Evidence for a mixed mass composition at the `ankle' in the cosmic-ray spectrum

We report a first measurement for ultra-high energy cosmic rays of the correlation between the depth of shower maximum and the signal in the water Cherenkov stations of air-showers registered simultaneously by the fluorescence and the surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Such a correlation measurement is a unique feature of a hybrid air-shower observatory with sensitivity to both the electromagnetic and muonic components. It allows an accurate determination of the spread of primary masses in the cosmic-ray flux. Up till now, constraints on the spread of primary masses have been dominated by systematic uncertainties. The present correlation measurement is not affected by systematics in the measurement of the depth of shower maximum or the signal in the water Cherenkov stations. The analysis relies on general characteristics of air showers and is thus robust also with respect to uncertainties in hadronic event generators. The observed correlation in the energy range around the `ankle' at $\lg(E/{\rm eV})=18.5-19.0$ differs significantly from expectations for pure primary cosmic-ray compositions. A light composition made up of proton and helium only is equally inconsistent with observations. The data are explained well by a mixed composition including nuclei with mass $A > 4$. Scenarios such as the proton dip model, with almost pure compositions, are thus disfavoured as the sole explanation of the ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray flux at Earth.Comment: Published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Added Report Numbe

Astrophysical Interpretation Of Pierre Auger Observatory Measurements Of The Uhecr Energy Spectrum And Mass Composition

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The Pierre Auger Observatory Status And Latest Results

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Evidence For A Mixed Mass Composition At The ‘ankle’ In The Cosmic-ray Spectrum

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Galactic cosmic ray decreases associated with non-interacting magnetic clouds in the 23rd solar cycle

Sudden Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) intensity decreases are related to the passage of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs). These phenomena are also known as Forbush Decreases (FDs). The deepest FDs are associated with the passage of Magnetic Clouds (MCs). In this preliminary study we select "non-interacting" MCs associated with FDs observed from ground Neutron Monitors in the period 1996-2009, with the aim of reducing the complexity and the number of parameters involved in the GCR-MC interactions. We introduce a method to determine properties of the "ejecta component" of the FD. We analyze properties of the ejecta component in combination with properties of MCs. From the resulting selection of events, we find that those FDs containing ejecta components show stronger correlations with MC parameters than our total sample of events. © 2013 International Astronomical Union.Fil:Dasso, S. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

Geomagnetic effects on cosmic ray propagation for different conditions

The geomagnetic field (B geo) sets a lower cutoff rigidity (R c) to the entry of cosmic particles to Earth which depends on the geomagnetic activity. From numerical simulations of the trajectory of a proton (performed with the MAGCOS code) in the B geo, we use backtracking to analyze particles arriving at the Auger Observatory location. We determine the asymptotic trajectories and the values of R c in different incidence directions. Simulations were done using several models of B geo that emulate different geomagnetic conditions. © 2012 International Astronomical Union

Search for photons with energies above 1018eV using the hybrid detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

A search for ultra-high energy photons with energies above 1 EeV is performed using nine years of data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory in hybrid operation mode. An unprecedented separation power between photon and hadron primaries is achieved by combining measurements of the longitudinal air-shower development with the particle content at ground measured by the fluorescence and surface detectors, respectively. Only three photon candidates at energies 1 - 2 EeV are found, which is compatible with the expected hadroninduced background. Upper limits on the integral flux of ultra-high energy photons of 0.027, 0.009, 0.008, 0.008 and 0.007 km-2 sr-1 yr-1 are derived at 95% C.L. for energy thresholds of 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 EeV. These limits bound the fractions of photons in the all-particle integral flux below 0.1%, 0.15%, 0.33%, 0.85% and 2.7%. For the first time the photon fraction at EeV energies is constrained at the sub-percent level. The improved limits are below the flux of diffuse photons predicted by some astrophysical scenarios for cosmogenic photon production. The new results rule-out the early top-down models - in which ultra-high energy cosmic rays are produced by, e.g., the decay of super-massive particles - and challenge the most recent super-heavy dark matter models

Combined fit of spectrum and composition data as measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory

We present a combined fit of a simple astrophysical model of UHECR sources to both the energy spectrum and mass composition data measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory. The fit has been performed for energies above 5 c5 1018 eV, i.e. the region of the all-particle spectrum above the so-called "ankle" feature. The astrophysical model we adopted consists of identical sources uniformly distributed in a comoving volume, where nuclei are accelerated through a rigidity-dependent mechanism. The fit results suggest sources characterized by relatively low maximum injection energies, hard spectra and heavy chemical composition. We also show that uncertainties about physical quantities relevant to UHECR propagation and shower development have a non-negligible impact on the fit results