A Review of the EUSO-Balloon Pathfinder for the JEM-EUSO Program

International audienceEUSO-Balloon is a pathfinder for JEM-EUSO, the mission concept of a spaceborne observatory which is designed to observe Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR)-induced Extensive Air Showers (EAS) by detecting their UltraViolet (UV) light tracks “from above.” On August 25, 2014, EUSO-Balloon was launched from Timmins Stratospheric Balloon Base (Ontario, Canada) by the balloon division of the French Space Agency CNES. After reaching a floating altitude of 38 km, EUSO-Balloon imaged the UV light in the wavelength range ∼290–500 nm for more than 5 hours using the key technologies of JEM-EUSO. The flight allowed a good understanding of the performance of the detector to be developed, giving insights into possible improvements to be applied to future missions. A detailed measurement of the photoelectron counts in different atmospheric and ground conditions was achieved. By means of the simulation of the instrument response and by assuming atmospheric models, the absolute intensity of diffuse light was estimated. The instrument detected hundreds of laser tracks with similar characteristics to EASs shot by a helicopter flying underneath. These are the first recorded laser tracks measured from a fluorescence detector looking down on the atmosphere. The reconstruction of the direction of the laser tracks was performed. In this work, a review of the main results obtained by EUSO-Balloon is presented as well as implications for future space-based observations of UHECRs

EUSO-Offline: A comprehensive simulation and analysis framework

International audienceThe complexity of modern cosmic ray observatories and therich data sets they capture often require a sophisticated softwareframework to support the simulation of physical processes, detectorresponse, as well as reconstruction and analysis of real andsimulated data. Here we present the EUSO-Offline framework. Thecode base was originally developed by the Pierre AugerCollaboration, and portions of it have been adopted by othercollaborations to suit their needs. We have extended this softwareto fulfill the requirements of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Raydetectors and very high energy neutrino detectors developed for theJoint Exploratory Missions for an Extreme Universe Observatory(JEM-EUSO). These path-finder instruments constitute a program tochart the path to a future space-based mission like POEMMA. Forcompleteness, we describe the overall structure of the frameworkdeveloped by the Auger collaboration and continue with a descriptionof the JEM-EUSO simulation and reconstruction capabilities. Theframework is written predominantly in modern C++ (compliled againstC++17) and incorporates third-party libraries chosen based onfunctionality and our best judgment regarding support andlongevity. Modularity is a central notion in the framework design, arequirement for large collaborations in which many individualscontribute to a common code base and often want to compare differentapproaches to a given problem. For the same reason, the framework isdesigned to be highly configurable, which allows us to contend witha variety of JEM-EUSO missions and observation scenarios. We alsodiscuss how we incorporate broad, industry-standard testing coveragewhich is necessary to ensure quality and maintainability of arelatively large code base, and the tools we employ to support amultitude of computing platforms and enable fast, reliableinstallation of external packages. Finally, we provide a fewexamples of simulation and reconstruction applications usingEUSO-Offline

EUSO-Offline: A comprehensive simulation and analysis framework

International audienceThe complexity of modern cosmic ray observatories and therich data sets they capture often require a sophisticated softwareframework to support the simulation of physical processes, detectorresponse, as well as reconstruction and analysis of real andsimulated data. Here we present the EUSO-Offline framework. Thecode base was originally developed by the Pierre AugerCollaboration, and portions of it have been adopted by othercollaborations to suit their needs. We have extended this softwareto fulfill the requirements of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Raydetectors and very high energy neutrino detectors developed for theJoint Exploratory Missions for an Extreme Universe Observatory(JEM-EUSO). These path-finder instruments constitute a program tochart the path to a future space-based mission like POEMMA. Forcompleteness, we describe the overall structure of the frameworkdeveloped by the Auger collaboration and continue with a descriptionof the JEM-EUSO simulation and reconstruction capabilities. Theframework is written predominantly in modern C++ (compliled againstC++17) and incorporates third-party libraries chosen based onfunctionality and our best judgment regarding support andlongevity. Modularity is a central notion in the framework design, arequirement for large collaborations in which many individualscontribute to a common code base and often want to compare differentapproaches to a given problem. For the same reason, the framework isdesigned to be highly configurable, which allows us to contend witha variety of JEM-EUSO missions and observation scenarios. We alsodiscuss how we incorporate broad, industry-standard testing coveragewhich is necessary to ensure quality and maintainability of arelatively large code base, and the tools we employ to support amultitude of computing platforms and enable fast, reliableinstallation of external packages. Finally, we provide a fewexamples of simulation and reconstruction applications usingEUSO-Offline

Developments and results in the context of the JEM-EUSO program obtained with the ESAF simulation and analysis framework

International audienceJEM-EUSO is an international program for the development of space-based Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray observatories. The program consists of a series of missions which are either under development or in the data analysis phase. All instruments are based on a wide-field-of-view telescope, which operates in the near-UV range, designed to detect the fluorescence light emitted by extensive air showers in the atmosphere. We describe the simulation software ESAF in the framework of the JEM-EUSO program and explain the physical assumptions used. We present here the implementation of the JEM-EUSO, POEMMA, K-EUSO, TUS, Mini-EUSO, EUSO-SPB1 and EUSO-TA configurations in ESAF. For the first time ESAF simulation outputs are compared with experimental data

Novel and emerging biotechnological crop protection approaches

Traditional breeding or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have for a long time been the sole approaches to effectively cope with biotic and abiotic stresses and implement the quality traits of crops. However, emerging diseases as well as unpredictable climate changes affecting agriculture over the entire globe force scientists to find alternative solutions required to quickly overcome seasonal crises. In this review, we first focus on cisgenesis and genome editing as challenging biotechnological approaches for breeding crops more tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses. In addition, we take into consideration a toolbox of new techniques based on applications of RNA interference and epigenome modifications, which can be adopted for improving plant resilience. Recent advances in these biotechnological applications are mainly reported for non‐model plants and woody crops in particular. Indeed, the characterization of RNAi machinery in plants is fundamental to transform available information into biologically or biotechnologically applicable knowledge. Finally, here we discuss how these innovative and environmentally friendly techniques combined with traditional breeding can sustain a modern agriculture and be of potential contribution to climate change mitigation

Ultra high energy photons and neutrinos with JEM-EUSO

Ultra high energy photons and neutrinos are carriers of very important astrophysical information. They may be produced at the sites of cosmic ray acceleration or during the propagation of the cosmic rays in the intergalactic medium. In contrast to charged cosmic rays, photon and neutrino arrival directions point to the production site because they are not deflected by the magnetic fields of the Galaxy or the intergalactic medium. In this work we study the characteristics of the longitudinal development of showers initiated by photons and neutrinos at the highest energies. These studies are relevant for development of techniques for neutrino and photon identification by the JEM-EUSO telescope. In particular, we study the possibility of observing the multi-peak structure of very deep horizontal neutrino showers with JEM-EUSO. We also discuss the possibility to determine the flavor content of the incident neutrino flux by taking advantage of the different characteristics of the longitudinal profiles generated by different type of neutrinos. This is of grate importance for the study of the fundamental properties of neutrinos at the highest energies. Regarding photons, we discuss the detectability of the cosmogenic component by JEM-EUSO and also estimate the expected upper limits on the photon fraction which can be obtained from the future JEM-EUSO data for the case in which there are no photons in the samples

Performances of JEM-EUSO : angular reconstruction

Mounted on the International Space Station(ISS), the Extreme Universe Space Observatory, on-board the Japanese Experimental Module (JEM-EUSO), relies on the well established fluorescence technique to observe Extensive Air Showers (EAS) developing in the earth’s atmosphere. Focusing on the detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) in the decade of 10^{20} eV, JEM-EUSO will face new challenges by applying this technique from space. The EUSO Simulation and Analysis Framework (ESAF) has been developed in this context to provide a full end-to-end simulation frame, and assess the overall performance of the detector. Within ESAF, angular reconstruction can be separated into two conceptually different steps. The first step is pattern recognition, or filtering, of the signal to separate it from the background. The second step is to perform different types of fitting in order to search for the relevant geometrical parameters that best describe the previously selected signal. In this paper, we discuss some of the techniques we have implemented in ESAF to perform the geometrical reconstruction of EAS seen by JEM-EUSO. We also conduct thorough tests to assess the performances of these techniques in conditions which are relevant to the scope of the JEM-EUSO mission. We conclude by showing the expected angular resolution in the energy range that JEM-EUSO is expected to observe

EUSO-TA – First results from a ground-based EUSO telescope

International audienceEUSO-TA is a ground-based telescope, installed at the Telescope Array (TA) site in Black Rock Mesa, Utah, USA. This is the first detector to successfully use a Fresnel lens based optical system and multi-anode photomultipliers (64 channels per tube, 2304 channels encompassing a 10.6° × 10.6° field of view) for detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR). The telescope is located in front of one of the fluorescence detectors of the TA experiment. Since its installation in 2013, the detector has observed several ultra-high energy cosmic ray events and, in addition, meteors. The limiting magnitude of 5.5 on summed frames ( ∼ 3 ms) has been established. Measurements of the UV night sky emission in different conditions and moon phases and positions have been completed. The performed observations serve as a proof of concept for the future application of this detector technology