The Amaterasu particle, detected on May 27, 2021, by the Telescope Array (TA) observatory located in the state of Utah, United States, is the second most energetic cosmic ray particle ever recorded. It is named after Amaterasu, the sun goddess in Japanese mythology. The detected energy level was 244 exa-electronvolts (EeV), which is millions of times greater than the energy produced by human-made particle accelerators.

^{An Image of the Telescope Array Observatory Where the Amaterasu Particle Was Detected (AI-Generated)}

Detection and Characteristics

The Telescope Array is a system composed of 507 surface detectors spread over an area of 700 km². The Amaterasu particle triggered 23 of these detectors, creating an interaction over approximately 48 km². The particle's energy was measured at 2.4 × 10²⁰ eV, making it the second-highest energy level ever recorded after the “Oh-My-God” particle detected in 1991.

^{Amaterasu Particle: An Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Ray from the Voi (Dave Darling)}

Origin and Trajectory

The direction from which the Amaterasu particle arrived points toward a largely matterless region of space located at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, known as the "Local Void." This region contains no known high-energy astrophysical sources, which has led to various speculations regarding the particle's origin.

Possible Sources and Theories

The extraordinary energy and unknown origin of the Amaterasu particle have prompted scientists to develop several theoretical explanations:

• Supermassive Black Holes: Some theories suggest that the particle may have been accelerated by the extreme magnetic fields near supermassive black holes.
• Decay of Superheavy Dark Matter: Another hypothesis proposes that the particle originated from the decay of superheavy dark matter particles located in the halo region of our galaxy.
• Magnetic Monopoles: Some researchers speculate that the Amaterasu particle could be a magnetic monopole, a hypothetical particle that has yet to be experimentally confirmed.

Scientific Significance

The discovery of the Amaterasu particle challenges current understanding of the origin and nature of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. It has opened new avenues of research into how such particles can reach extreme energy levels and how they are guided through intergalactic magnetic fields.

^{Amaterasu Particle (AI-Generated)}