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The discovery of cosmic impacts and their effects on the earth's surface are discussed. The manner in which the object impacts with the earth is described. The formation of crytovolcanic structures by craters is examined. Examples of cosmic debris collisions with earth, in particular the Tunguska explosion of 1908 and the Meteor Crater in Arizona, are provided.
It has been suggested by Hogan (1992) that the microwave background anisotropy detected by the COBE DMR experiment (Smoot et al., 1992) might be produced by inverse Compton scattering from hot diffuse clouds of electrons in nearby superclusters. If the COBE fluctuations are due to this mechanism, then the absence of anticorrelations between maps of the cosmic microwave and cosmic X-ray backgrounds constrains the temperature (16 keV) and density (less than 2 x 10 exp -6/cu cm) of the ionized supercluster gas. Since the COBE limits on spectral distortion indicate that the temperature of the intergalactic medium is less than 10 keV, we conclude that the fluctuations observed by COBE are probably not produced by this mechanism.
Research in particle astrophysics at the Space Radiation Laboratory (SRL) of the California Institute of Technology is supported under NASA Grant NAGW-1919. A three-year proposal for continuation of support was submitted a year ago and put into effect 1 October 1992. This report is the combined progress report and continuation application called for under the Federal Demonstration Project. Gamma-ray Astrophysics at SRL is separately supported under NAGW-1919 and will be separately summarized and proposed. This report will document progress and plans for our particle spectroscopy activities and for related data analysis, calibration, and community service activities. A bibliography and a budget will be attached as appendices. The Caltech SRL research program includes a heavy emphasis on elemental and isotopic spectroscopy of energetic particles in the cosmic radiation; in solar, interplanetary, and anomalous 'cosmic' radiation; and in planetary magnetospheres as discussed.
High energy cosmic ray electron results from Fermi LAT are presented. The detection of electrons greater than 1 TeV indicating an existence of nearby cosmic ray sources is also presented.
The Large Area Telescope on-board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has collected more than 10 million cosmic ray electrons with energy above 7 GeV since its science operation on orbit. High energy electrons rapidly lose their energy by synchrotron radiation on Galactic magnetic fields and by inverse Compton scattering on the interstellar radiation field. The typical distance over which a 1 TeV electron loses half its total energy is estimated to be 300-400 pc.This makes them a unique tool for probing nearby Galactic space. Observed spectrum has a harder spectral index than was previously reported and suggests the presence of nearby sources of high energy electrons. One of viable candidates are nearby pulsars, possibly some of recently discovered by Fermi. At the same time the dark matter origin of such sources cannot be ruled out. I will also report our current upper limits on cosmic ray electrons anisotropy which helps to set constraints on their local sources.
Annual variations and intensity variations of cosmic radiation as function of earth heliolatitude
Deuterium and helium 3 produced by nuclear interactions of cosmic rays with interstellar gas
Primary cosmic ray electron and galactic radio emission effects on electron intensity near earth
Extragalactic cosmic ray production and sources interpreted from gamma ray observations
Local interstellar electron spectrum limits from measurements of cosmic ray electrons, nonthermal galactic radio emission and solar modulation effects
Hysteresis effect on cosmic ray modulation and gradient ionization near solar minimum from measurements made near earth with OGO 1 and 3 ion chambers
Cosmic gamma ray spectrum from secondary neutral pion production in p-p interactions, discussing delta isobar, fireball and nuclear interactions effects
Background gamma ray observations attributed to decay of pi-mesons produced by extragalactic cosmic ray protons collisions, noting radiation sources age
The intensity of low-energy (less than 100 MeV) protons from nuclear interactions of higher-energy (above 100 MeV) cosmic rays with the interstellar medium is calculated. The resultant intensity in the 10- to 100-MeV range is larger by a factor of 3-5 than the observed proton intensity near earth. The calculated intensity from nuclear interactions constitutes a lower limit on the actual proton intensity in interstellar space.
A measurement, using the magnetic emulsion spectrometer system, of the differential rigidity spectrum of Z greater than or equal to 3 nuclei of the galactic cosmic radiation is presented. The system was flown on Aug. 22, 1969, from Palestine, Texas. The instrument floated above 125,000 feet for eight hours. The data in the rigidity range 8-285 GV can be represented by a power-law spectrum in rigidity, J(rho) = A rho to the minus gamma power, with the exponent gamma = 2.6 plus or minus 0.10. The spectrum in the range 15-285 GV is also described by the same exponent, gamma = 2.6 plus or minus 0.25. The data below 8 GV cannot be described by the same power law without invoking solar modulation. A set of nonunique parameters for modulation are given. Upper limit for the fraction of antimatter in the rigidity range 4-125 GV is .005 with 95% confidence limit.
Cosmic ray electron measurements and radio background data are analyzed to obtain bounds on the galactic magnetic fields. It is shown that the magnetic field required to explain the radio flux must be greater than 2 micro Gauss. The difference in the steepening of the radio spectra towards the Anticenter and the Halo Minimum provides evidence that the magnetic field decreases with the height above the galactic plane. The calculations of Bulanov and Dogiel (1975) are applied to the radio and electron observations. It is shown that the most plausible interpretation of these results requires that the electron injection spectrum has an intrinsic flattening below a few GeV. The observed steepening of radio and electron data is apparently a combined effect of the injection spectrum and the first break due to continuous energy loss of electrons in space.
Discussion of various means for using high energy neutrino astronomy to directly test for the existence of cosmic antimatter on a significant cosmological scale is presented. Studies of the ultrahigh energy diffuse neutrino background using acoustic detector and high mass Glashow resonances are reported. Point source studies are also discussed.
A model of the anomalous component of the quiet-time cosmic ray flux is presented in which ex-interstellar neutral particles are accelerated continuously in the polar regions of the solar-wind termination shock, and then drift into the equatorial regions of the inner heliosphere. The observed solar-cycle variations, radial gradient, and apparent latitude gradient of the anomalous component are a natural consequence of this model.