Propagation of cosmic rays in galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields

• Grant number: 20/03357-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2020
• End date: August 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Elementary Particle Physics and Fields
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Augusto Leigui de Oliveira
• Grantee: Thiago Hideki Tsutiya Guenka
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Magnetic fields have long been recognized to play an important role in astrophysics. But although great efforts have been made in recent decades, at best, the intensity and structure of magnetic fields beyond the heliosphere are described only qualitatively. Therefore, it is necessary to have a detailed knowledge about the physical properties of magnetic fields in galactic and extragalactic environments, which are fundamental in modeling the transport of cosmic rays in these media. In addition, magnetic fields impact the determination of the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays or their anisotropies, as well as in other cosmological studies, such as those involving measurements of cosmic background radiation or even in the search for dark matter. In this scientific initiation project, we will initially make a detailed study of the pertinent physics and the recent and important advances in understanding the propagation of cosmic rays in magnetic fields. In parallel, we will use one of the main simulations of the propagation of cosmic rays in galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields (CRPropa 3.0) to produce results that can be compared with those in the literature. Finally, we will proceed with the work of a project that the student has been developing, in which he wrote the basic elements of his own simulation of the propagation of cosmic rays in magnetic fields.