265 research outputs found
Cosmological implications of photon-flux upper limits at ultra-high energies in scenarios of Planckian-interacting massive particles for dark matter
We present a thorough search for signatures that would be suggestive of
super-heavy particles decaying in the Galactic halo, in the data of the
Pierre Auger Observatory. From the lack of signal, we derive upper limits for
different energy thresholds above \,GeV on the expected
secondary by-product fluxes from -particle decay. Assuming that the energy
density of these super-heavy particles matches that of dark matter observed
today, we translate the upper bounds on the particle fluxes into tight
constraints on the couplings governing the decay process as a function of the
particle mass. We show that instanton-induced decay processes allow us to
derive a bound on the reduced coupling constant of gauge interactions in the
dark sector: \alpha_X \alt 0.09, for 10^{9} \alt M_X/\text{GeV} < 10^{19}.
This upper limit on is complementary to the non-observation of
tensor modes in the cosmic microwave background in the context of
Planckian-interacting massive particles for dark matter produced during the
reheating epoch. Viable regions for this scenario to explain dark matter are
delineated in several planes of the multidimensional parameter space that
involves, in addition to and , the Hubble rate at the end of
inflation, the reheating efficiency, and the non-minimal coupling of the Higgs
with curvature.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, Accompanying paper of arXiv:2203.0885
Measurement of the fluctuations in the number of muons in extensive air showers with the Pierre Auger Observatory
We present the first measurement of the fluctuations in the number of muons
in extensive air showers produced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We find
that the measured fluctuations are in good agreement with predictions from air
shower simulations. This observation provides new insights into the origin of
the previously reported deficit of muons in air shower simulations and
constrains models of hadronic interactions at ultra-high energies. Our
measurement is compatible with the muon deficit originating from small
deviations in the predictions from hadronic interaction models of particle
production that accumulate as the showers develop.Comment: Accepted for publication in PR
Design, upgrade and characterization of the silicon photomultiplier front-end for the AMIGA detector at the Pierre Auger Observatory
AMIGA (Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array) is an upgrade of the
Pierre Auger Observatory to complement the study of ultra-high-energy cosmic
rays (UHECR) by measuring the muon content of extensive air showers (EAS). It
consists of an array of 61 water Cherenkov detectors on a denser spacing in
combination with underground scintillation detectors used for muon density
measurement. Each detector is composed of three scintillation modules, with 10
m detection area per module, buried at 2.3 m depth, resulting in a total
detection area of 30 m. Silicon photomultiplier sensors (SiPM) measure the
amount of scintillation light generated by charged particles traversing the
modules. In this paper, the design of the front-end electronics to process the
signals of those SiPMs and test results from the laboratory and from the Pierre
Auger Observatory are described. Compared to our previous prototype, the new
electronics shows a higher performance, higher efficiency and lower power
consumption, and it has a new acquisition system with increased dynamic range
that allows measurements closer to the shower core. The new acquisition system
is based on the measurement of the total charge signal that the muonic
component of the cosmic ray shower generates in the detector.Comment: 40 pages, 33 figure
Measurement of the cosmic-ray energy spectrum above 2.5 x 10(18) eV using the Pierre Auger Observatory
We report a measurement of the energy spectrum of cosmic rays for energies above 2.5×10 eV based on 215,030 events recorded with zenith angles below 60°. A key feature of the work is that the estimates of the energies are independent of assumptions about the unknown hadronic physics or of the primary mass composition. The measurement is the most precise made hitherto with the accumulated exposure being so large that the measurements of the flux are dominated by systematic uncertainties except at energies above 5×10 eV. The principal conclusions are
(1) The flattening of the spectrum near 5×10 eV, the so-called “ankle,” is confirmed.
(2) The steepening of the spectrum at around 5×10 eV is confirmed.
(3) A new feature has been identified in the spectrum: in the region above the ankle the spectral index γ of the particle flux (∝E) changes from 2.51±0.03 (stat)±0.05 (syst) to 3.05±0.05 (stat)±0.10 (syst) before changing sharply to 5.1±0.3 (stat)±0.1 (syst) above 5×10 eV.
(4) No evidence for any dependence of the spectrum on declination has been found other than a mild excess from the Southern Hemisphere that is consistent with the anisotropy observed above 8×10 eV
A tau scenario application to a search for upward-going showers with the Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
Recent observations of two coherent radio pulses with the ANITA detector can be interpreted as steeply upward-going cosmic-ray showers with energies of a few tenths of an EeV and remain unexplained. The Pierre Auger Observatory has a large exposure to such upward propagating shower-like events, and has used 14 years of its Fluorescence Detector (FD) data to perform a generic search for such events with elevation angles greater than 20◦ from the horizon. Here this search is recast to constrain models generating high energy τ-leptons. For maximal flexibility, only the propagation, decay, and interactions of τ-leptons are treated in this analysis, meaning that the results are independent of the τ-production scenario. This treatment allows for the application of these results to the wide range of models producing τ-leptons that have been proposed to describe the "anomalous" ANITA events. The goal of this study is accomplished by generating τ-leptons within the Earth and its atmosphere with an intensity dependent on the media density. The zenith angle, location and calorimetric energy of any resulting τ-induced air showers are then used to calculate the exposure of the FD of the Pierre Auger Observatory to τ primaries. Differential limits as low as 10−9 GeV s−1cm−2sr−1 to the flux of τ-leptons produced with less than a 50 km path length below the Earth’s surface are reported for several zenith angle ranges and primary energy spectra. Full exposure and sensitivity information is provided, facilitating the application of these results to different τ-lepton production models
A Search for Photons with Energies Above 2X10(17) eV Using Hybrid Data from the Low-Energy Extensions of the Pierre Auger Observatory
Ultra-high-energy photons with energies exceeding 10(17) eV offer a wealth of connections to different aspects of cosmic-ray astrophysics as well as to gamma-ray and neutrino astronomy. The recent observations of photons with energies in the 10(15) eV range further motivate searches for even higher-energy photons. In this paper, we present a search for photons with energies exceeding 2 x 10(17) eV using about 5.5 yr of hybrid data from the low-energy extensions of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The upper limits on the integral photon flux derived here are the most stringent ones to date in the energy region between 10(17) and 10(18) eV
Arrival Directions of Cosmic Rays above 32 EeV from Phase One of the Pierre Auger Observatory
A promising energy range to look for angular correlations between cosmic rays of extragalactic origin and their sources is at the highest energies, above a few tens of EeV (1 EeV ≡ 10¹⁸ eV). Despite the flux of these particles being extremely low, the area of ∼3000 km² covered at the Pierre Auger Observatory, and the 17 yr data-taking period of the Phase 1 of its operations, have enabled us to measure the arrival directions of more than 2600 ultra-high-energy cosmic rays above 32 EeV. We publish this data set, the largest available at such energies from an integrated exposure of 122,000 km² sr yr, and search it for anisotropies over the 3.4π steradians covered with the Observatory. Evidence for a deviation in excess of isotropy at intermediate angular scales, with ∼15° Gaussian spread or ∼25° top-hat radius, is obtained at the 4σ significance level for cosmic-ray energies above ∼40 EeV
Features of the energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 2.5×1018 eV using the pierre auger observatory
We report a measurement of the energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 2.5×10 eV based on 215 030 events. New results are presented: at about 1.3×10 eV, the spectral index changes from 2.51±0.03(stat)±0.05(syst) to 3.05±0.05(stat)±0.10(syst), evolving to 5.1±0.3(stat)±0.1(syst) beyond 5×10 eV, while no significant dependence of spectral features on the declination is seen in the accessible range. These features of the spectrum can be reproduced in models with energy-dependent mass composition. The energy density in cosmic rays above 5×10 eV is [5.66±0.03(stat)±1.40(syst)]×10 erg Mpc
UHECR arrival directions in the latest data from the original Auger and TA surface detectors and nearby galaxies
The distribution of ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray arrival directions appears to be nearly isotropic except for a dipole moment of order per cent. Nonetheless, at the highest energies, as the number of possible candidate sources within the propagation horizon and the magnetic deflections both shrink, smaller-scale anisotropies might be expected to emerge. On the other hand, the flux suppression reduces the statistics available for searching for such anisotropies. In this work, we consider two different lists of candidate sources: a sample of nearby starburst galaxies and the 2MRS catalog tracing stellar mass within 250 Mpc.
We combine surface-detector data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory until 2020 and the Telescope Array until 2019, and use them to test models in which UHECRs comprise an isotropic background and a foreground originating from the candidate sources and randomly deflected by magnetic fields. The free parameters of these models are the energy threshold, the signal fraction, and the search angular scale.
We find a correlation between the arrival directions of of cosmic rays detected with by Auger or with by TA and the position of nearby starburst galaxies on a angular scale, with a 4.2σ post-trial significance, as well as a weaker correlation with the overall galaxy distribution
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