HEP@VUB meetings

The Pierre Auger Observatory in the Argentinean Pampa Amarilla is the world’s largest detector for the observation of ultra-high energy cosmic rays – atomic nuclei with energies of up to 10^20 eV. In its effort to identify and understand the sources of these highest-energy particles ever observed by mankind, the observatory has made high-quality measurements of the energy spectrum, the mass composition and the arrival directions of cosmic rays. Also the physics of extensive air showers and the flux of high-energy photons and neutrinos have been studied for more than a decade. I will report on recent results of the Pierre Auger Observatory and their significance for the field, and present the ongoing upgrade of the Auger Observatory to the AugerPrime detectors. Finally, I will also give a short overview of the collaboration’s efforts to develop new detection technologies, in particular the technique of radio detection of cosmic rays.