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

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the detection of cosmic rays with energies exceeding the GZK limit of approximately 10^20 eV. Participants explore the reasons behind the apparent inability to detect these high-energy cosmic rays, including potential interactions with the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and related paradoxes.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Debate/contested, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the reasons for the lack of detection of cosmic rays beyond the GZK limit, specifically asking for explanations related to their interactions with the CMB.
  • Another participant questions the understanding of high-energy proton interactions with the CMB, suggesting that there is a cosmic ray paradox involving neutrinos and antineutrinos creating hadrons with extreme energies.
  • A different participant comments on the complexity of the previous statement and suggests that high-energy particles do indeed interact with the CMB, indicating a possible misunderstanding of the limit.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the interactions of high-energy cosmic rays with the CMB, indicating that there is no consensus on the explanations for the GZK limit and the associated paradoxes.

Contextual Notes

Some statements contain assumptions about the nature of cosmic ray interactions and the implications of the GZK limit that remain unresolved. The discussion also reflects varying levels of understanding among participants regarding the topic.

Zuzana
Messages
12
Reaction score
1
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.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
What have you found out? For example, did you look on Wikipedia? What was hard to understand?
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: phinds and ohwilleke
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.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: ohwilleke

Similar threads

  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
4K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
4K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
4K