Why Can't We Detect Cosmic Rays Beyond the GZK Limit?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the inability to detect cosmic rays with energies exceeding approximately 10^20 eV, known as the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) limit. Participants clarify that high-energy protons do interact with the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), which contributes to the GZK cutoff. The conversation highlights the cosmic ray paradox, suggesting that interactions involving neutrinos and antineutrinos may lead to the creation of hadrons with extreme energies. Ultimately, the consensus is that the GZK limit is a result of these interactions, not a lack of detection capability.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of cosmic rays and their energy levels
  • Familiarity with the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) limit
  • Knowledge of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation
  • Basic concepts of particle interactions, particularly involving neutrinos
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) limit and its implications for cosmic ray physics
  • Explore the role of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) in high-energy particle interactions
  • Investigate the cosmic ray paradox and potential explanations involving neutrinos
  • Study the mechanisms of hadron production in high-energy astrophysical processes
USEFUL FOR

Astronomers, astrophysicists, and researchers interested in high-energy cosmic phenomena and particle physics will benefit from this discussion.

Zuzana
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Hello,
I would like to ask, why there cannot be detected cosmic rays with energies higher than ~ 10^20 eV, i.e. beyond the GZK limit?

Thanks a lot in advance for the answer.
 
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What have you found out? For example, did you look on Wikipedia? What was hard to understand?
 
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I do not understand why proton with energy > 50 EeV cannot interact with CMB, because there is a cosmic ray paradox and one of possible explanations is that neutrino and antineutrino interacts and create hadrons with extreme energies, is there for these extreme-energy CRs interaction with CMB or not?
 
That may be the longest sentence I have read in a while. I have a hard time parsing it, but you seem to have the sign of the limit backwards. High energy particles do interact with the CMB.
 
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