Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1768454 | Advances in Space Research | 2006 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
Fluorescence detectors of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) allow to record not only the extensive air showers, initiated by the UHECR particles, but also to detect light, produced by meteors and by the fast dust grains. It is shown that the fluorescence detector operated at the mountain site can register signals from meteors with kinetic energy threshold of about 25 J (meteor mass â¼Â 5 Ã 10â6 g, velocity â¼Â 3 Ã 106 cm/s). The same detector might be used for recording of the dust grains of smaller mass (of about 10â10 g) but with velocity 109 cm/s, close to the light velocity (sub-relativistic dust grains). The light signal from a sub-relativistic dust grain is expected in much shorter time scale (â¼0.001 s), in comparison with the meteor signal (â¼0.1-1 s), and much longer than duration of the UHECR signals (tens of μs). The fluorescence detector capable to register various phenomena: from meteors to UHECR - should have a variable pixel and selecting system integration time. A study of the new phenomenon of sub-relativistic grains will help to understand the mechanism of particle and dust grain acceleration in astrophysical objects (in SN explosions, for example).
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Space and Planetary Science
Authors
B.A. Khrenov, V.P. Stulov,