Pierre Auger Project

该提案要求资金来完成皮埃尔·奥格天文台（PAO）的建设。PAO的目标是在全天空覆盖下测量能量大于10^19 eV的宇宙射线的能量、方向和组成。大口径宇宙射线天文台正在打开一扇通往宇宙的新窗口。为了抓住这个机会，广泛的国际合作已经聚集在一起，建立了一个非常大的气淋天文台，将对最高能量的宇宙射线进行全天研究。许多能量接近或超过10^ 20ev的宇宙射线已经被报道过。然而，这些宇宙射线的起源和产生巨大能量的加速机制都不为人所知。直接寻找源以及5*10^19 eV以上能谱的行为将为这些谜团提供重要线索。PAO位于阿根廷门多萨，已经完成工程阶段，建设正在进行中，预计将在2005年底完成，使用寿命为20年。PAO的影响已经远远超出了建造工作和第一次宇宙射线事件的捕捉。与阿根廷国立技术大学的分支机构建立了密切的联系，许多学生不仅参与了设备的建造和测试，还参与了数据采集任务。在外联方面，奥格校区的游客中心吸引了来自26个国家的10,000多名游客。该合作组织为主办城市马拉格和附近社区的公众赞助了一个流行的持续系列讲座。与马拉格人民建立了特别密切的关系。在美国，PAO与内布拉斯加州大学的CROP项目密切合作，该项目帮助高中生在学校安装宇宙射线探测器。

This proposal requests funds to complete the construction of the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO). The objective of the PAO is to measure, with full sky coverage, the energy, direction and composition of the cosmic rays with energies above 10^19 eV. Large aperture cosmic ray observatories are opening a new window to the universe. To address this opportunity a broad based international collaboration has come together to build a very large air shower observatory that will make an all-sky study of cosmic rays at the highest energies. A number of cosmic rays with energies near and beyond 10^20 eV have been reported. Yet neither the origin of these cosmic rays nor the acceleration mechanism responsible for their enormous energies is known. The direct search for sources as well as the behavior of the energy spectrum above 5*10^19 eV will provide important clues to these mysteries. The PAO, located in Mendoza, Argentina, has completed the engineering phase and construction is underway and is expected to be complete by about the end of 2005 and to have a 20-year lifetime. The impact of the PAO has already gone well beyond the construction work and the capture of the first cosmic ray events. Close ties have been developed with branches of the National Technical University in Argentina where a number of students are involved, not only in building and testing equipment but in data taking tasks as well. In terms of outreach, the Visitor Center on the Auger campus has attracted more than 10,000 visitors from 26 countries. The collaboration sponsors a popular on-going lecture series for the public in the host city of Malargue and nearby communities. A particularly close relationship has been established with the people of Malargue. In the US, the PAO works closely with the CROP project based at the University of Nebraska that helps high school students install cosmic ray detectors on their schools.