Cosmic rays are the highest-energy particles found in nature. Measurements of the mass composition of cosmic rays with energies of 1017–1018 electronvolts are essential to understanding whether they have galactic or extragalactic sources. It has also been proposed that the astrophysical neutrino signal comes from accelerators capable of producing cosmic rays of these energies. Cosmic rays initiate air showers—cascades of secondary particles in the...
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Space science: Cosmic rays beyond the knees
The development of a radio technique for detecting cosmic rays casts fresh light on the origins of some of these accelerated particles, and suggests that they might have travelled much farther than was previously thought. See Letter p.70
Nature 531 43 doi: 10.1038/531043a