THUNDERSTORMS AND ELEMENTARY PARTICLE ACCELERATION

GENERAL INFORMATION:

TIME: October 2-5, 2023

LOCATION: Prague, Czech Republic

SYMPOSIUM WEBSITE:

http://www.crd.yerphi.am/TEPA_2023

ORGANIZERS:

Cosmic Ray Division of Yerevan Physics Institute, Armenia

Research Centre of Cosmic Rays and Radiation Events in Atmosphere (CRREAT), 

Nuclear Physics Institute of the CAS, Czechia

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

Ashot Chilingarian, Yerevan Physics Institute, Armenia (Chair)

Ondrej Ploc, CRREAT head, Nuclear Physics Institute of the CAS, 

Czechia (Co-chair) 

Eric Benton, Oklahoma University, USA

Joseph Dwyer, Department of Physics University of New Hampshire, USA

Gerald Fishman, NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, USA

Hartmut Gemmeke, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Johannes Knapp, DESY Zeuthen, Germany

Jean Lilensten, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, France

Bagrat Mailyan, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA.

Yasushi Muraki, STE Laboratory, Nagoya University, Japan

Vladimir Rakov, University of Florida, USA

David Smith, University of California, Santa Cruz

Marco Tavani, INAF and University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy

Tatsuo Torii, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tsuruga, Japan

Harufumi Tsuchiya, Cosmic Radiation Laboratory, Riken, Japan.

Figure 1. Strong atmospheric fields originate both lightning flashes and TGEs. The modulation of the cosmic ray fluxes by electric fields allows the recovery of the structure of charge distribution in the thunderclouds.

BACKGROUND:

High-energy physics in the atmosphere (HEPA) has undergone an intense reformation in the last decade. Correlated measurements of particle fluxes modulated by strong atmospheric electric fields, simultaneous measurements of the disturbances of the near-surface electric fields and lightning location, and registration of various meteorological parameters on the Earth have led to a better understanding of the complex processes in the terrestrial atmosphere. The cooperation of cosmic rays and atmospheric physics has led to the development of models for the origin of particle bursts recorded on the Earth’s surface, estimation of vertical and horizontal profiles of electric fields in the lower atmosphere, recovery of electron and gamma ray energy spectra, the muon deceleration effect, etc. Visualization and statistical analysis of particle data from hundreds of measurement channels disclosed the structure and strength of the atmospheric electric fields and explained observed particle bursts. More and more groups worldwide are monitoring particle fluxes around the clock using synchronized networks of advanced sensors that record and store multidimensional data. 

Various particle accelerators operate in the cosmic plasma, filling the galaxy with high-energy particles. Reaching the Earth’s atmosphere, these particles cause extensive air showers (EASs) consisting of millions of elementary particles (secondary cosmic rays), covering several km2 on the ground. During thunderstorms, strong electric fields modulate the energy spectra of secondary particles and cause short and long particle bursts. Large amplifications of particle fluxes (the so-called thunderstorm ground enhancements (TGEs) manifest themselves as prominent peaks in the time series of count rates of particle detectors, coinciding with a strong atmospheric electric field accelerating and multiplying the free electrons of cosmic rays. Free electrons, abundant at any altitude in the atmosphere from the small to large EASs, serve as seeds for atmospheric electron accelerators, an analog of “electron guns” in artificial accelerators. EAS cores randomly hitting arrays of particle detectors generate short bursts of relativistic particles with a duration of fewer than 1 μs. Violent solar bursts fill the interplanetary space with immense magnetized plasma structures, moving up to 3000 km/s (the so-called interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME)) and perturbing the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and the magnetosphere. These disturbances could lead to major geomagnetic storms damaging multi-billion-dollar assets in space and on Earth. Monitoring the high-energy particles can provide highly cost-effective information also for predicting geomagnetic storms. For fundamental research in solar physics, solar–terrestrial relations, and space weather, as well as for forecasting the dangerous consequences of space storms, networks of particle detectors located in different geographical coordinates and measuring various types of secondary cosmic rays are of vital importance. Geophysical research is becoming increasingly important in the coming decades when natural disasters are rising. Solar, astrophysical, and atmospheric physics are synergistically linked and must be integrated to reveal the consequences of violent solar flares and extreme atmospheric electric fields. The synergy of high-energy space and atmospheric physics will open up new research areas for a better understanding and development of geospace physics. The new view of thunderclouds as media full of radiation can help to establish a comprehensive theory of cloud electrification and estimate the possible role of cloud radiation on climate change. The influence of the electrifying atmosphere on the fluxes of electrons and other charged particles can be significant for experiments registering very-high-energy photons (Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes) or electrons and hadrons (Surface arrays registering Extensive Air Showers). The TEPA meeting provides an opportunity for scientists to discuss the current ideas and exploit synergies between Atmospheric and Cosmic ray physics.

STRUCTURE OF THE SYMPOSIUM:

We anticipate the following sessions:

1. Multivariate observations of particles from the Earth’s surface, in the atmosphere,