The second INFN National Scientific Committee awarded the Bruno Rossi Prize to Laura Collica for her PhD Thesis in Astroparticle Physics. The Thesis entitled “Mass Composition Studies of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays through the Measurement of the Muon Production Depths at the Pierre Auger Observatory” was obtained during a cotutelage between the University of Milan and the University of Paris Diderot under the supervision of Prof. Lino Miramonti and Dr. Antoine Letessier-Selvon. The thesis work has consisted in the study of the composition of cosmic rays of ultra high energy through the analysis of data from surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. It is of fundamental importance studying the nature of cosmic rays for both the astrophysics and the particle physics, since it allows to discriminate between the various scenarios of origin and propagation of cosmic rays and explore the hadronic interactions at energies currently inaccessible to accelerators.

The award ceremony will take place on April 5th at the INFN President Offices in Rome, where Laura will present her thesis work.