15,686 research outputs found
The impact of the air-fluorescence yield on the reconstructed shower parameters of ultra-high energy cosmic rays
An accurate knowledge of the fluorescence yield and its dependence on
atmospheric properties such as pressure, temperature or humidity is essential
to obtain a reliable measurement of the primary energy of cosmic rays in
experiments using the fluorescence technique. In this work, several sets of
fluorescence yield data (i.e. absolute value and quenching parameters) are
described and compared. A simple procedure to study the effect of the assumed
fluorescence yield on the reconstructed shower parameters (energy and shower
maximum depth) as a function of the primary features has been developed. As an
application, the effect of water vapor and temperature dependence of the
collisional cross section on the fluorescence yield and its impact on the
reconstruction of primary energy and shower maximum depth has been studied.Comment: Accepted in Astroparticle Physic
Nitrogen fluorescence in air for observing extensive air showers
Extensive air showers initiate the fluorescence emissions from nitrogen
molecules in air. The UV-light is emitted isotropically and can be used for
observing the longitudinal development of extensive air showers in the
atmosphere over tenth of kilometers. This measurement technique is
well-established since it is exploited for many decades by several cosmic ray
experiments. However, a fundamental aspect of the air shower analyses is the
description of the fluorescence emission in dependence on varying atmospheric
conditions. Different fluorescence yields affect directly the energy scaling of
air shower reconstruction. In order to explore the various details of the
nitrogen fluorescence emission in air, a few experimental groups have been
performing dedicated measurements over the last decade. Most of the
measurements are now finished. These experimental groups have been discussing
their techniques and results in a series of Air Fluorescence Workshops
commenced in 2002. At the 8 Air Fluorescence Workshop 2011, it was
suggested to develop a common way of describing the nitrogen fluorescence for
application to air shower observations. Here, first analyses for a common
treatment of the major dependences of the emission procedure are presented.
Aspects like the contributions at different wavelengths, the dependence on
pressure as it is decreasing with increasing altitude in the atmosphere, the
temperature dependence, in particular that of the collisional cross sections
between molecules involved, and the collisional de-excitation by water vapor
are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables, International Symposium on Future
Directions in UHECR Physics, 13-16 February 2012, CERN, Geneva (Switzerland);
the updated version corrects for a typo in Eq. (1
Extension of the Cosmic-Ray Energy Spectrum Beyond the Predicted Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min Cutoff
The cosmic-ray energy spectrum above 10^{18.5} eV is reported using the
updated data set of the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA) from February 1990
to October 1997. The energy spectrum extends beyond 10^{20} eV and the energy
gap between the highest energy event and the others is being filled up with
recently observed events. The spectral shape suggests the absence of the 2.7 K
cutoff in the energy spectrum or a possible presence of a new component beyond
the 2.7 K cutoff.Comment: to be published in PRL, 3 figures, REVTEX forma
Cosmic Rays: The Second Knee and Beyond
We conduct a review of experimental results on Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays
(UHECR's) including measurements of the features of the spectrum, the
composition of the primary particle flux and the search for anisotropy in event
arrival direction. We find that while there is a general consensus on the
features in the spectrum -- the Second Knee, the Ankle, and (to a lesser
extent) the GZK Cutoff -- there is little consensus on the composition of the
primaries that accompany these features. This lack of consensus on the
composition makes interpretation of the agreed upon features problematic. There
is also little direct evidence about potential sources of UHECRs, as early
reports of arrival direction anisotropies have not been confirmed in
independent measurements.Comment: 46 pages, 30 figures. Topical Review to appear in J. Physics
The Extremely High Energy Cosmic Rays
Experimental results from Haverah Park, Yakutsk, AGASA and Fly's Eye are
reviewed. All these experiments work in the energy range above 0.1 EeV. The
'dip' structure around 3 EeV in the energy spectrum is well established by all
the experiments, though the exact position differs slightly. Fly's Eye and
Yakutsk results on the chemical composition indicate that the cosmic rays are
getting lighter over the energy range from 0.1 EeV to 10 EeV, but the exact
fraction is hadronic interaction model dependent, as indicated by the AGASA
analysis. The arrival directions of cosmic rays are largely isotropic, but
interesting features may be starting to emerge. Most of the experimental
results can best be explained with the scenario that an extragalactic component
gradually takes over a galactic population as energy increases and cosmic rays
at the highest energies are dominated by particles coming from extragalactic
space. However, identification of the extragalactic sources has not yet been
successful because of limited statistics and the resolution of the data.Comment: The review paper including 21 figures. 39 pages: To be published in
Journal of Physics
Supersonic flow calculation using a Reynolds-stress and an eddy thermal diffusivity turbulence model
A second-order model for the velocity field and a two-equation model for the temperature field are used to calculate supersonic boundary layers assuming negligible real gas effects. The modeled equations are formulated on the basis of an incompressible assumption and then extended to supersonic flows by invoking Morkovin's hypothesis, which proposes that compressibility effects are completely accounted for by mean density variations alone. In order to calculate the near-wall flow accurately, correction functions are proposed to render the modeled equations asymptotically consistent with the behavior of the exact equations near a wall and, at the same time, display the proper dependence on the molecular Prandtl number. Thus formulated, the near-wall second order turbulence model for heat transfer is applicable to supersonic flows with different Prandtl numbers. The model is validated against flows with different Prandtl numbers and supersonic flows with free-stream Mach numbers as high as 10 and wall temperature ratios as low as 0.3. Among the flow cases considered, the momentum thickness Reynolds number varies from approximately 4,000 to approximately 21,000. Good correlation with measurements of mean velocity, temperature, and its variance is obtained. Discernible improvements in the law-of-the-wall are observed, especially in the range where the big-law applies
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