Ultra-high Energy Cosmic Rays: a probe into New Physics

Abstract

The most energetic particles ever detected exceed $10^{20}$ eV in energy. Their existence represents at the same time a great challenge for particle physics and astrophysics, and a great promise of providing us for a probe of the validity of the laws of Nature in extreme conditions. We review here the most recent data and the future perspectives for detection of cosmic rays at ultra-high energies, and discuss possible ways of using these data to test the possibility that new Physics and/or new Astrophsyics may be awaiting around the corner.

Invited Review Talk at SpacePart 2002, La Biodola, Isola d'Elba, Italy - May 14-19, 2002

References in corpus (7)

• New constraints from Haverah Park data on the photon and iron fluxes of UHE cosmic rays
• Cluster Analysis of Extremely High Energy Cosmic Rays in the Northern Sky
• Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays: The theoretical challenge
• Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays and Inflation Relics
• The GZK Feature in our Neighborhood of the Universe
• Energy-momentum uncertainties as possible origin of threshold anomalies in UHECR and TeV-gamma ray events
• Halo Dark Matter and Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays