Unit COSMIC RAYS
- Course
- Physics
- Study-unit Code
- GP005486
- Location
- PERUGIA
- Curriculum
- Fisica delle particelle elementari
- Teacher
- Emanuele Fiandrini
- Teachers
-
- Emanuele Fiandrini
- Hours
- 42 ore - Emanuele Fiandrini
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2022
- Offered
- 2023/24
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Academic discipline
- FIS/05
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- Structure of the galaxy, composition.
Cosmic rays: propagation equation for nuclei and light particles.
Enegy loss and radiative mechanisms.
Acceleration of the cosmic rays.
State of art of the cosmic ray physics. - Reference texts
- High energy astrophysics, Longair, Cambridge University press.
Astrofisica dele alte energie, Vietri, Bollati Boringhieri.
Radiative Processes in astrophysics, Rubicky Lightman, Wiley.
Particles and Astrophysics, Spurio, Springer.
Dispense delle lezioni. - Educational objectives
- The main knowledge acquired will be: basic knowledge to deal with the study of astrophysical systems, fundamental characteristics of cosmic ray physics,
fundamental characteristics of the experimental techniques for detecting cosmic rays.
The main skills will be:
interpret the most recent experimental results, identify the salient features of the processes responsible for the acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays. - Prerequisites
- General classical physics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, special relativity, atomic and nuclear physics, particle detectors.
- Teaching methods
- Frontal lessons
- Other information
- emanuele.fiandrini@pg.infn.it
- Learning verification modality
- Oral exam with presentation of a small thesis on a argument of the course. Average duration 60 mon.
- Extended program
- Introduction: generalities, spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. (radio,...., gamma, radiation from point and diffuse sources), cosmic rays: spectrum, properties and some problems (dark matter, dark energy, ultra high energy cosmic rays,...) of astrophysics.
Interstellar medium and galaxy: generalities, composition, magnetic fields, hints of atomic processes (e.g. emission 21 cm from HI and molecular H).
Cosmic rays: spectrum, origin (SN, pulsar,...), diffusion and transport equation, solutions of equ. (e.g. leaky box et al.), composition, connection with electromagnetic emission from particles below 10 GeV in the ISM.
Astrophysical hydrodynamics.
non-relativistic hydrodynamics: equations of motion, ideal fluids, conservative formulation of hydrodynamics, discontinuity (shock waves), Rankine-Hugoniot relations, thermodynamics of shocks, stationary flows.
Applications: SNR evolution, astrophysical jets, Blandford-Rees model, jet stability and morphology; stellar winds, termination shock, isothermal sphere and globular clusters.
Relativistic hydrodynamics: energy-momentum tensor, constitutive equations. Applications: strong burst, gamma ray bursts (GRB) models.
Magnetohydrodynamics (non-relativistic): outline of plasmas, constitutive equations, two-fluid model, magnetic buoyancy, reconnection, magneto-sonic waves, magnetohydrodynamic shocks, Taub relations.
Loss and elm emission processes: ionization. Bremsstrahlung non relat. and relativistic, outline of QED treatment, application to a non-relativistic Maxwellian distribution of electrons and to a relat. with a power law.
Energy transport equation (emissivity and absorption) and application to low frequency bremss.
Scattering Thomson, Compton, inverse Compton, detailed calculation of the frequency spectrum of a population of relativistic electrons with power law, comptonization, outline of equ. by kompaneets.
Synchrotron radiation: emission, spectrum from a population of electrons, angular and frequency distribution, astrophysical applications (connections with the spectrum of emitting particles and magnetic fields in the ISM.
Nuclear processes: gamma production and spallation.
Adiabatic deceleration (e.g. solar wind)
Pair creation, photoionization (outline)
Acceleration processes (5 hours): shock waves, Fermi mechanisms, diffusive acceleration by Alfven waves, astrophysical cases: SN remnants, pulsars.
Heliosphere and magnetosphere (7 hours): structure, properties, particles.
Detectors (12 hours): for High Eenergy Particles, for X- and gamma-ray.
telescopes for X, gamma, neutrinos and CR (case studies: AMS02 and GLAST)
detectors and telescopes for X-ray, optical, IR, Radio astronomy.