Secondary cosmic rays constitute a research area focused on particles and electromagnetic radiation produced by the interactions of primary cosmic rays with interstellar matter, planetary atmospheres, or detector materials. This field investigates the generation, composition, energy spectra, and transport of secondary particles such as muons, pions, electrons, positrons, neutrons, and gamma rays, as well as their role in atmospheric cascades and air showers. Research emphasizes modeling hadronic and electromagnetic cascades, validating interaction cross sections, and interpreting ground- and space-based observations to constrain primary cosmic-ray properties, propagation models, and their impact on planetary environments and detector backgrounds.
Tens of kilometers above Earth's surface, high-energy particles from outer space constantly strike the atmosphere, creating showers of energetic secondary particles that rain down from the sky. Approximately one of these ...
General Physics
Apr 21, 2026
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High-energy cosmic radiation damages cells and DNA, causing cancer, and secondary neutrons—generated especially from the planetary surfaces—can be up to 20 times more harmful than other radiations. Aluminum, the most widely ...
Nanomaterials
Nov 19, 2025
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Cosmic rays are high-energy particles from outer space that strike Earth's atmosphere, generating showers of secondary particles, such as muons, that can reach the planet's surface. In recent years, ground-based experiments ...
General Physics
Jun 2, 2025
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The origin of lithium (Li), the third element of the periodic table, has long been shrouded in mystery. This element, commonly found in cosmic rays as two stable isotopes, 6Li and 7Li, is crucial to understanding the origins ...
A large team of researchers working on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Collaboration, which has been analyzing eleven years' worth of data from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) aboard the International Space Station, ...
Scientists have a problem with cosmic rays—they produce too many muons at the Earth's surface. Cascades of muons are byproducts of high-energy cosmic rays as they collide with nuclei in the upper atmosphere, and scientists ...
