Monday, September 26, 2022

3693 - COSMIC RAYS - mystery under computer simulations?

  -  3693  -  COSMIC  RAYS  -  mystery under computer simulations?    Scientists hope to develop a theoretical model that describes the transition from cosmic rays from our own Galaxy to a fraction coming from distant galaxies and compare it with observations.


--------  3693  -  COSMIC  RAYS  -  mystery under computer simulations?

-  “Ion” is one of the four fundamental states of matter. It contains a significant portion of charged particles ions and/or electrons. Most are free protons or electrons all carrying electric charges.  The presence of these charged particles is what primarily sets plasma apart from the other fundamental states of matter. 

-

-  Plasma is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, being mostly associated with stars, including the Sun.   It extends to the rarefied intracluster medium and possibly to intergalactic regions. Plasma can be artificially generated by heating a neutral gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field.

-

-  For decades, scientists have been trying to solve a problem regarding the weather in outer space.   At unpredictable times, high-energy particles bombard the Earth and objects outside the Earth's atmosphere with radiation that can endanger the lives of astronauts and destroy satellites' electronic equipment. These flare-ups can even trigger showers of radiation strong enough to reach passengers in airplanes flying over the North Pole.

-

-   Despite scientists' best efforts, a clear pattern of how and when flare-ups will occur has remained difficult to identify.   Astronomers have used supercomputers to simulate when and how high-energy particles are born in turbulent environments like that on the atmosphere of the sun. 

-

-   NASA's “Parker Solar Probe“, the closest spacecraft to the sun, may be able to validate findings by directly observing the predicted distribution of high-energy particles that are generated in the sun's outer atmosphere.

-

-   Magnetic fields in the outer atmosphere of the sun can accelerate ions and electrons up to velocities close to the speed of light. The sun and other stars' outer atmosphere consist of particles in a plasma state, a highly turbulent state distinct from liquid, gas, and solid states. 

-

-  Computer simulations show the exact movements of electrons and ions in the sun's plasma. These simulations mimic the atmospheric conditions on the sun, and provide the most extensive data gathered to-date on how and when high-energy particles will form.

-

-  In 1949, the physicist Enrico Fermi began to investigate magnetic fields in outer space as a potential source of the high-energy particles (which he called “cosmic rays“) that were observed entering the Earth's atmosphere. Since then, scientists have suspected that the sun's plasma is a major source of these particles.

-

-  The vast majority of the observable matter in the universe is in a plasma state. Understanding how some of the particles that constitute plasma can be accelerated to high-energy levels is an important new research area since energetic particles are routinely observed not just around the sun but also in other environments across the universe, including the surroundings of black holes and neutron stars.

-

-  Computer programs can simulate the transport of cosmic rays through space. The researchers hope it will help them solve the mystery of the sources of cosmic rays.

So far, we do not know which celestial objects emit the high-energy radiation that pelts the Earth from space. 

-

-  Since their discovery 100 years ago, researchers have been attempting to decipher where cosmic rays come from. The problem is that, viewed from Earth, they look like the sky during daytime to the naked eye.

-

-  This is because the light from the sun is scattered in the Earth's atmosphere and spreads evenly across the entire sky. Cosmic rays are also scattered on their way to Earth through interactions with magnetic fields. All we can see from Earth is an evenly illuminated image; the origin of the radiation remains hidden.

-

-  The program “CRPropa” enables astronomers to trace the trajectories of particles from their formation to their arrival on Earth and this for all energies that we can observe from Earth.  It can fully account for the interaction of the particles with matter and photon fields in the universe.

-

-  The program can simulate not only cosmic ray propagation, but also signatures of neutrinos and gamma rays that are produced in cosmic ray interactions.  Unlike cosmic rays, these messenger particles can be observed directly from their sources, as they come to Earth on a straight path.  They can also use the software to predict such signatures from neutrinos and gamma rays from distant galaxies such as starbursts or active galaxies.

-

-  The vast majority of the observable matter in the universe is in a plasma state. Understanding how some of the particles that constitute plasma can be accelerated to high-energy levels is an important new research area since energetic particles are routinely observed not just around the sun but also in other environments across the universe, including the surroundings of black holes and neutron stars.

-

-  Scientists have developed a computer program that can simulate the transport of cosmic rays through space.   So far, we do not know which celestial objects emit the high-energy radiation that pelts the Earth from space.

-

-  Since cosmic rays were discovered 100 years ago, researchers have been attempting to Cosmic rays are also scattered on their way to Earth—through interactions with cosmic magnetic fields the radiation remains hidden.   CRPropa enables scientits to trace the trajectories of particles from their formation to their arrival on Earth—and this for all energies that we can observe from Earth.  They can fully account for the interaction of the particles with matter and photon fields in the universe.

-

-  The program can simulate not only cosmic ray propagation, but also signatures of neutrinos and gamma rays that are produced in cosmic ray interactions. Unlike cosmic rays, these messenger particles can be observed directly from their sources, as they come to Earth on a straight path. We can also use the software to predict such signatures from neutrinos and gamma rays from distant galaxies such as starbursts or active galaxies.

-

-  Scientists hope to develop a theoretical model that describes the transition from cosmic rays from our own Galaxy to a fraction coming from distant galaxies and compare it with observations.

-

September 24, 2022      COSMIC  RAYS  -  mystery under computer simulations?   3693                                                                                                                                     

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----  Comments appreciated and Pass it on to whomever is interested. ---

---   Some reviews are at:  --------------     http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----  

--  email feedback, corrections, request for copies or Index of all reviews 

---  to:  ------    jamesdetrick@comcast.net  ------  “Jim Detrick”  -----------

--------------------- ---  Monday, September 26, 2022  ---------------------------






No comments:

Post a Comment