Travel report of A. Chilingarian on participation in the workshop: science at the Pierre Auger Observatory (Cambridge), visit to project collaborator (Leeds univ.), April 18-27, 2011

The main role of the worldbiggest Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina is to study the highest energycosmic rays, but now the collaboration is interested in opening the facilitiesto scientists from other disciplines. The meeting in Cambridge was being organized to this end and studies ofthunderstorms and cosmic rays were of upmost interest. I made invited talk on

 “Particle bursts from thunderclouds – naturalparticle accelerators above our heads”.

Aragats researchcenter is the world leading institution in this very dynamically developingfield and our new data on the energy spectra of electrons and gamma rays fromthunderclouds were in the center of discussions of possible using of PierreAuger array for research in the high energy atmospheric physics. I made severalsuggestions to use data stream from Auger observatory detectors for detectionof Thunderstorm ground enhancements (TGEs) firstly observed in many details atAragats.

During visit to Leedsin numerous discussions with A1554 project collaborator and Pierre Augerexperiment member Prof. Johannes Knapp we cover following problems:

1. Prolongation of the A1554 project and program of the Summer measurement compain on Aragats;
2. Discussion of the new project "Investigation of the energetic processes in atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere at the Aragats space-environmental center", (02623), submitted to ISTC;
3. Simulations of the response of Pierre Auger detectors (water tanks) to find out the energy threshold and possibility to detect electron and gamma ray with energies 1-20 MeV;