Recommended Citation
October 1, 2017.
Abstract
Cosmic rays (CRs) are the most energetic particles in the Universe. They reach us at nearly the speed of light mostly from outside the Solar System. They carry the information of their sources and of our Galaxy, while propagating through the medium. CRs leave their footprint behind that allows astrophysicists and astronomers to learn about the Galaxy content and interaction processes. However, these interaction processes cause CRs not to trace back to their original direction thereby hampering the search for their origin. Their origin and their propagation are far from being fully understood. I have been performing studies on CRs with the aim to understand their origin and how they propagate in our Galaxy. Our team focused on using the Fermi telescope to detect Gamma Rays, photons produced by CRs, and from this data construct a model to determine the origin and propagation of CRs. We know that Pulsars produce Gamma Rays and the hypothesis is that the Galactic center is made up of Pulsars. I used python to construct a program that resulted in graphs to compare the distances and ages of the pulsars and to determine what effects were resulted in the gamma rays and if these effects were the same of those that had been detected by Fermi to help prove our hypothesis. Provided more time I would construct a program that graphed multiple pulsars and their effects on the propagation of the gamma rays to further our knowledge on these mysterious particles.
Mentor
Elena Orlando
Lab site
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC)
Funding Acknowledgement
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program under Grant # 1340110. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The research was also made possible by the California State University STEM Teacher and Researcher Program, in partnership with Chevron (www.chevron.com), the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (www.marinesanctuary.org) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/star/445