A Major Upgrade of the Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory

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A major upgrade is under-way to enhance the sensitivity of the 3000 square kilometre Pierre Auger Observatory in its search for the origin of the highest energy cosmic rays, the most energetic particles known in the Universe. This follows an unexpected Auger result that indicates a significant fraction of these cosmic rays are heavy nuclei. This project, assisting the upgrade, is expected to significantly improve the observatory's ability to identify the mass, and hence the electric charge, of the incoming cosmic rays, allowing astrophysical source directions to be identified for the low charge particles less affected by cosmic magnetic fields. The project will also contribute to the understanding of particle interactions at energies well beyond those explored at the Large Hadron Collider.