Auger Collaboration

"As of this writing (early 2006), the Auger Observatory is just releasing its first data. The good news is that the experiment is working well, but there is still not quite enough data to decide whether the cutoff predicted on the basis of special relativity is there or not. Still, it is reasonable to hope that after running for a few years, there will be enough data to settle the issue.

Even if the Auger team announces that special relativity remains viable, this finding alone will be the most important in fundamental physics in at least twenty-five years - - that is, since the failure to find proton decay. The long dark era in which theory developed without the guidance of experiment will finally be over. But if the Auger discovers that special relativity is not completely right, it will usher in a new era in fundamental physics. It's worth taking some time to explore the implications of such a revolutionary finding and whence it might lead."

The above quote is from Lee Smolin, in "The Trouble with Physics".

The Auger Collaboration is taking data day and night on the highest energy cosmic rays hitting the World. It is our Highest Energy Cosmic Window on Earth. As Smolin says, it is bringing back hard data to a field that became very speculative.

James Cronin vision made this possible. He is a great scientist. When Jim asked a Mexican team to help him in this project I happily joined, unfortunately the support I was getting from the Mexican government was not enough to support my family in the US, so I decided to immigrate to the US in 1998.