A Measurement of Time-Averaged Aerosol Optical Depth using Air-Showers Observed in Stereo by HiRes

Air fluorescence measurements of cosmic ray energy must be corrected for attenuation of the atmosphere. In this paper we show that the air-showers themselves can yield a measurement of the aerosol attenuation in terms of optical depth, time-averaged over extended periods. Although the technique lacks statistical power to make the critical hourly measurements that only specialized active instruments can achieve, we note the technique does not depend on absolute calibration of the detector hardware, and requires no additional equipment beyond the fluorescence detectors that observe the air showers. This paper describes the technique, and presents results based on analysis of 1258 air-showers observed in stereo by the High Resolution Fly's Eye over a four year span.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication by Astroparticle Physics Journa

Search for Global Dipole Enhancements in the HiRes-I Monocular Data above 10^{18.5} eV

Several proposed source models for Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) consist of dipole distributions oriented towards major astrophysical landmarks such as the galactic center, M87, or Centaurus A. We use a comparison between real data and simulated data to show that the HiRes-I monocular data for energies above 10^{18.5} eV is, in fact, consistent with an isotropic source model. We then explore methods to quantify our sensitivity to dipole source models oriented towards the Galactic Center, M87, and Centaurus A.Comment: 17 pages, 31 figure

Observation of the Ankle and Evidence for a High-Energy Break in the Cosmic Ray Spectrum

We have measured the cosmic ray spectrum at energies above $10^{17}$ eV using the two air fluorescence detectors of the High Resolution Fly's Eye experiment operating in monocular mode. We describe the detector, PMT and atmospheric calibrations, and the analysis techniques for the two detectors. We fit the spectrum to models describing galactic and extragalactic sources. Our measured spectrum gives an observation of a feature known as the ``ankle'' near $3\times 10^{18}$ eV, and strong evidence for a suppression near $6\times 10^{19}$ eV.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. To appear in Physics Letters B. Accepted versio

Measurement of the Proton Spin Structure Function g1p with a Pure Hydrogen Target

A measurement of the proton spin structure function g1p(x,Q^2) in deep-inelastic scattering is presented. The data were taken with the 27.6 GeV longitudinally polarised positron beam at HERA incident on a longitudinally polarised pure hydrogen gas target internal to the storage ring. The kinematic range is 0.021<x<0.85 and 0.8 GeV^2<Q^2<20 GeV^2. The integral Int_{0.021}^{0.85} g1p(x)dx evaluated at Q0^2 of 2.5 GeV^2 is 0.122+/-0.003(stat.)+/-0.010(syst.).Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, RevTeX late

Observation of a Coherence Length Effect in Exclusive Rho^0 Electroproduction

Exclusive incoherent electroproduction of the rho^0(770) meson from 1H, 2H, 3He, and 14N targets has been studied by the HERMES experiment at squared four-momentum transfer Q**2>0.4 GeV**2 and positron energy loss nu from 9 to 20 GeV. The ratio of the 14N to 1H cross sections per nucleon, known as the nuclear transparency, was found to decrease with increasing coherence length of quark-antiquark fluctuations of the virtual photon. The data provide clear evidence of the interaction of the quark- antiquark fluctuations with the nuclear medium.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 3 figure

Determination of the Deep Inelastic Contribution to the Generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Integral for the Proton and Neutron

The virtual photon absorption cross section differences [sigma_1/2-sigma_3/2] for the proton and neutron have been determined from measurements of polarised cross section asymmetries in deep inelastic scattering of 27.5 GeV longitudinally polarised positrons from polarised 1H and 3He internal gas targets. The data were collected in the region above the nucleon resonances in the kinematic range nu < 23.5 GeV and 0.8 GeV**2 < Q**2 < 12 GeV**2. For the proton the contribution to the generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral was found to be substantial and must be included for an accurate determination of the full integral. Furthermore the data are consistent with a QCD next-to-leading order fit based on previous deep inelastic scattering data. Therefore higher twist effects do not appear significant.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, revte

Measurement of the Neutron Spin Structure Function g1ng_1^n with a Polarized ^3He Target

Results are reported from the HERMES experiment at HERA on a measurement of the neutron spin structure function $g_1^n(x,Q^2)$ in deep inelastic scattering using 27.5 GeV longitudinally polarized positrons incident on a polarized $^3$He internal gas target. The data cover the kinematic range $0.023<x<0.6$ and $1 (GeV/c)^2 < Q^2 <15 (GeV/c)^2$. The integral $\int_{0.023}^{0.6} g_1^n(x) dx$ evaluated at a fixed $Q^2$ of $2.5 (GeV/c)^2$ is $-0.034\pm 0.013(stat.)\pm 0.005(syst.)$. Assuming Regge behavior at low $x$, the first moment $\Gamma_1^n=\int_0^1 g_1^n(x) dx$ is $-0.037\pm 0.013(stat.)\pm 0.005(syst.)\pm 0.006(extrapol.)$.Comment: 4 pages TEX, text available at http://www.krl.caltech.edu/preprints/OAP.htm

Measurement of Pressure Dependent Fluorescence Yield of Air: Calibration Factor for UHECR Detectors

In a test experiment at the Final Focus Test Beam of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, the fluorescence yield of 28.5 GeV electrons in air and nitrogen was measured. The measured photon yields between 300 and 400 nm at 1 atm and 29 deg C are Y(760 Torr, air) = 4.42 +/- 0.73 and Y(760 Torr, nitrogen) = 29.2 +/- 4.8 photons per electron per meter. Assuming that the fluorescence yield is proportional to the energy deposition of a charged particle traveling through air, good agreement with measurements at lower particle energies is observed.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Astroparticle Physic

Flavor Decomposition of the Polarized Quark Distributions in the Nucleon from Inclusive and Semi-inclusive Deep-inelastic Scattering

Spin asymmetries of semi-inclusive cross sections for the production of positively and negatively charged hadrons have been measured in deep-inelastic scattering of polarized positrons on polarized hydrogen and 3He targets, in the kinematic range 0.023<x<0.6 and 1 GeV^2<Q^2<10 GeV^2. Polarized quark distributions are extracted as a function of x for up $(u+u_bar) and down (d+d_bar) flavors. The up quark polarization is positive and the down quark polarization is negative in the measured range. The polarization of the sea is compatible with zero. The first moments of the polarized quark distributions are presented. The isospin non-singlet combination Delta_q_3 is consistent with the prediction based on the Bjorken sum rule. The moments of the polarized quark distributions are compared to predictions based on SU(3)_f flavor symmetry and to a prediction from lattice QCD.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures (eps format), 10 tables in Latex New version contains tables of asymmetries and correlation matri

A Likelihood Method for Measuring the Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Ray Composition

Air fluorescence detectors traditionally determine the dominant chemical composit ion of the ultrahigh energy cosmic ray flux by comparing the averaged slant depth of the shower maximum, $X_{max}$, as a function of energy to the slant depths expect ed for various hypothesized primaries. In this paper, we present a method to make a direct measurement of the expected mean number of protons and iron by comparing the shap es of the expected $X_{max}$ distributions to the distribution for data. The advantages of this method includes the use of information of the full distribution and its ability to calculate a flux for various cosmic ray compositi ons. The same method can be expanded to marginalize uncertainties due to choice of spectra, hadronic models and atmospheric parameters. We demonstrate the technique with independent simulated data samples from a parent sample of protons and iron. We accurately predict the number of protons and iron in the parent sample and show that the uncertainties are meaningful.Comment: 11 figures, 22 pages, accepted by Astroparticle Physic