:15 AM
      coffee
    • 29
      Cosmic Neutrinos and Multimessenger Astronomy

      Below the geographic South Pole, the IceCube project has transformed one cubic kilometer of natural Antarctic ice into a neutrino detector. IceCube detects more than 100,000 neutrinos per year in the GeV to 10 PeV energy range. From those, we have isolated a flux of high-energy neutrinos of cosmic origin, with an energy flux that is comparable to that of high-energy photons. We have also identified the first cosmic accelerators pinpointing the dense cores of active galaxies, powered by supermassive black holes, as sources of cosmic neutrinos (and cosmic rays!).

      We will review neutrino astronomy, its present and future telescopes, and the recent progress in measuring the cosmic neutrino spectrum and in identifying its origin.

      Speaker: Prof. Francis Halzen (Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center and the Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison)
    • 1:00 PM
      lunch
    • 30
      Gravitational waves
      Speaker: Patricia Schmidt
    • 31
      Performance of the Auger Radio Detector
      Speaker: Felix Schlüter (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) / Institute for Nuclear Physics (IKP))
    • 32
      Combined estimation of the cosmic-ray mass composition and interaction cross sections at ultrahigh energies
      Speaker: Olena Tkachenko (Institute for Nuclear Physics - Karlsruhe Institute for Technology)
    • 33
      Study of Inclined Trigger for the IceTop
      Speaker: Ek Narayan Paudel (University of Delaware)
    • 34
      Cosmic rays detection in the atmosphere using meteorological balloon observation and its interpretation using Monte Carlo simulation
      Speaker: Abhijit Roy (Indian Centre for Space Physics)
    • 5:00 PM
      coffee
    • 35
      Scientific ballooning: near-space access without rockets

      Abstract: Modern scientific balloons are capable of lifting payloads weighing up to about 2000 kg to altitudes of approximately 36 km, within 0.5% of the top of the atmosphere. The basic balloon technology was developed in the 1950s as a form of very-high-altitude, difficult to detect “spy aircraft”. Today, The NASA Scientific balloon program conducts flights from the continental US, Antarctica, Australia, Sweden, and recently New Zealand. From Antarctica, conventional “zero-pressure” balloons routinely fly for 30 days and in 2012, the SuperTIGER instrument flew for 55 days, the record for heavy scientific flights. A new “superpressure” balloon (SPB) developed by NASA shows promise of even longer flights even at mid-latitude. Balloons have been exceptionally important in Cosmic Ray research, and most direct measurements of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) have been made by balloon-borne instruments. Here a brief introduction to the history and current capability of the scientific balloon program, as well as practical comments on balloon payloads will be given, together with comments on emerging capabilities.

      Speaker: John Mitchell (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
    • 36
      Cosmic neutrinos and multi-messenger astronomy (slides see Thu)
      Speaker: Francis Halzen (UW-Madison)
    • 37
      Cosmic rays at the knee and the GRAPES experiment
      Speaker: Sunil Gupta
    • 11:15 AM
      coffee
    • 38
      Gravitational waves
      Speaker: Patricia Schmidt
    • 1:00 PM
      lunch
    • 39
      Cosmic neutrinos and multi-messenger astronomy (slides see Thu)
      Speaker: Francis Halzen (UW-Madison)
    • 40
      History of the ISCRA
      Speaker: Arthur Smith
    • 5:00 PM
      coffee
    • 41
      Search for high-energy gamma-ray emission from shock powered transients with the VERITAS telescope
      Speaker: Maria Kherlakian (DESY Zeuthen)
    • 42
      Lorentz Invariance Violation effects in the extensive air showers
      Speaker: Caterina Trimarelli (INFN)
    • 43
      Progress of CALET UH TASC analysis
      Speaker: Wolfgang Zober (Washington University in St. Louis)
    • 44
      Search for ultra-high energy neutrinos with the Pierre Auger Observatory
      Speaker: Mohit Saharan (Radboud University Nijmegen)
    • 45
      Gravitational waves
      Speaker: Patricia Schmidt
    • 46
      Cosmic rays at the knee and the GRAPES experiment
      Speaker: Sunil Gupta
    • 11:15 AM
      coffee
    • 47
      Cosmic rays at the knee - results and implications

      The all-particle spectrum of cosmic rays follows roughly a steep power law. At a few times $10^{15}$ eV the spectral index of the power law changes, this is called the "knee" in the literature. Experimental results of cosmic-ray measurements in the knee region will be reviewed. Implications on our understanding of cosmic rays, their origin, and physics of propagation will be discussed.

      Speaker: Jörg Hörandel (Radboud University Nijmegen dep. Astrophysics)
    • 1:00 PM
      lunch
    • 48
      Effects of complex ice models on radio neutrino simulations using a RadioPropa ray tracer
      Speaker: Bob Oeyen (Ghent University)
    • 49
      Solar WIMP Search with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory
      Speaker: Jeffrey Lazar (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
    • 50
      Shaken, not stirred:Test particles in Binary-Black-Hole Mergers.
      Speaker: Pieter Van der Merwe (North-West University)
    • 51
      Suppression of the TeV pair-beam plasma instability by a tangled weak intergalactic magnetic field
      Speaker: Mahmoud Alawashra (University of Potsdam)
    • 52
      The Astrophysics of Ultra-Heavy Galactic Cosmic Rays and techniques for their measurement.

      Abstract: A century after the original discovery of Cosmic rays, full details of the origin and transport of cosmic-Ray nuclei remain unclear. The production of elements (nucleosynthesis) by stellar fusion is very well established and there is good reason to consider Supernovae (SN) shocks as the most likely accelerators of cosmic rays. However, for elements heavier than about Z=30, Fusion cannot account for observed cosmic-ray abundances. Thus relative abundances of ultra-heavy galactic cosmic rays (UHGCR), with Z>30, probe other nucleosynthesis processes as well as the ways in which those nuclei are injected into the cosmic accelerators. The nucleosynthesis of elements with Z≥36 is almost entirely a mixture of two neutron-capture processes: the “slow or s-process” that takes place at relatively low neutron density and moderate temperature in evolved massive stars, and the rapid “r-process” that probably takes place in core-collapse supernovae and binary neutron star (BNS) mergers. In recent years, a clear picture has emerged, supported by data from the ACE spacecraft as well as the TIGER and SuperTIGER balloon instruments, indicating that many of the GCR mainly originate in OB associations, groups of hot, short-lived, massive stars of spectral types O or B that form superbubbles by a combination of their stellar winds and SN blast waves. Since OB associations are the sites of most core-collapse supernovae, one may expect the cosmic rays to also show an enrichment of r-process material. The detailed element composition of UHGCR investigates any such enhancement as well as the mechanisms by which UHGCR enter the cosmic accelerators. The radioactive isotope composition of heavy cosmic-ray nuclei indicates the timeframe of acceleration. These issues and the measurements of UHGCR will be discussed and the experimental requirements and techniques for those measurements will be outlined. Future missions will be briefly presented.

      Speaker: John Mitchell (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
    • 53
      Closing remarks
      Speaker: Jörg Hörandel (Radboud University Nijmegen dep. Astrophysics)
    • 5:15 PM
      coffee
    • 54
      walk to dinner
    • 8:30 PM
      school dinner
    • 55
      departure