From June 29 to July 3, the 39th All-Russian Conference on Cosmic Rays (ACCR-2026) was held in Dubna science town (naukograd). It brought together nearly 300 researchers in the field of space physics. Held once every two years, the conference offers a unique opportunity to present fundamental and applied results for international discussion. As part of the RSF research project, “Energy Spectra and Mass Composition of Cosmic Rays Based on Data from the TAIGA Astrophysical Complex: Development of New Methods and Reconstruction Techniques,” led by Professor Anatoly Lagutin, scientists from Altai State University (ASU) prepared a series of reports.

ASU astrophysicists, Professor Anatoly Lagutin and Associate Professor Nikolai Volkov, delivered an oral presentation titled “Energy Spectra of Primary Cosmic Rays in the Energy Range of 50 GV–100 TV from the DAMPE Experiment: An Astrophysical Interpretation of Spectral Inhomogeneities.” In addition, Anatoly Alekseevich and Nikolai Viktorovich prepared a poster entitled “Maximum Energy of Cosmic Rays Accelerated in Supernova Remnants: Results of a Nonclassical Diffusion Model.” Their long-standing work in astrophysics, which has produced an original interpretation of the behavior of elementary particles and nuclei in interstellar space, was well received by the audience, both during the conference sessions and in informal discussion.

Another poster presentation was prepared by a large team from ASU, including both young and experienced researchers: an associate professor Roman Raikin, a leading researcher at the Laboratory of Space Monitoring and Computational Technologies, jointly with the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS), Egor Mordvin, a researcher at the same laboratory Artemy Revyakin, as well as the aforementioned Anatoly Lagutin and Nikolai Volkov. Based on data from the Himawari-9 geostationary satellite, the researchers proposed an effective method for short-term nighttime cloud forecasting over the TAIGA gamma-ray observatory. This technology is important for operational support of astronomical observations.

In addition to the scientific sessions, the conference organizers offered participants a unique tour. On July 1, the researchers had the opportunity to see the legendary Synchrophasotron proton accelerator at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. It was at this facility that, in 1957, a record proton beam energy of 10 GeV was achieved. The Synchrophasotron’s successor, the Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA), is housed in the same building. The full-scale NICA experiment was successfully launched in early 2026. The collider will make it possible to reproduce in the laboratory a special state of matter, quark-gluon plasma, which existed in the Universe in the first moments after the Big Bang.

ASU scientists express their gratitude to the conference organizers for the rich program and warm welcome. As noted by the ACCR-2026 participants, it was especially valuable to hear directly from renowned physicists, including RAS Academician and astrophysicist Andrey Bykov, a student of Igor Toptygin, one of the founders of the Russian cosmophysical school.

It should be noted that in 2018, a major scientific symposium on cosmic rays was held at Altai State University.