62 research outputs found
Proton-air cross section measurement with the ARGO-YBJ cosmic ray experiment
The proton-air cross section in the energy range 1-100 TeV has been measured
by the ARGO-YBJ cosmic ray experiment. The analysis is based on the flux
attenuation for different atmospheric depths (i.e. zenith angles) and exploits
the detector capabilities of selecting the shower development stage by means of
hit multiplicity, density and lateral profile measurements at ground. The
effects of shower fluctuations, the contribution of heavier primaries and the
uncertainties of the hadronic interaction models, have been taken into account.
The results have been used to estimate the total proton-proton cross section at
center of mass energies between 70 and 500 GeV, where no accelerator data are
currently available.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
Observation of TeV gamma-rays from the unidentified source HESS J1841-055 with the ARGO-YBJ experiment
We report the observation of a very high energy \gamma-ray source, whose
position is coincident with HESS J1841-055. This source has been observed for
4.5 years by the ARGO-YBJ experiment from November 2007 to July 2012. Its
emission is detected with a statistical significance of 5.3 standard
deviations. Parameterizing the source shape with a two-dimensional Gaussian
function we estimate an extension \sigma=(0.40(+0.32,-0.22}) degree, consistent
with the HESS measurement. The observed energy spectrum is dN/dE =(9.0-+1.6) x
10^{-13}(E/5 TeV)^{-2.32-+0.23} photons cm^{-2} s^{-1} TeV^{-1}, in the energy
range 0.9-50 TeV. The integral \gamma-ray flux above 1 TeV is 1.3-+0.4 Crab
units, which is 3.2-+1.0 times the flux derived by HESS. The differences in the
flux determination between HESS and ARGO-YBJ, and possible counterparts at
other wavelengths are discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, have been accepted for publication in Ap
Observation of TeV gamma rays from the Cygnus region with the ARGO-YBJ experiment
We report the observation of TeV gamma-rays from the Cygnus region using the
ARGO-YBJ data collected from 2007 November to 2011 August. Several TeV sources
are located in this region including the two bright extended MGRO J2019+37 and
MGRO J2031+41. According to the Milagro data set, at 20 TeV MGRO J2019+37 is
the most significant source apart from the Crab Nebula. No signal from MGRO
J2019+37 is detected by the ARGO-YBJ experiment, and the derived flux upper
limits at 90% confidence level for all the events above 600 GeV with medium
energy of 3 TeV are lower than the Milagro flux, implying that the source might
be variable and hard to be identified as a pulsar wind nebula. The only
statistically significant (6.4 standard deviations) gamma-ray signal is found
from MGRO J2031+41, with a flux consistent with the measurement by Milagro.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
Mean Interplanetary Magnetic Field Measurement Using the ARGO-YBJ Experiment
The sun blocks cosmic ray particles from outside the solar system, forming a
detectable shadow in the sky map of cosmic rays detected by the ARGO-YBJ
experiment in Tibet. Because the cosmic ray particles are positive charged, the
magnetic field between the sun and the earth deflects them from straight
trajectories and results in a shift of the shadow from the true location of the
sun. Here we show that the shift measures the intensity of the field which is
transported by the solar wind from the sun to the earth.Comment: 6 papges,3 figure
Long-term monitoring of the TeV emission from Mrk 421 with the ARGO-YBJ experiment
ARGO-YBJ is an air shower detector array with a fully covered layer of
resistive plate chambers. It is operated with a high duty cycle and a large
field of view. It continuously monitors the northern sky at energies above 0.3
TeV. In this paper, we report a long-term monitoring of Mrk 421 over the period
from 2007 November to 2010 February. This source was observed by the
satellite-borne experiments Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and Swift in the X-ray
band. Mrk 421 was especially active in the first half of 2008. Many flares are
observed in both X-ray and gamma-ray bands simultaneously. The gamma-ray flux
observed by ARGO-YBJ has a clear correlation with the X-ray flux. No lag
between the X-ray and gamma-ray photons longer than 1 day is found. The
evolution of the spectral energy distribution is investigated by measuring
spectral indices at four different flux levels. Hardening of the spectra is
observed in both X-ray and gamma-ray bands. The gamma-ray flux increases
quadratically with the simultaneously measured X-ray flux. All these
observational results strongly favor the synchrotron self-Compton process as
the underlying radiative mechanism.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figure
Measurement of the cosmic ray antiproton/proton flux ratio at TeV energies with the ARGO-YBJ detector
Cosmic ray antiprotons provide an important probe to study the cosmic ray
propagation in the interstellar space and to investigate the existence of dark
matter. Acting the Earth-Moon system as a magnetic spectrometer, paths of
primary antiprotons are deflected in the opposite sense with respect to those
of the protons in their way to the Earth. This effect allows, in principle, the
search for antiparticles in the direction opposite to the observed deficit of
cosmic rays due to the Moon (the so-called `Moon shadow').
The ARGO-YBJ experiment, located at the Yangbajing Cosmic Ray Laboratory
(Tibet, P.R. China, 4300 m a.s.l., 606 g/cm), is particularly effective in
measuring the cosmic ray antimatter content via the observation of the cosmic
rays shadowing effect due to: (1) good angular resolution, pointing accuracy
and long-term stability; (2) low energy threshold; (3) real sensitivity to the
geomagnetic field.
Based on all the data recorded during the period from July 2006 through
November 2009 and on a full Monte Carlo simulation, we searched for the
existence of the shadow cast by antiprotons in the TeV energy region. No
evidence of the existence of antiprotons is found in this energy region. Upper
limits to the flux ratio are set to 5 % at a median energy of 1.4
TeV and 6 % at 5 TeV with a confidence level of 90%. In the TeV energy range
these limits are the lowest available.Comment: Contact authors: G. Di Sciascio ([email protected]) and R.
Iuppa ([email protected]), INFN Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma, Ital
High Altitude test of RPCs for the ARGO-YBJ experiment
A 50 m**2 RPC carpet was operated at the YangBaJing Cosmic Ray Laboratory
(Tibet) located 4300 m a.s.l. The performance of RPCs in detecting Extensive
Air Showers was studied. Efficiency and time resolution measurements at the
pressure and temperature conditions typical of high mountain laboratories, are
reported.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. Met
Search for Gamma Ray Bursts with the Argo-YBJ Detector in Scaler Mode
We report on the search for Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) in the energy range 1-100
GeV in coincidence with the prompt emission detected by satellites using the
Astrophysical Radiation with Ground-based Observatory at YangBaJing (ARGO-YBJ)
air shower detector. Thanks to its mountain location (Yangbajing, Tibet, P.R.
China, 4300 m a.s.l.), active surface (about 6700 m**2 of Resistive Plate
Chambers), and large field of view (about 2 sr, limited only by the atmospheric
absorption), the ARGO-YBJ air shower detector is particularly suitable for the
detection of unpredictable and short duration events such as GRBs. The search
is carried out using the "single particle technique", i.e. counting all the
particles hitting the detector without measurement of the energy and arrival
direction of the primary gamma rays.
Between 2004 December 17 and 2009 April 7, 81 GRBs detected by satellites
occurred within the field of view of ARGO-YBJ (zenith angle < 45 deg). It was
possible to examine 62 of these for >1 GeV counterpart in the ARGO-YBJ data
finding no statistically significant emission. With a lack of detected spectra
in this energy range fluence upper limits are profitable, especially when the
redshift is known and the correction for the extragalactic absorption can be
considered. The obtained fluence upper limits reach values as low as 10**{-5}
erg cm**{-2} in the 1-100 GeV energy region.
Besides this individual search for a higher energy counterpart, a statistical
study of the stack of all the GRBs both in time and in phase was made, looking
for a common feature in the GRB high energy emission. No significant signal has
been detected.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
Light-component spectrum of the primary cosmic rays in the multi-TeV region measured by the ARGO-YBJ experiment
First results on the angular resolution of the ARGO-YBJ detector
We present the first results on the angular resolution of the ARGO-YBJ detector in data taking at the Yangbajing Laboratory (Tibet, P.R. China, 4300 m a.s.l.
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