Speaker
Description
Iron cosmic rays constitute the most common heavy nuclei at energies above 1 TeV and are thought to arise mainly from astrophysical environments. Accurate determinations of their energy spectrum offer essential clues about the origin, acceleration, and transport of cosmic rays. Recent measurements by satellite‑based instruments have shown unexpected spectral features in the GeV–TeV domain; however, their capability at higher energies is constrained by limited statistics.
Beyond a few TeV, ground‑based facilities such as the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescopes provide a clear advantage thanks to their large effective areas, enabling observations that extend and complement those of space missions. In this study, we apply the direct Cherenkov technique, which leverages the Cherenkov light emitted by primary charged particles before the atmospheric cascade develops, to identify iron‑initiated air showers and distinguish them from events produced by lighter nuclei. With this approach, we determine the energy spectrum of cosmic‑ray iron nuclei at TeV energies using the MAGIC telescopes.
