Cosmic rays & astroparticles is a research area focused on high-energy particles of extraterrestrial origin and their role in fundamental physics and astrophysics. It encompasses experimental and theoretical studies of primary cosmic rays (protons, nuclei, electrons), secondary air-shower particles, gamma rays, neutrinos, and other non-photonic messengers that probe extreme environments such as supernova remnants, active galactic nuclei, and compact objects. The field integrates particle detection techniques, high-energy astrophysics, plasma and magnetic field modeling, and multi-messenger observations to investigate particle acceleration mechanisms, propagation in interstellar and intergalactic media, and potential signatures of new physics beyond the Standard Model.
An international collaboration, including Northwestern University, has reached a critical milestone in the search for dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up about 85% of all matter in the universe. Located two ...
General Physics
Mar 18, 2026
0
162
Neutrinos are extremely lightweight and electrically neutral particles that rarely interact with ordinary matter. Due to these rare interactions, neutrinos can travel across space almost entirely unaffected, carrying information ...
Cosmic rays are one of the greatest challenges for space travel and pose a considerable risk to humans and materials. For the first time on European soil, an international research team in collaboration with the European ...
Space Exploration
Mar 13, 2026
0
51
Three years ago, in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the passage of an "ultra-energetic" cosmic neutrino was observed—the most energetic ever detected. The event drew international attention from the scientific community ...
Astronomy
Mar 9, 2026
1
83
An international collaboration using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) has published an exceptionally detailed radio sky map, revealing 13.7 million cosmic sources and delivering the most complete census yet of actively growing ...
Astronomy
Feb 19, 2026
0
64
The KM3NeT collaboration is a large research group involved in the operation of a neutrino telescope network in the deep Mediterranean Sea, with the aim of detecting high-energy neutrino events. These are rare and fleeting ...
Since 2010, the IceCube Observatory at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station has been delivering groundbreaking measurements of high-energy cosmic neutrinos. It consists of many detectors embedded in a volume of Antarctic ...
General Physics
Feb 13, 2026
0
30
After years of work building an exquisitely sensitive instrument, University of Chicago scientists stood and watched as it flew up and out of sight into the fiercely blue Antarctic sky. Launched on Dec. 20, it would travel ...
Astronomy
Feb 9, 2026
0
114
Ciaran O'Hare scribbles symbols using colored markers across his whiteboard like he's trying to solve a crime—or perhaps planning one. He bounces around the edges of the board, slowly filling it with sharp angles and curling ...
General Physics
Feb 5, 2026
1
41
Cosmic rays are extremely fast, charged particles that travel through space at nearly the speed of light. The Amaterasu particle was detected in 2021 by the Telescope Array experiment in the U.S. It is the second-highest-energy ...
Astronomy
Feb 5, 2026
0
109
