536 research outputs found
Atmospheric aerosols at the Pierre Auger Observatory and environmental implications
The Pierre Auger Observatory detects the highest energy cosmic rays.
Calorimetric measurements of extensive air showers induced by cosmic rays are
performed with a fluorescence detector. Thus, one of the main challenges is the
atmospheric monitoring, especially for aerosols in suspension in the
atmosphere. Several methods are described which have been developed to measure
the aerosol optical depth profile and aerosol phase function, using lasers and
other light sources as recorded by the fluorescence detector. The origin of
atmospheric aerosols traveling through the Auger site is also presented,
highlighting the effect of surrounding areas to atmospheric properties. In the
aim to extend the Pierre Auger Observatory to an atmospheric research platform,
a discussion about a collaborative project is presented.Comment: Regular Article, 16 pages, 12 figure
Observation of the rare decay K_S -> pi^0mu^+mu^-
A search for the decay K_S -> pi^0mu^+mu^- has been made by the NA48/1
Collaboration at the CERN SPS accelerator. The data were collected during 2002
with a high-intensity K_S beam. Six events were found with a background
expectation of 0.22^+0.18_-0.11 event. Using a vector matrix element and unit
form factor, the measured branching ratio is B(K_S ->
pi^0mu^+mu^-)=[2.9^+1.5_-1.2(stat)+/-0.2(syst)]x10^{-9}.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables. To be published in Physics Letters
First Observation and Measurement of the Decay K+- -> pi+- e+ e- gamma
Using the full data set of the NA48/2 experiment, the decay K+- -> pi+- e+ e-
gamma is observed for the first time, selecting 120 candidates with 7.3 +- 1.7
estimated background events. With K+- -> pi+- pi0D as normalisation channel,
the branching ratio is determined in a model-independent way to be Br(K+- ->
pi+- e+ e- gamma, m_eegamma > 260 MeV/c^2) = (1.19 +- 0.12_stat +- 0.04_syst) x
10^-8. This measured value and the spectrum of the e+ e- gamma invariant mass
allow a comparison with predictions of Chiral Perturbation Theory.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys.Lett.
First observation and branching fraction and decay parameter measurements of the weak radiative decay Xi0 --> Lambda e+e-
The weak radiative decay Xi0 --> Lambda e+e- has been detected for the first
time. We find 412 candidates in the signal region, with an estimated background
of 15 +/- 5 events. We determine the branching fraction B(Xi0 --> Lambda e+e-)
= [7.6 +/- 0.4(stat) +/- 0.4(syst) +/- 0.2(norm)] x 10^{-6}, consistent with an
internal bremsstrahlung process, and the decay asymmetry parameter
alpha_{XiLambdaee} = -0.8 +/- 0.2, consistent with that of Xi0 --> Lambda
gamma. The charge conjugate reaction Xi0_bar --> Lambda_bar e+e- has also been
observed.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables; revised: 19 pages, 4 figures, 4
tables, after reviewers' comments: 1 figure removed, 1 figure corrected,
minor editorial changes; to be published in Phys. Lett.
Empirical parameterization of the K+- -> pi+- pi0 pi0 decay Dalitz plot
As first observed by the NA48/2 experiment at the CERN SPS, the \p0p0
invariant mass (M00) distribution from \kcnn decay shows a cusp-like anomaly
at M00=2m+, where m+ is the charged pion mass. An analysis to extract the pi pi
scattering lengths in the isospin I=0 and I=2 states, a0 and a2, respectively,
has been recently reported. In the present work the Dalitz plot of this decay
is fitted to a new empirical parameterization suitable for practical purposes,
such as Monte Carlo simulations of K+- -> pi+- pi0 pi0 decays.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures
Improved companion mass limits for Sirius A with thermal infrared coronagraphy using a vector-apodizing phase plate and time-domain starlight-subtraction techniques
Stars and planetary system
Search for direct CP-violation in K+- --> pi+-pi0pi0 decays
A search for direct CP-violation in K+- --> pi+-pi0pi0 decays based on 47.14
million events has been performed by the NA48/2 experiment at the CERN SPS. The
asymmetry in the Dalitz plot linear slopes A_g=(g^+ - g^-)/(g^+ + g^-) is
measured to be A_g=(1.8 +- 2.6).10^{-4}. The design of the experiment and the
method of analysis provide good control of instrumental charge asymmetries in
this measurement. The precision of the result is limited by statistics and is
almost one order of magnitude better than that of previous measurements by
other experiments.Comment: 14 page
Atmospheric effects on extensive air showers observed with the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
Atmospheric parameters, such as pressure (P), temperature (T) and density,
affect the development of extensive air showers initiated by energetic cosmic
rays. We have studied the impact of atmospheric variations on extensive air
showers by means of the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The
rate of events shows a ~10% seasonal modulation and ~2% diurnal one. We find
that the observed behaviour is explained by a model including the effects
associated with the variations of pressure and density. The former affects the
longitudinal development of air showers while the latter influences the Moliere
radius and hence the lateral distribution of the shower particles. The model is
validated with full simulations of extensive air showers using atmospheric
profiles measured at the site of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle
Physic
Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter
Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed
evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the
Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, \nobreak{eV}. The
anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less
than from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc
(using the V\'eron-Cetty and V\'eron catalog). An updated
measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of
cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009.
The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more
precise measurement. The correlating fraction is , compared
with expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early
estimate of . The enlarged set of arrival directions is
examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects:
galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in
hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the
position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions
relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is
shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic
expectation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics on 31 August 201
The exposure of the hybrid detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory is a detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays.
It consists of a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level
and a fluorescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the
atmosphere above the array. The "hybrid" detection mode combines the
information from the two subsystems. We describe the determination of the
hybrid exposure for events observed by the fluorescence telescopes in
coincidence with at least one water-Cherenkov detector of the surface array. A
detailed knowledge of the time dependence of the detection operations is
crucial for an accurate evaluation of the exposure. We discuss the relevance of
monitoring data collected during operations, such as the status of the
fluorescence detector, background light and atmospheric conditions, that are
used in both simulation and reconstruction.Comment: Paper accepted by Astroparticle Physic
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