Studies of the Cosmic Ray Penumbra
Abstract
The penumbra is the term used to refer to the interval of space which lies, for any given particle rigidity, between the solid angle zone within which all such particles have free access, and the region within which particle access is completely forbidden. The term is also used to refer, in a specific direction, to the rigidity interval between the lowest rigidity for which any particle may enter in the given direction, and the rigidity below which particle access is completely forbidden in the same direction. Typically the penumbra consists of a mixture of allowed and forbidden trajectories. This question of access of charged primary cosmic rays to points within the magnetic field of a plant is of great interest in numbers of areas of physics. It is very difficult, however, to map the allowed and forbidden regions of access, because of the time-consuming nature of the calculations involved. The present research has involved a systematic study of the nature of the characteristic zones of access in order to produce techniques by which information about the cosmic ray penumbra may efficiently be derived. The work has then focused on the mapping and study of the phenomenology of the penumbra. Keywords: Cosmic rays; Penumbra; Cutoff; Trajectory parameterization.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 11, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA210109
Entities
People
- David J. Cooke
Organizations
- University of Utah