The Chemical Composition of Cosmic Rays
Abstract
Description
A brief review about the chemical composition of cosmic rays in the energy range 10^15 < E < 10^20 eV is given. While there is convincing evidence for an increasingly heavier composition above the knee, no clear picture has emerged at the highest energies, yet. We discuss implications about the origin of cosmic rays and emphasize systematic differences related to data analysis techniques and to the limited understanding of the air shower development.
Invited paper presented at Vulcano Workshop 2002 "Frontier Objects in Astrophysics and Particle Physics", 20.-25. May, Vulcano (Italy) (8 pages, 2 figures)
Invited paper presented at Vulcano Workshop 2002 "Frontier Objects in Astrophysics and Particle Physics", 20.-25. May, Vulcano (Italy) (8 pages, 2 figures)