NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 19940032414: Cosmic rays: Physics and astrophysics. A research briefing

30 Pages·1.5 MB·English

by  NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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Cosmic
Rays: Physics and Astrophysics
A Research B rieJing
Committee on Cosmic-Ray Physics
Board on Physics and Astronomy
Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications
National Research Council
National Academy Press
Washington, D.C. 1994
NOTICE:
The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the
National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the
committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for
appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved
by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National
Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished
scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and
technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by
Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on
scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National
Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its
administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the
responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors
engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and
recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National
Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the
services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to
the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of
Sciences by its congressional charter to be an advisor to the federal government and, upon its own
initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of
the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to
associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering
knowledge and of advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies
determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National
Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government,
the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both
Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and
vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
This project was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant No.
NAGW-3557.
Additional copies of this report are available from:
Board on Physics and Astronomy
HA 562
National Research Council
2101 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20418
Copyright 1994 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
COMMITTEE ON COSMIC-RA Y PHYSICS
THOMAS K. GAISSER, University of Delaware, Chair
DAVID O. CALDWELL, University of California, Santa Barbara
JAMES CRONIN, University of Chicago
FRANCIS HALZEN, University of Wisconsin, Madison
ALICE K. HARDING, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
JACK R. JOKIPII, University of Arizona
EUGENE C. LOH, University of Utah
RICHARD MEWALDT, California Institute of Technology
JONATHAN F. ORMES, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
SIMON SWORDY, University of Chicago
TREVOR C. WEEKES, Whipple Observatory
ROBERT L. RIEMER, Senior Program Officer
iii
BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
DAVID N. SCHRAMM, University of Chicago, Chair
LLOYD ARMSTRONG, JR., University of Southern California
DAVID H. AUSTON, Columbia University
DAVID E. BALDWIN, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
WILLIAM F. BRINKMAN, AT&T Bell Laboratories
PRAVEEN CHAUDHARI, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
FRANK DRAKE, University of California, Santa Cruz
ROBERT C. DYNES, University of California, San Diego
HANS FRAUENFELDER, Los Alamos National Laboratory
JEROME I.FRIEDMAN, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MARTHA P. HAYNES, CorneU University
GILLIAN KNAPP, Princeton University
ALBERT NARATH, Sandia National Laboratories
GEORGE W. PARSHALL, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Incorporated (retired)
JOSEPH M. PROUD, GTE Corporation (retired)
JOHANNA STACHEL, State University of New York at Stony Brook
DAVID WILKINSON, Princeton University
SIDNEY WOLFF, National Optical Astronomy Observatories
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director
ROBERT L. RIEMER, Associate Director
RONALD D. TAYLOR, Senior Program Officer
TIMOTHY M. SNEAD, Administrative Associate
iv
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MA THEMA TICS, AND APPLICATIONS
RICHARD N. ZARE, Stanford University, Chair
RICHARD S. NICHOLSON, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vice Chair
STEPHEN L. ADLER, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
JOHN A. ARMSTRONG, IBM Corporation (retired)
SYLVIA T. CEYER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
AVNER FRIEDMAN, University of Minnesota
SUSAN L. GRAHAM, University of California, Berkeley
ROBERT J.HERMANN, United Technologies Corporation
HANS MARK, University of Texas at Austin
CLAIRE E. MAX, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
CHRISTOPHER F. McKEE, University of California, Berkeley
JAMES W. MITCHELL, AT&T Bell Laboratories
JEROME SACKS, National Institute of Statistical Sciences
A. RICHARD SEEBASS III, University of Colorado
LEON T. SILVER, California Institute of Technology
CHARLES P. SLICHTER, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ALVIN W. TRIVELPIECE, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
V

Preface
The Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Research Council established the Committee on
Cosmic-Ray Physics to prepare areview of the field of cosmic-ray physics that addresses both
experimental and theoretical aspects of the origin of cosmic radiation from outside the heliosphere. This
action was initially motivated by a request from the Space Physics Division of NASA to consider the
program of research in this discipline in light of new constraints on the scope of missions at NASA, which
make previously planned cosmic-ray missions on alarge space station and on the Space Shuttle seem
unlikely at present.
At the same time it is apparent that there are several exciting new opportunities in cosmic-ray physics
that are ripe for significant progress. Accordingly, the committee has been charged to provide abalanced
assessment of the entire field at this point and to consider the experiments needed to take advantage of
current scientific opportunities.
Another reason for undertaking abalanced assessment of the field is that cosmic-ray physics is an
intrinsically interdisciplinary subject. It is apart both of physics and of astrophysics. Its support,
moreover, is drawn from several different sources, including the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy. The scientific rationale
for the field becomes fully apparent only when all aspects of the subject are seen together. Thus, for
example, measurements of positrons and antiprotons are relevant both to models of cosmic-ray
propagation (space astrophysics) and to searches for dark matter in the universe (particle physics and
cosmology). A direct measurement of the composition of high-energy cosmic rays above the atmosphere
(supported by NASA) will not only dear up an important question about the efficiency of supernovas as
cosmic accelerators, but also calibrate ground-based experiments (supported by NSF and DOE) that can
extend the measurements to still higher energies.
The full report of the committee is to be completed by September 1994. To provide an interim
progress report, the committee prepared this research briefing on ashort time scale after one meeting of
the full committee and several telephone conferences and a series of exchanges of electronic mail within
the committee. Opinions of the scientific community are being solicited by electronic mail and in the
newsletter of the Division of Astrophysics of the American Physical Society. Because of its interim nature,
this document is not a systematic treatment of the field, nor does it attempt to prioritize various proposed
lines of investigation or assess their financial implications. Rather, it gives a brief account of selected
topics that illustrate the main scientific directions and opportunities of the field.
vii
PLACEBLANK FILI L D