Speaker
Description
The origin of Galactic cosmic rays up to the knee at a few PeV remains one of the central open questions in astroparticle physics. Identifying and characterizing “PeVatrons,” astrophysical accelerators capable of reaching PeV energies, is key to solving this puzzle. The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC) has provided unprecedented sensitivity from hundreds of GeV to beyond 100 TeV, revealing candidate sources that may accelerate particles to PeV energies. Looking ahead, the planned Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) will extend this search to the Southern Hemisphere, enabling access to the Galactic Center region and complementing the sky coverage of HAWC. In this talk, I will review recent HAWC results relevant to the hunt for PeVatrons, discuss their implications for cosmic-ray acceleration, and outline the prospects and discovery potential of SWGO in the coming decade
