Chinese Scientists Identify First Cosmic-Ray Super-Accelerator

Chinese scientists have identified the first cosmic-ray super-accelerator in the Cygnus star-forming region. The discovery, made by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the LHAASO observatory, reveals a natural source capable of accelerating particles to extreme energies. LHAASO detected a bubble of ultra-energetic gamma rays in Cygnus, exceeding 10 Petaelectronvolts (PeV). Within this bubble, photons with energies exceeding 1 PeV were identified, with one reaching 2.5 PeV. This confirms the existence of a super-accelerator capable of boosting particles to 20 PeV and releasing them into interstellar space. The LHAASO observatory, located in Sichuan at an altitude of 4,410 meters, began operations in May 2023.