A Cosmic Ray Observatory for Ultra High Energy Processes (Physics)

这一奖项授予犹他大学的陆恭蕙教授、卡西迪教授和索科斯基教授，以表彰其继续运营和升级发展“苍蝇眼”设施。这一独特的仪器测量了大气中由超高能宇宙射线引发的级联中产生的氮荧光光。该实验研究了这些宇宙射线的能谱和化学成分。该奖项还支持该设施升级的初始设计和原型开发阶段，以使其灵敏度提高十倍。该设备已经产生了令人兴奋的新结果，涉及宇宙射线与大爆炸留下的三度光子的相互作用，以及将粒子加速到比人造设备所获得的能量高得多的机制。未来，它将实现更高的灵敏度，并可能检测到宇宙弦的存在。

This award to Professors Loh, Cassiday and Sokolsky of the University of Utah is for the continued operation and upgrade development of the "Fly's Eye" facility. This unique apparatus measures the nitrogen fluorescence light produced in cascades in the atmosphere initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. The experiment studies the energy spectra and chemical composition of these cosmic rays. The award also supports the initial design and prototype development stages of a upgrade of the facility to make a ten-fold increase in its sensitivity. This facility has already produced exciting new results which bear on the interaction of the cosmic rays with the three degree photons left from the "big bang" and on the mechanism of accelerating particles to energies much higher than ever achieved with a man-made device. In the future, it will achieve greater sensitivity and may detect the presence of cosmic strings.