153 research outputs found
Power Laws and the Cosmic Ray Energy Spectrum
Two separate statistical tests are applied to the AGASA and preliminary Auger
Cosmic Ray Energy spectra in an attempt to find deviation from a pure
power-law. The first test is constructed from the probability distribution for
the maximum event of a sample drawn from a power-law. The second employs the
TP-statistic, a function defined to deviate from zero when the sample deviates
from the power-law form, regardless of the value of the power index. The AGASA
data show no significant deviation from a power-law when subjected to both
tests. Applying these tests to the Auger spectrum suggests deviation from a
power-law. However, potentially large systematics on the relative energy scale
prevent us from drawing definite conclusions at this time.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Astro. Part. Phy
The Central Laser Facility at the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Central Laser Facility is located near the middle of the Pierre Auger
Observatory in Argentina. It features a UV laser and optics that direct a beam
of calibrated pulsed light into the sky. Light scattered from this beam
produces tracks in the Auger optical detectors which normally record nitrogen
fluorescence tracks from cosmic ray air showers. The Central Laser Facility
provides a "test beam" to investigate properties of the atmosphere and the
fluorescence detectors. The laser can send light via optical fiber
simultaneously to the nearest surface detector tank for hybrid timing analyses.
We describe the facility and show some examples of its many uses.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to 29th ICRC Pune Indi
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
Measurement of Aerosols at the Pierre Auger Observatory
The air fluorescence detectors (FDs) of the Pierre Auger Observatory are
vital for the determination of the air shower energy scale. To compensate for
variations in atmospheric conditions that affect the energy measurement, the
Observatory operates an array of monitoring instruments to record hourly
atmospheric conditions across the detector site, an area exceeding 3,000 square
km. This paper presents results from four instruments used to characterize the
aerosol component of the atmosphere: the Central Laser Facility (CLF), which
provides the FDs with calibrated laser shots; the scanning backscatter lidars,
which operate at three FD sites; the Aerosol Phase Function monitors (APFs),
which measure the aerosol scattering cross section at two FD locations; and the
Horizontal Attenuation Monitor (HAM), which measures the wavelength dependence
of aerosol attenuation.Comment: Contribution to the 30th International Cosmic Ray Conference, Merida
Mexico, July 2007; 4 pages, 4 figure
Search for Correlations between Nearby AGNs and Ultra-high Energy Cosmic Rays
The majority of the highest energy cosmic rays are thought to be electrically
charged: protons or nuclei. Charged particles experience angular deflections as
they pass through galactic and extra-galactic magnetic fields. As a consequence
correlation of cosmic ray arrival directions with potential sources has proved
to be difficult. This situation is not helped by current data samples where the
number of cosmic rays/source are typically < O(1). Progress will be made when
there are significantly larger data samples and perhaps with better catalogs of
candidate sources. This paper reports a search for correlations between the
RXTE catalog of nearby active galactic nuclei, AGNs, and the published list of
ultra-high energy cosmic rays from the AGASA experiment. Although no
statistically significant correlations were found, two correlations were
observed between AGASA events and the most inclusive category of RXTE AGNs.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures of which 2 of the figures include 3 part
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
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The Absolute, Relative and Multi-Wavelength Calibration of the Pierre Auger Observatory Fluorescence Detectors
Absolute calibration of the Pierre Auger Observatory fluorescence detectors uses a 375 nm light source at the telescope aperture. This end-to-end technique accounts for the combined effects of all detector components in a single measurement. The relative response has been measured at wavelengths of 320, 337, 355, 380 and 405 nm, defining a spectral response curve which has been normalized to the absolute calibration. Before and after each night of data taking a relative calibration of the phototubes is performed. This relative calibration is used to track both short and long term changes in the detector's response. A cross check of the calibration in some phototubes is performed using an independent laser technique. Overall uncertainties, current results and future plans are discussed
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 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 eV, and strong evidence for a suppression near eV.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. To appear in Physics Letters B. Accepted versio
Radon in the DRIFT-II directional dark matter TPC: emanation, detection and mitigation
Radon gas emanating from materials is of interest in environmental science and also a major concern in rare event non-accelerator particle physics experiments such as dark matter and double beta decay searches, where it is a major source of background. Notable for dark matter experiments is the production of radon progeny recoils (RPRs), the low energy (~ 100 keV) recoils of radon daughter isotopes, which can mimic the signal expected from WIMP interactions. Presented here are results of measurements of radon emanation from detector materials in the 1 m3 DRIFT-II directional dark matter gas time projection chamber experiment. Construction and operation of a radon emanation facility for this work is described, along with an analysis to continuously monitor DRIFT data for the presence of internal 222Rn and 218Po. Applying this analysis to historical DRIFT data, we show how systematic substitution of detector materials for alternatives, selected by this device for low radon emanation, has resulted in a factor of ~ 10 reduction in internal radon rates. Levels are found to be consistent with the sum from separate radon emanation measurements of the internal materials and also with direct measurement using an attached alpha spectrometer. The current DRIFT detector, DRIFT-IId, is found to have sensitivity to 222Rn of 2.5 ÎŒBqlâ1 with current analysis efficiency, potentially opening up DRIFT technology as a new tool for sensitive radon assay of materials
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 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 . 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
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