Nucleus-Nucleus Interactions and Composition of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (Physics)

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This three-year grant supports the research of Professor John P. Wefel and collaborators at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. The group is a central part of the Japanese- American emulsion chamber collaboration. They perform measurements of the high energy cosmic ray energy spectra with experiments carried to high altitudes on balloons. The group will also perform research on high energy nucleus-nucleus interactions using emulsion techniques at accelerator experiments at CERN. The group uses experimental techniques which produce measurements with very high spatial accuracy. These techniques find application in measurements of rare cosmic ray fluxes and interactions and nucleus-nucleus interactions. The experiments will yield new information of great astrophysical interest, and will continue the search for the "quark-gluon plasma", a new state of matter.