Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Types of Radioactivity03:23

Types of Radioactivity

The most common types of radioactivity are α decay, β decay, γ decay, neutron emission, and electron capture.
Alpha (α) decay is the emission of an α particle from the nucleus. For example, polonium-210 undergoes α decay:
Nuclear Transmutation03:20

Nuclear Transmutation

Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one nuclide into another. It can occur by the radioactive decay of a nucleus, or the reaction of a nucleus with another particle. The first manmade nucleus was produced in Ernest Rutherford’s laboratory in 1919 by a transmutation reaction, the bombardment of one type of nuclei with other nuclei or with neutrons. Rutherford bombarded nitrogen-14 atoms with high-speed α particles from a natural radioactive isotope of radium and observed protons being...
Schwarzschild Radius and Event Horizon01:21

Schwarzschild Radius and Event Horizon

No object with a finite mass can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. This fact has an interesting consequence in the domain of extremely high gravitational fields.
The minimum speed required to launch a projectile from the surface of an object to which it is gravitationally bound so that it eventually escapes the object’s gravitational field is called the escape velocity. The escape velocity is independent of the mass of the object. Merging the idea of escape velocity with the...
The Electromagnetic Spectrum02:37

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum consists of all the types of electromagnetic radiation arranged according to their frequency and wavelength. Each of the various colors of visible light has specific frequencies and wavelengths associated with them, and you can see that visible light makes up only a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Because the technologies developed to work in various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are different, for reasons of convenience and historical...
The Electromagnetic Spectrum01:24

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Electromagnetic waves are categorized according to their wavelengths and frequencies, giving the electromagnetic spectrum. These waves are classified as radio, infrared, ultraviolet, etc. Radio waves refer to electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from millimeters to kilometers. Radio waves are commonly used for audio communications (i.e., radios) and typically result from an alternating current in the wires of a broadcast antenna. They cover a broad wavelength range and are used...
Energy Carried By Electromagnetic Waves01:22

Energy Carried By Electromagnetic Waves

Anyone who has used a microwave oven knows there is energy in electromagnetic waves. Sometimes, this energy is obvious, such as in the summer sun's warmth. At other times, it is subtle, such as the unfelt energy of gamma rays, which can destroy living cells. Electromagnetic waves bring energy into a system through their electric and magnetic fields. These fields can exert forces and move charges in the system and, thus, do work on them. However, there is energy in an electromagnetic wave,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Detecting High-Energy Neutrinos from Galactic Supernovae with ATLAS.

Physical review letters·2024
Same author

Diffuse neutrino background from past core collapse supernovae.

Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and biological sciences·2023
Same author

Neutrinos unveil hidden galactic activities.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2022
Same author

Candidate Tidal Disruption Event AT2019fdr Coincident with a High-Energy Neutrino.

Physical review letters·2022
Same author

Soft gamma rays from low accreting supermassive black holes and connection to energetic neutrinos.

Nature communications·2021
Same author

Hidden Cores of Active Galactic Nuclei as the Origin of Medium-Energy Neutrinos: Critical Tests with the MeV Gamma-Ray Connection.

Physical review letters·2020

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 24, 2026

Experimental Methods of Dust Charging and Mobilization on Surfaces with Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation or Plasmas
07:54

Experimental Methods of Dust Charging and Mobilization on Surfaces with Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation or Plasmas

Published on: April 3, 2018

Ultraheavy Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic Rays.

B Theodore Zhang1,2, Kohta Murase1,3,4,5, Nick Ekanger6

  • 1Kyoto University, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Center for Gravitational Physics and Quantum Information, Kyoto, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.

Physical Review Letters
|May 22, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Ultraheavy nuclei may explain the highest-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). These ultraheavy cosmic rays have longer energy loss lengths, consistent with sources like collapsars and neutron star mergers, and can resolve observatory spectral tensions.

More Related Videos

Setting Limits on Supersymmetry Using Simplified Models
07:46

Setting Limits on Supersymmetry Using Simplified Models

Published on: November 15, 2013

Cryogenic Liquid Jets for High Repetition Rate Discovery Science
08:34

Cryogenic Liquid Jets for High Repetition Rate Discovery Science

Published on: May 9, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 24, 2026

Experimental Methods of Dust Charging and Mobilization on Surfaces with Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation or Plasmas
07:54

Experimental Methods of Dust Charging and Mobilization on Surfaces with Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation or Plasmas

Published on: April 3, 2018

Setting Limits on Supersymmetry Using Simplified Models
07:46

Setting Limits on Supersymmetry Using Simplified Models

Published on: November 15, 2013

Cryogenic Liquid Jets for High Repetition Rate Discovery Science
08:34

Cryogenic Liquid Jets for High Repetition Rate Discovery Science

Published on: May 9, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Astroparticle Physics
  • Cosmic Ray Physics

Background:

  • Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) pose a mystery regarding their origin and composition.
  • Understanding the propagation of cosmic rays is crucial for identifying their sources.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the propagation of ultraheavy (UH) nuclei as UHECRs.
  • To determine if UH nuclei can explain the highest-energy cosmic rays observed.
  • To constrain the contribution of UH-UHECR sources.

Main Methods:

  • Simulating the propagation of UH nuclei through intergalactic space.
  • Comparing model predictions with observational data from cosmic ray observatories.
  • Analyzing energy loss lengths and shower maximum depths.

Main Results:

  • UH nuclei exhibit significantly longer energy loss lengths than protons and intermediate-mass nuclei at energies below ~300 EeV.
  • The highest-energy cosmic rays (above ~100 EeV), including the Amaterasu particle, may be UH-UHECRs.
  • Current data are consistent with UHECRs originating from collapsars and neutron star mergers.

Conclusions:

  • UH nuclei are viable candidates for the highest-energy cosmic rays.
  • The model predicts a lower mean depth of shower maximum for UH-UHECRs beyond 100 EeV, testable by future experiments.
  • Considering UH nuclei from nearby transient sources can alleviate spectral tension between major observatories.