Unveiling the violent universe (1950–1970). Part I. New cosmic messengers, new astronomies: building a transdisciplinary research culture

Abstract

Between the 1950s and early 1960s, the advent of radio, gamma-ray, and X-ray astronomy established deep links with the physical sciences, creating a new symbiosis between astronomy, physics, and cosmology. This relationship evolved in parallel with a revolutionized view of the universe, driven by novel cosmic messengers and the rise of relativistic astrophysics. We intend to show how, during this transitional period—shaped by the advent of the space age and embedded in the technological context of the Cold War—one can trace the harbingers of developments that would unfold from the 1970s and 1980s onwards, once astronomy had expanded to encompass the entire electromagnetic spectrum incorporating non-photonic messengers into the roster of possible cosmic signals to be used to study the Universe. In the early 1980s, the rise of particle astrophysics—a multidisciplinary field encompassing elementary particle physics, cosmology, and astrophysics—laid the groundwork for a cross-cultural alliance aimed at forging a broader foundation for a unified vision of the cosmos. This paper does not aim to retroactively trace the individual research paths of subcommunities of contemporary particle astrophysics. Rather, it seeks to highlight from a broad perspective, the advances that in the 1950s and 1960s had already paved the way for a radically new view of the cosmos, advances that were marked by the establishment of connections between different cosmic messengers and by synergic interactions and cross-fertilizations between different disciplinary cultures and communities, often separated by the Iron Curtain. In particular, we will emphasize how the key catalyst in linking previously separate scientific environments was the discovery of the Universe’s very high-energy phenomena: the violent Universe.