Cosmic Rays, Dark Matter, and the Mysteries of the Universe

Cosmic Rays, Dark Matter, and the Mysteries of the Universe

In the Universe, high-energy cosmic rays are violently propagating in space. While we know these cosmic rays come from outside of the solar system, exactly how and where they originate is a mystery.

Professor Shoji Torii from Waseda University and many researchers from around the world, believe that understanding about their origin will help resolve the mysteries of the Universe, such as, supernova remnants, dark matter, and even the Universe’s evolution.

The most widely accepted theory is that high-energy cosmic rays are created by supernova explosions, but there are many other possibilities. Professor Torii hypothesis that these mysterious cosmic rays originate by the annihilation or decay of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPS). That is, they are candidates of dark matter.

To examine this theory and to truly understand where high-energy cosmic rays originate and propagate, Professor Torii, along with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and in collaboration with NASA and the Italian space Agency (ASI) have developed the Calorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET), now onboard the international space station.