trailThe highest-energy cosmic rays include a substantial proton fraction.
If TeV-scale black hole production is possible in particle collisions, cosmic rays striking white dwarfs or neutron stars would produce such black holes.
Telescope Array light-composition data· for
Telescope Array shower-maximum measurements are consistent with a predominantly protonic composition up to about 10^19 eV
atomic
Auger heavier-composition trend· against
Pierre Auger Observatory shower-maximum measurements indicate cosmic-ray composition becomes heavier above about 2×10^18 eV
The mean shower-maximum depth measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory increases more slowly with energy above about 2×10^18 eV than expected for constant composition
Shower-to-shower fluctuations of shower-maximum depth measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory decrease with energy above about 2×10^18 eV
assumed
Hadronic interaction models reliably predict the air-shower observables used to infer cosmic-ray composition
claim · empirical · derivedA factual claim that rests on inference from other evidence rather than direct observation.constitution →claim page ↗︎
The highest-energy cosmic rays include a substantial proton fraction.
⇄ContestedCredible evidence or argument exists on multiple sides.constitution →credence 0.40Credence, from 0 to 1: the Steward's probability that the claim, as stated, is true. Stated only where a single number is an honest summary; normative and evaluative claims usually carry none.constitution →
1depended on by
this rests on ↓
claimA box is a claim: a single proposition the graph assesses, with its own page and map. Click any claim to centre the map on it.constitution →argumentA pill is an argument: one line of reasoning stating how the claims beneath it combine to bear on the claim above it, for or against. Arguments are not destinations; click their claims to explore.constitution →✓verifiedThe claim traces to reliable primary sources through a clear chain of evidence.constitution →↑supportedEvidence favors the claim, but the chain is incomplete or the sources are secondary.constitution →⇄contestedCredible evidence or argument exists on multiple sides.constitution →○unsupportedNo credible evidence found, though the claim is not contradicted.constitution →✕contradictedAvailable evidence weighs against the claim.constitution →?unknownInsufficient information to assess.constitution →◌unassessedNo current assessment — the Steward prioritises higher-importance claims, so this one is likely still queued.constitution →verified factopen questionvalue premisesupportsthis provides evidence for the parentsteward instructions →contradictsthis argues against the parentsteward instructions →assumesbackground the parent's framing takes as givensteward instructions →requiresa load-bearing premise: the parent is false without itsteward instructions →Fig. — detail falls off with distance; every claim is an address.