Messengers from the Cosmos, 1st ed. 2023
An Introduction to the Physics of Cosmic Rays in Its Historical Evolution
UNITEXT for Physics Series

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Language: English

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Messengers from the Cosmos
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367 p. · 15.5x23.5 cm · Paperback

79.11 €

In Print (Delivery period: 15 days).

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Messengers from the Cosmos
Publication date:
367 p. · 15.5x23.5 cm · Hardback

This book provides a complete overview of the development of cosmic ray physics, with historical and educational considerations, from early evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial radiation up to the most recent applications of cosmic ray muons in different aspects of daily life.

Many of the original results that contributed to the study of cosmic radiation are presented and discussed, accompanied by bibliographic references, numerous in-depth appendices, about 200 illustrations and a large chapter dedicated to the overall impact of cosmic rays.

The book includes sections on, among other topics: the debate on the corpuscular or radiative nature of cosmic radiation; the development of early techniques for detecting cosmic particles; the properties and composition of primary and secondary radiation; and the interaction of cosmic muons in matter and a long list of their recent applications, ranging from the muon tomography techniques to the investigation of the stability of civil buildings.

The book is addressed to a wide audience, and thus, while it is used for introductory cosmic ray physics courses at the bachelor's or master's level, high school students and teachers involved in educational projects around cosmic rays also benefit from its many historical and educational aspects.

1 The discovery of the cosmic radiation
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Terrestrial radioactivity and first experiences with electroscopes
1.3 Investigations in the atmosphere
1.4 Victor Hess and the evidence for an extraterrestrial radiation
1.5 Towards a confirmation of Hess's results

2 Confirmation of the existence of a cosmic radiation
2.1 Further investigations in Europe during and after the First World War
2.2 Robert Millikan and the first US contributions to cosmic ray physics
2.3 The acceptance of the idea of a cosmic radiation

3 The nature of the cosmic radiation  
3.1 The influence of the Earth's magnetic field
3.2 Campaigns for measuring the intensity of cosmic radiation in various geographical locations
3.3 The debate on the corpuscular or radiative nature of cosmic radiation
3.4 Further contributions in Europe and other countries for understanding the nature of cosmic radiation
3.5 Protons as an essential component of primary radiation?

4 New particles and links with cosmic radiation 
4.1 The discovery of new particles and the links with the understanding of cosmic radiation
4.2 The properties of the μ mesons
4.3 The discovery of the pion
4.4 The discovery of the neutron


5 The developments of the first techniques for the detection of cosmic radiation 

5.1 Introduction
5.2 From Wulf's electroscopes to automatic recording equipment
5.3 Ionization chambers
5.4 Proportional counters
5.5 Wilson cloud chamber
5.6 The Geiger-Müller counters
5.7 Electronics and coincidence techniques
5.8 Nuclear emulsions
5.9 Detectors based on scintillators

 6 The interaction of primary cosmics in the atmosphere
6.1 The first evidence of nuclear interactions of cosmic rays
6.2 Interactions in the atmosphere and first evidence of a complex primary radiation
6.3 Production of other particles in nuclear interactions
6.4 The role of high-altitude laboratories

7 Extensive air showers
7.1 Secondary processes and local showers
7.2 First evidence of the existence of extensive atmospheric showers
7.3 An "operational" definition and the first properties of extensive air showers
7.4 Towards a more complete description of the formation of extensive air showers
7.5 The study of atmospheric showers since the 1940s
7.6 The longitudinal development of an air shower
7.7 The transverse development of an air shower
7.8 The time profile of an air shower

8 The detection of extensive air showers 
8.1 Direct and indirect methods
8.2 Arrays of particle detectors
8.3 Arrays based on the Cerenkov effect
8.4 Fluorescence detectors
8.5 Detection of radio waves associated with extended showers
8.6 An example of reconstruction of extensive air showers in the 1950s
8.7 Arrays for the reconstruction of extensive air showers
 

9 The primary cosmic radiation 
9.1 Introduction
9.2 The hadronic component and the energy spectrum
9.3 The composition of the hadronic component
9.4 Electrons and positrons
9.5 Other components in the primary radiation
9.6 The intensity of primary radiation at different altitudes
9.7 Possible anisotropies in the primary radiation

10 The secondary cosmic radiation 
10.1 Composition of the secondary radiation 
10.2 Muons
10.3 Electrons
10.4 Gammas
10.5 Charged hadrons
10.6 Neutrons
10.7 Nuclei

11 The influence of the Earth 
11.1 Introduction
11.2 The interaction with the atmosphere and meteorological effects
11.3 Influence of the Earth's magnetic field
11.4 Angular distribution of muons and East-West effect
11.5 The latitude effect
11.6 Other influences on the cosmic ray flux due to the Earth environment


12 The secondary cosmic radiation and the influence of the Sun
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Periodic phenomena in the Sun and solar cycles
12.3 Modulation of the cosmic ray flux due to the Sun
12.4 Forbush variations
12.5 Other effects related to solar activity

13 Interaction of muons with matter 

13.1 Introduction
13.2 Energy loss of muons
13.3 Range of muons in matter 
13.4 Multiple scattering

14 Cosmic radiations underground, under water and under the ice 

14.1 Introduction
14.2 Measurements underground
14.3 Measurements under water and under the ice 

15 The origin of cosmic rays 
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Some historical considerations about the acceleration mechanisms and the origin of cosmic rays
15.3 The Fermi acceleration mechanism
15.4 The role of supernovae
15.5 The high-energy extragalactic component

16 The impact of cosmic rays in applications and in daily life
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Production of radioactive isotopes by cosmics and dating techniques
16.3 Cosmic ray dating outside the Earth
16.4 The radiation dose produced by cosmic rays on Earth and in the solar system
16.5 Electronics and the effect of cosmic radiation
16.6 Muons and the origin of tomographic techniques
16.7 Tomographic techniques based on the absorption of cosmic muons
16.8 Muon tomography and scattering from materials with a high atomic number
16.9 Imaging techniques based on the production of secondary particles
16.10 Monitoring the stability of buildings by tracking cosmic muons
16.11 Other possible applications of muon tomography
16.12 The impact of cosmics on cloud formation
16.13 Using extended atmospheric showers in time synchronization

Appendices
A1. A calculation of the flux at the top of the Eiffel Tower due to soil radioactivity
A2. The absorption coefficient in water and the directionality of cosmics. Millikan's calculation.
A3. Geographic and geomagnetic latitude
A4. The magnetic rigidity of particles
A5. The energy loss of charged particles and the estimate of the muon mass
A6. List of high-altitude observation stations in the mid-1950s
A7: An estimate of the particle density in an extensive air shower
A8. The relationship between altitude and atmospheric depth
A9. Gaisser-Hillas parameterization of the longitudinal profile of a shower
A10. The thickness of air crossed by a particle in the atmosphere
A11. Evaluation of the shower direction from the relative timing of several detectors
A12. Parameterizations of the muon spectrum at sea level
A12. The flux of underground muons
A13. Detection of bit-flip errors originated by cosmics

Francesco Riggi has been full professor of Experimental Nuclear and Particle Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Catania, Italy. He has been working in nuclear physics at low and high energy since 1974 and joined, at its inception, the ALICE Collaboration, a large experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider to study nuclear matter under extreme conditions. Within the ALICE Collaboration, he has contributed to the construction of the electromagnetic calorimeter and the silicon pixel detector, investigating the production of multistrange particles, short-lived resonances and light (anti)nuclei.

He has also been active in studying the physics of cosmic rays over the last 20 years, leading several projects concerning the use of cosmic muons in tomographic applications, and has served as a member of the educational project EEE, operating a wide network of cosmic ray telescopes. He is the author or the co-author of more than 600 scientific papers in all such areas and has contributed to various international conferences, as well as acting as a referee for various journals of nuclear and applied physics. He has also spent various periods abroad for research, in several European countries, the USA and Australia. As a professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy in Catania, he has taught several courses in general and nuclear physics for 40 years. He is also the co-author of a textbook in experimental physics.

Presents the original results that led to our understanding of cosmic radiation

Covers a wide range of applications of cosmic muons

Includes over 200 illustrations and 14 appendices