{"data":{"id":1838,"lang":"en","title":"Scientists Solve 60-Year Mystery of Amaterasu Particle — Ultraheavy Cosmic Ray May Trace Back to Neutron Star Mergers","summary":"Penn State scientists propose the Amaterasu particle — a cosmic ray 10 million times more powerful than LHC beams — is an ultraheavy nucleus born from neutron star mergers.","category":"science","category_label":"Science","published_at":"2026-06-16T02:02:23Z","updated_at":"2026-06-16T02:02:23Z","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/1838-scientists-solve-60-year-mystery-of-amaterasu-particle-ultraheavy-cosmic-ray","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1838?lang=en","markdown_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1838.md?lang=en","image_url":"https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2026/ultrahigh-energy-cosmi.jpg","word_count":189,"reading_time_minutes":1,"sources":[{"url":"https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ultrahigh-energy-cosmic-messengers-ultraheavy.html","domain":"phys.org"},{"url":"https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260608040015.htm","domain":"sciencedaily.com"}],"translation":{"lang":"cs","id":1911,"title":"Vědci odhalili 60 let starou záhadu Amaterasu částice — ultratěžký kosmický paprsek může pocházet ze srážek neutronových hvězd","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/1911-vedci-odhalili-60-let-starou-zahadu-amaterasu-castice-ultratezky-kosmicky","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1911?lang=cs"},"content":"Penn State physicists have proposed a solution to one of astronomy's biggest puzzles: the origin of the Amaterasu particle, a cosmic ray detected in 2021 with an energy of 240 exa-electron volts — roughly 10 million times more powerful than particles produced by the Large Hadron Collider. Their study, published in Physical Review Letters, suggests the particle may be an ultraheavy atomic nucleus heavier than iron, rather than the proton previously assumed.\n\nThe key insight is that heavy nuclei lose energy far more slowly than protons while crossing intergalactic space, allowing them to retain extreme energies across vast distances. The Amaterasu particle had long baffled astronomers because its flight path traced back to an apparent void in space with no obvious source. Computer simulations by lead researcher Kohta Murase now point to extreme astrophysical events — neutron star mergers, massive stars collapsing into black holes, or strongly magnetized neutron stars — as plausible birthplaces for particles of this scale.\n\nIf confirmed, the finding would mark the first time scientists have identified a likely class of sources for the universe's highest-energy particles, closing a mystery that has persisted for more than 60 years."}}