NASA ASTRA Initiative White Paper: Space-Based Mission for Ultrahigh Energy Particles

Abstract

Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays ($E_{\mathrm{CR}}\gtrsim 1$ EeV) are the highest-energy particles known, signaling extreme particle processes at work in the universe. However, many aspects of their nature remain largely unknown, even after more than a century of study. Very-high-energy ($E_{\nu }\gtrsim 1$ PeV neutrinos associated with cosmic-ray interactions, both during the acceleration process and propagation, would provide new insight into these extreme particles, as we have seen at lower energies with the dawn of TeV neutrino astronomy. Nevertheless, only a handful of such neutrinos have been observed thus far. A space-based observatory dedicated to studying cosmic rays, neutrinos, and photons would provide an unprecedented platform for observations of these extreme-energy messengers.

Science Community (Physics of the Cosmos Program Analysis Group: PhysPAG; Cosmic Ray and Neutrino Science Interest Group: CRN SIG) NASA ASTRA Initiative White Paper submitted to the Community Science (Ad ASTRA) Workshop