High Energy Hadronic Interactions and the Puzzles of the Cosmic Radiation

高能天体物理学的进展通常需要对各种高能反应中的粒子产生过程有更好的理解。在该项目的框架内，将采用新的理论方法来处理强子相互作用的各个方面，以解决高能天体物理学中具有挑战性的问题，这些问题涉及超高能宇宙线（UHECR）的调查，高能中微子通量的测量以及反核的外星通量的探测。特别是，它计划分析的核组成的UHECR，巨大的空气簇射阵列的实验数据的基础上，从而区分各种模型的UHECR起源，使用新的QGSJET-III蒙特卡罗发生器的强子相互作用和严格评估的不确定性模型预测。第二个研究目标是计算大气中微子背景，包括瞬发中微子的贡献，使用一种新的方法来描述质子的内在魅力内容。所获得的结果将被应用于更精确的测定天体物理中微子通量的基础上的冰立方天文台的数据，特别是在物理上最有趣的PeV能量范围对应于所观察到的中微子光谱的截止。该项目的第三个主要目标是对来自宇宙射线与星际介质相互作用和来自其他天体物理来源的反核通量进行最大限度的约束预测。

Progress in high energy astrophysics usually requires an improved understanding of particle production processes in various high energy reactions. In the framework of the project, novel theoretical approaches to the treatment of various aspects of hadronic interactions will be applied to challenging problems of high energy astrophysics, related to investigations of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), measurements of high energy neutrino fluxes, and a detection of extraterrestrial fluxes of antinuclei. In particular, it is planned to analyze the nuclear composition of UHECRs, based on experimental data of giant air shower arrays, and to discriminate thereby between various models for the UHECR origin, using the new QGSJET-III Monte Carlo generator of hadronic interactions and critically assessing the uncertainties of the model predictions. The second research goal is to calculate the atmospheric neutrino background, including the prompt neutrino contribution, using a new approach for the description of the intrinsic charm content of the proton. The obtained results will be applied for a more precise determination of the astrophysical neutrino flux, based on the data of the IceCube observatory, notably, in the most physically interesting PeV energy range corresponding to the cutoff of the observed neutrino spectrum. The third major goal of the project is to obtain maximally constrained predictions for the fluxes of antinuclei from cosmic ray interactions with the interstellar medium and from other astrophysical sources.