Where Astronomy Meets Particle Physics

1. Where Astronomy Meets Particle Physics Dr. paed., Mg. phys. IlgonisVilks InstituteofAstronomy, UniversityofLatvia BalticTeacherProgramme, 5-9 March2019, CERN

2. Lecturetopics • 1. Cosmic ray’s interaction with the atmosphereand theirorigin. • 2. Mainthermonuclearreactions in starsandsolar neutrino problem. • 3. Supernovaevent, neutrinoburstand a pair-instability supernova. • 4.Creation of chemical elementsintheUniverse. • 5. The beginning and the end of the Universe. • 6. Dark matter anddarkenergyproblems.

3. 1. Cosmic ray’s origin and their interaction with the atmosphere

4. Cosmic raysarenotrays • Highenergy particle physics started with thediscovery of cosmic rays a century ago. • In 1912 while flying with a balloon, Austrian physicist Victor Francis Hess found that the radiation increased rapidly with thealtitude, and suggested it had extraterrestrial origins. • A cosmicray is a high-speed particle – either an atomic nucleus or an electron. • Up to thatmomentdifferenttypesof “radiation” werediscovered, X-raysby K. Röntgen, radioactivityby H. Becquerel.

5. Thenwhatarethey? • Cosmic rays originate outside Solar system or come from the Sun. • About 89% are protons (hydrogen nuclei); 9% are alpha particles (helium nuclei); 1% are the nuclei of heavier elements; 1% are electrons. • Solar particle energy is typically 10 to 100 MeV, occasionally reaching 1 to 10 GeV. • Most galactic cosmic rays have energies between 100 MeV and 10 GeV. Theytravel at nearly the speed of light. • Recordbrakingenergyofonecosmicrayparticlecorresponds to thefastflyingbaseball. Oh-My-Godparticle. • It isabout 40 million times the energy of particles accelerated by the Large Hadron Collider. The number of cosmic rays with energies beyond 1 GeV decreases by about a factor of 50 for every factor of 10 increases in energy.

6. Air showers • When a high-energy proton hits the Earth's atmosphere, it will collide with one of the nuclei of the atmospheric gas molecules. • In these high-energy collisions many secondary particles are produced, including pions. • The high-energy charged pions make the high-energy muons. • Only a small fraction of the particles comes down to the ground. Hold out your hand for 10 seconds. A dozen electrons and muons just zipped unfelt through your palm.

7. Wheredotheycomefrom? • Theamountof energyof galactic cosmic rays is big because they occur in objects with the dimensions or/and magnetic fields far exceeding those in the Solar System. • The cosmicsource works like a particle accelerator on Earth.Finally local magnetic field can no longer hold theparticle, and it“goes away”. • Then thecharged particles move along the magnetic field lines of the Galaxy and change their directionofmovement. • OnEarththeycomefromalldirectionsinthesky. That’s why it is so hard to tell the origin of the particles.

8. Originsofgalacticcosmicrays (1) • A. Supernovae. The mainsource of galactic cosmic rays.Most of them are created in the shockwave when the ejected material collides with the interstellar medium, creating a millions of degrees hot, rarefied gas bubble.10-20% of all the shockwave energy is converted into particles energy. • B. Magnetars. A specialclassofpulsarswith a rotationperiodof less thanonesecondanda VERY strongmagneticfield. Therateofthepulsesdecreaseswithtime. It seemslikethecosmicraystakeawaymagnetar'srotationalenergy. Magnetarsarealsolikely to create a specific “subspecies” ofcosmicrays, a pair ofhigh-energyelectronandpositron.

9. Originsofgalacticcosmicrays (2) • C. Collision of massive objects. In recent years gravitational waves have become the subject of astronomical research. The spectacular convergence of two neutron stars or neutron star and the black hole creates not just thegravitational waves. These events may also include beams of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. • D. Superbubbles. Supernovae explosions create hot, ionized gas bubbles in the interstellar medium of the Galaxy. When such bubbles merge, the so-called “super-bubble” is created. In them, cosmic rays are accelerated to high energy and can carry away about 20% of bubble energy.

10. Originsofgalacticcosmicrays (3) • E. Active galaxies. Cosmic rays of the highest energy (~1020eV) come from the active galaxies. Black hole sends a few percent of its mass in the form of powerful jets. The jetsinteract with the intergalactic gas, creating shockwave lobes. Magnetic fieldsofthe lobescreate ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. It's like a galactic particle cannon. • F. Gas between galaxies. Hot intergalactic gas occupies a huge volume in space and can produce ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. They are created by shockwaves that occur in the interaction of galaxies.

11. 2. Mainthermonuclear reactions in starsandsolarneutrinoproblem

12. Stars aresimpleobjects • Atthe first looka starseemslikeverysimpleobject. It is a roundballofhotplasma. • Stars tendto contractundertheirowngravity. Thegravityforceiscompensatedbythegaspressureforce. Most stars areintheequlibrium. Thedonotexpandnorcontract. • Highpressureinsidethestarismaintainedbyhightemperature. Hightemperatureiscreatedbytheenergyreleaseatthecentralpartofthestar. • Theenergysourcefor“normal stars” arethethermonuclearreactions.

13. Wheretheenergycomesfrom? • Therearetwomainthermonuclearreactioncycles, proton–protonreactionandCNO cycle. Inbothcasesfrom 4 protons onealphaparticle (helium-4nucleus) iscreated. Hydrogenisconvertedintohelium. • Inthis process 0,7 percent of the mass of 4 protons isconverted into energy. The total energy yield of one reactionis 26,73 MeV. • ThisenergycanbecalculatedusingthefamousEinsteinequation E = mc2, where m = 4,752×10‒29 kg (massdefect), c – speedoflight (3×108 m/s). E = 4,277×10‒12 J or 26,73 MeV (1 eV = 1,6×10‒19 J).

14. Proton–protonreaction • Proton–proton reaction dominates in Sun-likestars (wheretemperatureatthecenterisrelativelylow). • Step 1. Fusion of two protons into deuterium, releasing a positron and a neutrino whileone proton changes into a neutron. Thisstepisslow, otherwisethestarwouldexplode. • Step 2. Deuterium fuses with another proton to produce the helium-3nucleus. Two gamma raysareproduced. • Step 3. Twohelium-3 nucleiare converted into onenucleusofhelium-4.Two protons arereleased. There ar severalbranchesofthisreaction. Picture showsthemainone. • Neutrinotakesawayabout 2% ofenergy, therestisconvertedintotheheat.

15. CNO cycle • CNO (carbon–nitrogen–oxygen) cycleis dominant in stars more than 1,3 times moremassive thanthe Sun. • In the CNO cyclecarbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopes areusedas catalysts.Theiramountisnotchanging. • There are various paths butthe same net result: 4 protons areconvertedintoone helium-4nucleus. • 2 positrons annihilate with electrons, releasing gamma rays. 2 neutrinos escape from the star carrying away about 6% ofenergy.

16. Neutrinos, wherearethey? • The flux of neutrinos on Earth is several tens of billions per square centimetre per second, comingmostly from the Sun's core. • The flux of solar neutrinos measured was 2 – 3 times less thanpredicted.The discrepancy was first observed in the mid-1960s. • Isthemodelofsolarthermonuclearreactionswrong? Theproblemwasfinallyresolvedaround 2002. • Neutrinos are not massless particles. Electron neutrino changes during propagation into a mixture of electronneutrinos, muonneutrinosand tau neutrinos. • The Sun produces only electron neutrinos. SudburyNeutrinoObservatorydetectorwasoneofthosewhichdetectedthedeficitofneutrinos.

17. Howthiswasdone? • Strong evidence for neutrino oscillation came in 1998 from the Super-Kamiokande in Japan. Muon neutrinos produced by cosmic rays changed into tau neutrinos insidethe Earth. • Super-Kamiokande is located 1000 m underground.The tankisabout 40 m in height and diameter andholding 50000 tons of ultrapure water. • In 1999 theSudbury Neutrino Observatory started collecting solar neutrino data. Employing a large quantity ofheavy waterthey observed all flavors of neutrinos. • The fraction of electron-neutrinoswasabout 34%,in agreement with theprediction. A neutrino interaction with water produces an electron or positron that moves faster than the speed of light in water. 13 000photomultipliertubes detect lightofCherenkov radiation.

18. 3. Supernova event, neutrino burstand a pair-instability supernova.

19. Evolutionof stars • Hugehydrogenandheliumcloudscontractundergravity. A starisborn! • Energysourceofmainsequence stars ishydrogen “burning”. • Massive stars havebigluminosity, theystayonthemainsequenceonlyfewmillionsofyears.Livefastdieyoung! • Forsmall stars thisstageofevolutionlastsforhundredsofbillionsofyears. • Soonerorlaterhydrogenatthecenterofthestarisspentandstar “retires”. • The “fate” ofthestardependsonitsmassleft: • Smallmass – whitedwarf; • Bigmass – neutronstar; • Verybigmass – blackhole.

20. Massive stars havelayers • Duringredgiantphasecarbonisproducedin stars bytriplealpha process. As a by-productofaddingonemorealphaparticleoxygeniscreated. • Inmassive stars thecoretemperaturereachesorexceedsonebillion kelvins andthermonuclearreactionscontinuefurther: • Carbonburning process: neon, sodium, magnesium, aluminium. • Neonburning process: oxygen, magnesium. • Oxygenburning process: silicon, sulphur, argon, calcium. • Siliconburning process: nickel (decaysintoiron). • Chemical elements areproducedinlayers. Starbecomeslikeanonion (simplifiedmodel).

21. Collapse, thenexplosion To create elements heavierthantheiron, energyisrequired. Reactionbecomesenergyconsuming. Less energymeans less pressureinthecoreofthestar. Gravitywinsatlast! Thecorelosesitsequilibriumand starts to collapse. It happensin less thanonesecond. Sudden compression increases the temperature of the inner core up to 100 billion kelvins. Outerlayersfall to thecoreandbounceoff. The energy of shock wave disrupts the stellar material ina supernova explosion. Nuclearbindingenergyisanenergyneeded to move nucleons away from each other.

22. A verybrightflash • The outer layers are expelled from thestarevenbeforetheexplosion. • Atthemaximumofbrightness supernova canoutshine a wholegalaxy. • A flashcanlastfor a weeksormonths. Supernova radiatesaboutthesameamountofenergyastheSunin 10 billionyears. • Outerlayersexpandrapidly (up to 30 000 km/s), creating a supernova remnant. • Supernovaearetypicallyobservedinothergalaxies. InourGalaxysupernovaeexplodedinyears 1006, 1054, 1572, 1604. • Astronomersarewaitingforthenextone…

23. Neutronisationandneutrinoburst • Whentemperature exceeds5×109K,anenergy absorbing photodisintegration, the breaking up of iron nuclei into alpha particles by high-energy gamma rays, occurs. • Thediversityofpreviouslyproducedchemical elements inthecoreofthestarislost. • As the temperature climbs higher, electrons and protons combine to form neutrons via electron capture, releasing a floodofneutrinos (neutronisation). p +e− →n +νe. • Neutrinostakeaway about 1046 joules in a ten-second burst. • 2 – 3 h before the light from supernova 1987A reached Earth, a burst of neutrinos was observed at three neutrino observatories. Supernova 1987A remnant 20 years after discovery.

24. A starisgone • Huge130 to 250 solar mass stars becomepair-instability supernovae. • Gamma rays produced in the core become so energetic that theyproduce particle and antiparticle pairs (pair production). • The resulting drop in pressure causes the star to partially collapse. • After the collapse, runaway thermonuclear reactions ensue and the star explodes, spewing the remains into space. • No coreisleftattheplaceofexplosion, just the supernova remnant. • Recently observed objects SN 2006gy, SN 2007bi,[3] SN 2213-1745, and SN 1000+0216[4] couldbe pair-instability supernovae.

25. 4. Creation of chemical elements in Universe

26. We are made of star-stuff. CarlSagan • Fourmain elements bymassthatcomposeourbodiesareoxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen. • Otherimportant elements: Ca, P, K, S, Na, Cl, Mg. • Wearemoresimilar to thechemicalcompositionofourGalaxythan to ourplanet. Hydrogenandheliumarenotincludedinthetable.

27. BigBangnucleosynthesis • 1. BigBangnucleosynthesis. About 10secondsaftertheBigBangourUniversecontainedprotons, neutrons, andotherparticles.TheUniversecontinued to expandandcooldown. • The fusion of nuclei occurred between roughly 10 seconds to 20 minutes after the Big Bang. Laterthe universe cooledto a point at which thenuclearfusion ended. • 20 minutesaftertheBigBangordinarymatterof ourUniversewasmadeofabout 75% hydrogen, 24% helium, and traces of other elements/isotopes such as lithium and deuterium.Observationsareconsistent with the Big Bang theory. SomeBigBangnucleosynthesisreactions.

28. Stellarnucleosynthesis • WhentheUniversewasaround 377000 yearsold, it has cooled to a point where free electrons can combine with thehydrogennuclei(protons) andheliumnuclei to form neutral atoms. • Perhapstherewasthedarkmatteraswell. • About 200 millionsyearslater first stars formedfromcloudsofhydrogenandhelium. Stellarnucleosynthesisstarted. No planetsyet. • Duringthelossofmassinstars (stellarwind, expelledshells, planetarynebula, supernova explosions) Galaxyenvironmentwasenrichedby elements fromcarbon to iron. • Fromthisandtheinitialmaterialnew stars andplanetswereformedandlifearose. Stars arefactoriesofchemical elements

29. Elements heavierthaniron? • Periodictableof elements doesnotendwiththeiron. First 94 elements occur naturally. • Thenenterstheneutroncapture. The slow neutron-capture or s-process occur in redgiants. It is responsible for the creation of approximately half the atomicnucleiheavierthaniron. • Nucleus undergoes neutron capture to form an isotope with one higher atomic mass A: • (Z, A) + n  (Z, A+1) + . If the new isotope is stable, a series of increases in mass can occur. • If theisotope is unstable, beta decay produces an element of the next highest atomic number Z: (Z, A+1)  (Z+1, A+1) + e + anti .

30. Explosivenucleosynthesis • In the r-process, successive neutron captures are rapidandhappen more quickly than the beta decay occur. • R-process thatoccursin supernova explosionsandneutronstarcollisionsproduces heavier elements and more neutron-rich isotopes than the s-process. • Together the s-process and r-process account for most of the relative abundance of chemical elements heavier than iron. • During the supernova explosions nuclearfusionproduces elements heavier than ironaswell.

31. Neutronstarcollisions • Neutron stars are the smallest and densest stars.Theyhave a radius about10 km and a mass lower than a 2,2 solar masses. • When two neutron stars merge, theyemitstronggravitational wavesandformeither a more massive neutron star, or a black hole. • Sometimestheyareobservedaskilonovae. Theyemitelectromagnetic radiation due to the radioactive decay of heavy r-processnuclei that are produced and ejected during the merger process. • On 17 August 2017a gravitational wavewasobserved. It coincidedwiththe gamma-rayburst. Laterthissourcewasobservedby70 observatories across the EM spectrum.

32. Dyinglow-mass stars releaseheavy elements producedbypreviousgenerationsof stars

33. 5. ThebeginningandtheendoftheUniverse

34. Whydowetrustin a BigBang? • Onceupon a time13,799 ± 0,021 billionyearsago…No, thisisnot a fairytale. • BigBangtheorydescribesthepastandthefutureoftheUniverse. It iswidelyrecognizedbyscientistsandfitsverywell to theobservationsof: • Cosmicmicrowavebackground. • LargescalestructureoftheUniverse. • Amountofhydrogenandhelium. • ExpansionoftheUniverse. • Accuratename: Lambda-CDM (colddarkmatter) modelorthestandardmodelofcosmology. FilamentsofgalaxyclustersformthelargescalestuctureoftheUniverse.

35. WhatisnotcoveredbytheBigBangtheory? • Universeexpandsandinthepastgalaxieswerecloser to eachother. • AtthebeginingourUniversewasveryhotanddense. Manyoftheprocessesarewelldescribedbyparticlephysicsatthisstage. • ModeloftheexpansionisbasedontheEinstein's Theory of General Relativity. It predictsthatattheverybeginningtheUniversewasinfinitelysmallanddense (singularity). • Quantumeffects become a significant factor, and general relativity fails to make accurate predictions. Unfortunatelythere is still no complete and consistent quantum theory of gravity. • Thesmallesttimewecandescribeisapproximately10−43 s (Plancktime). TheorydoesnotdescribeexactlyhowourUniversestarted.

36. Matryoshkastyle • Physicalobjectsaremadeofmatter. • Matterismadeofmolecules. • Moleculesaremadeof atoms. • Nucleusofanatomconsistsof protons andneutrons. It issurroundedbyelectrons. • Electronisanelementaryparticle. • Protons andneutronshaveinternalstucture.

37. Deepinsidematter • Thesmalleststructureswecan “see” areindividual atoms. • Imagesofsmallerobjectsareconventional. Protons arenotspheres! • A protonconsistsoftwoupquarksandonedownquark. • A neutronconsistsoftwodownquarksandoneupquark. • Quarksareelementaryparticles. Freequarksarenotobservableunlesstheamountofenergyisveryhigh. • Thereis strong interaction between quarksthatis mediated by gluons –”glueparticles”. Atoms ofgoldin a scanningtunnelingmicroscope Proton Neutron

38. Thestuffaroundus • Thereare 6 quarksand 6 leptons (verylightparticles). 6 + 6 = 12. • AlmostallmatteronEarthandinspaceismadeofupquarks, downquarksandelectrons. • Otherparticlescanbefoundinplaceswhere a largeamountofenergyisconcentrated. • LargeHadronCollider, cosmicrays…

39. Legoforthe “Creatoroftheworlds” • Whatisneededto buildourworld? • Asfarweknow, wewouldneed: • 6 quarks + 6 leptons (togethertheyare “particlesofmatter”); • 4 forcecarriers + Higgsboson. • 17 particlesintotal. • Donotforgetaboutthegravity... • Plus 13 correspondingantiparticles, becausephoton, gluon, Z bosonandHiggsbosonaretheirownantiparticles. • “Magicnumber” is 30. Insteadof42!

40. First 20 minutesinthelifeoftheUniverse

41. Quarkepoch, 10–12 – 10–6 s • Fundamental interactionsofgravitation,electromagnetism, thestrong interaction and the weak interaction areseparated. • Temperatureisstill too high (morethan1012 K), to allow quarks to bind together to form protons andneutrons. • The universe isfilled with a dense, hot quark–gluon plasma, containing quarks, leptons and their antiparticles. • The quark epoch ended when the average energy of particleinteractions fellbelowthespecificthreshold. CERN picture

42. Quark-gluonplasma • A quark–gluon plasma (QGP) exists at anextremely hightemperatureand/ordensity, consists of asymptotically free quarks and gluons. • Artificial quark matter has been produced at CERN's LHC. It is unstable and decays radioactively into stable particles (hadronization) thatcan be detected. • QGP can be created by heating matter up to a temperature of 2×1012 K, which amounts to 175 MeV per particle.   • It is believed that few milliseconds after the Big Bang, known as the quark epoch, the Universe was in a quark–gluon plasma state. Colliding lead ions inAugust 2012, a record breaking temperature of5,5×1012K wasachievedat LHC.

43. Particlesvsantiparticles • Everyparticlehasitsownantiparticlewith the same mass but with opposite physical charges. • Theantiparticleoftheelectronisanantielectronorpositron, antiparticleoftheprotonisanantiproton. • Theantiparticleoftheneutronisanantineutron. Theseparticlesarenotidenticalbecauseantineutronismadeofantiquarks. • Particle–antiparticle pairscanannihilateeach other, producing photons. Since the charges of the particle and antiparticle are opposite, total charge is conserved.

44. Wherehasalltheantimattergone? • Bananas produce antimatter, releasing one positronabout every 75 minutesbecausetheycontain someradioactivepotassium-40. • Almost all matter observable from the Earth ismade of matter rather than antimatter. If antimatter-dominated regions of space existed, the gamma rays would be detectable. • The Big Bang should have produced equal amounts ofmatterandantimatterthatshouldhaveannihilatedduringhadronandleptonepoch. • Only a smallresidue – about one particle per billion – managed to survive. • Several competing hypotheses exist,however, there is no consensus theory.Charge-parity (CP) symmetryviolation… Antiparticles are rare. Why? Nobody knows for sure.Seemsthatparticlesandantiparticlesarenotcompletely “symmetric”.

45. 14 billionyearsinoneslide • MatterintheUniversewasnotcompletelyhomogeneous, smalldensityfluctuationsexistedatthebeginning. • Undertheforceofgravitylargecloudsofdarkmatter, hydrogenandheliumcompressed. • Theyformedgalaxies, and first stars started to shine. Severalgenerationsof stars followedeachother. Planets, includingSolarSystemarecreated. • Stars producethechemical elements andthrowthemoutintothespace. • Complexchemicalcompoundsarecreated, lifeandintelligenceemerges. • Humansstart to wonderhowallthisiscreatedanwhatwillhappennext. • Today: 13,799 billionyears.

46. ScenariosofthefutureoftheUniverse • Most cosmologists believe the universe is flat and will expand forever (the BigFreeze). • But the nature of the dark energy is unknown, so let's look at two more scenarios: theBig Crunch and theBig Rip. • After a few decades, as science develops, this part of the story may look different. Attheendof 19th century it was “clear” thatEarthwillfreezewhentheSunwill stop to shine.

47. BigCrunch • Reasonsof symmetry. If the universe started with the Big Bang, it couldend with something similar. • The theory assumes that the average density of the universe is bigenoughand gravity willturntheexpansionintocompression. • All objects will come veryclose andwillconverge into one infinitely dense singularity – BigCrunch. • It is also possible that the cycle is repeated when the Big Crunch is immediately followed by a new Big Bang. • Verdict: not in line with observations. • EnthropyvscyclicalUniverse In an isolated system, entropy never decreases. Entropy as a measure of disorder (an example with a deck of cards). In a cyclical (eternal) Universe, entropy risesto infinity.

48. BigRip • In the specific case of dark energy, the universe not only expands fast, but also increases its acceleration. • All objects, from galaxies to humans, are fractured in individual particles, and the particles move away from each other. • The “density” of dark energy and the rate of expansion grow endlessly. Singularity occurs approximatelyafter 20 billion yearsfromnow. • Verdict: Not excluded, but observations do not approve this version. TimebeforeBigRip: • 60 millionyears – MilkyWaydisruption; • 3 months – SolarSystemdisrupted; • 30 minutes – Earthisripped apart; • 10–19seconds – atoms dismantled.

49. BigFreeze • The Universe continues to expand, temperature approachesabsolute zero. Whathappens: • 1011– 1012years. The nearest galaxies bound by gravity mergetogether. • 2×1012years. Due to the Universeexpansion, other galaxies are no longer visible. • 1014years. The formation and evolution of stars ends. Brown dwarfs, white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes remain. The universe is getting dark. • 1015– 1020years. Planets are kicked out of theirorbits, stars – outoftheGalaxy. • 1040– 10100years. Protons and neutrons decay (?) into leptons and photons, black holes evaporate. • Verdict: credible. 10100years. PhotonsruletheUniverse.

50. Hypotheticalprotondecay • According to the Standard Model protons are stable. Period. • Some beyond-the-Standard Modeltheories ”allow” protons to decay, forexample, into neutral pion and a positronwith a half-life of 1031 to 1036 years. • Neutralpion decays into 2 gamma ray photons. Ifa positronmeetsa freeelectron, theyannihilate.Onlytheelectromagneticradiationisleft. • Despite significant experimental effort, proton decay has never been observed. • Neutrons insideatomicnucleiare also expected to decay with a half-life comparable to that of protons. p+ → e+ + π0. π0 → 2γ