Work

Exploring the Frontiers of Cosmic-Ray Physics: Perspectives on GRANDProto300 and the GRAND Project

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND) is an envisioned large-scale radio array designed to detect ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs, E > 100 PeV) and neutrinos. Employing cost-effective radio antennas distributed across vast areas, GRAND is optimized to observe the rare flux of ultrahigh-energy particles with high precision. The GRANDProto300 (GP300) pathfinder array, currently under deployment, targets the 1016.5–1018 eV range and is anticipated to achieve approximately 15% energy resolution and 20 g cm−2 X max precision. This level of precision enables accurate measurements of the fine structure of the energy spectrum, mean logarithmic mass ( 〈 ln A 〉 ), and proton flux within this energy range for GP300. After 5 yr of data collection, the sensitivity for detecting anisotropy could reach 5 × 10−3 for energies below 1017.1 eV. With its substantially larger effective area, GRAND extends these capabilities to the highest energies (∼1020 eV), offering enhanced statistics and sensitivity for spectral, composition, and anisotropy measurements within 1 yr for UHECRs.

Source: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/adfb6e

Authors: Kewen Zhang, Yi Zhang, Yi-Qing Guo

Institutions: University of Science and Technology of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Purple Mountain Observatory, Institute of High Energy Physics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,499

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences