Astrophysicists of Altai State University took part in the 36th All-Russian conference on cosmic rays

Altai astrophysical group under the leadership of Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor of Altai State University Anatoly A. Lagutin presented two reports at the conference.

In particular, in the report on the astroclimate of the Greater Altai, Altai State University scientists presented the original results of studies of lowland high-altitude zones in Russia and Mongolia in terms of choosing a territory for designing a full-scale gamma-ray observatory at the megascience level. Using the nighttime data of the VIIRS radiometer of the Suomi NPP satellite platform, as well as data from the AIRS hyperspectrometer of the Aqua satellite, a study of astroclimatic conditions was carried out for performing nighttime astrophysical observations. It has been determined that the Chuya steppe region (Altai Republic, Russia) and the Khuvsgul lake plateau (Khuvsgel aimag, Mongolia) are most suitable as possible areas for the placement of a full-scale gamma-astronomical experiment from the topographic and astroclimatic points of view. Taking into account the infrastructural features (transport accessibility, opportunities for organizing energy supply, etc.), the landfill in the western part of the Chuya steppe is preferable.

The previous 35th All-Russian Conference on Cosmic Rays, together with the 26th Extended European Symposium on Cosmic Rays, took place in 2018 in Altai, on the platform of the flagship Altai State University.

Cosmic ray research is a unique multidisciplinary field that combines particle physics and astrophysics, involving experiments in the broadest energy range (more than 10 orders of magnitude) up to energies that are fundamentally unattainable in laboratory conditions. In recent years, a number of breakthrough results have been obtained, which make it possible to hope for progress in solving such urgent problems of modern physics as the establishment of sources and mechanisms of acceleration of super high and ultra high-energy particles, determination of the nature of dark matter, etc.

The joint conference became one of the most significant world scientific events of 2018 in the field of space research.

The scientific program of the conference included 12 sections and 2 scientific seminars. The total number of researchers who took part was 155 people, including 57 representatives of foreign states (Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and USA).

Altai State University presented the latest results obtained by the main world collaborations in the field of high energy astrophysics: Auger, Telescope Array, IceCube, Yakutsk EAS array, Kascade-Grande, ARGO YBJ, Tibet Air Shower Array, Baksan Underground Telescope, LVD, Grapes-3, Nevod, Gamma-400, Pamela, Fermi Lat, AMS-02, Calet, Dampe, TUS, Nucleon, JEM-EUSO, HAWC, Taiga, LOFAR.