6,029 research outputs found
Coherent Radiation from Extensive Air Showers in the Ultra-High Frequency Band
Using detailed Monte Carlo simulations we have characterized the features of
the radio emission of inclined air showers in the Ultra-High Frequency band
(300 MHz - 3 GHz). The Fourier-spectrum of the radiation is shown to have a
sizable intensity well into the GHz frequency range. The emission is mainly due
to transverse currents induced by the geomagnetic field and to the excess
charge produced by the Askaryan effect. At these frequencies only a
significantly reduced volume of the shower around the axis contributes
coherently to the signal observed on the ground. The size of the coherently
emitting volume depends on frequency, shower geometry and observer position,
and is interpreted in terms of the relative time delays. At ground level, the
maximum emission at high frequencies is concentrated in an elliptical ring-like
region around the intersection of a Cherenkov cone with its vertex at shower
maximum and the ground. The frequency spectrum of inclined showers when
observed at positions that view shower maximum in the Cherenkov direction, is
shown to be in broad agreement with the pulses detected by the Antarctic
Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment, making the interpretation that
they are due to Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray atmospheric showers consistent
with our simulations. These results are also of great importance for
experiments aiming to detect molecular bremsstrahlung radiation in the GHz
range as they present an important background for its detection.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Development Toward a Ground-Based Interferometric Phased Array for Radio Detection of High Energy Neutrinos
The in-ice radio interferometric phased array technique for detection of high
energy neutrinos looks for Askaryan emission from neutrinos interacting in
large volumes of glacial ice, and is being developed as a way to achieve a low
energy threshold and a large effective volume at high energies. The technique
is based on coherently summing the impulsive Askaryan signal from multiple
antennas, which increases the signal-to-noise ratio for weak signals. We report
here on measurements and a simulation of thermal noise correlations between
nearby antennas, beamforming of impulsive signals, and a measurement of the
expected improvement in trigger efficiency through the phased array technique.
We also discuss the noise environment observed with an analog phased array at
Summit Station, Greenland, a possible site for an interferometric phased array
for radio detection of high energy neutrinos.Comment: 13 Pages, 14 Figure
Cherenkov radio pulses from electromagnetic showers in the time-domain
The electric field of the Cherenkov radio pulse produced by a single charged
particle track in a dielectric medium is derived from first principles. An
algorithm is developed to obtain the pulse in the time domain for numerical
calculations. The algorithm is implemented in a Monte Carlo simulation of
electromagnetic showers in dense media (specifically designed for coherent
radio emission applications) as might be induced by interactions of ultra-high
energy neutrinos. The coherent Cherenkov radio emission produced by such
showers is obtained simultaneously both in the time and frequency domains. A
consistency check performed by Fourier-transforming the pulse in time and
comparing it to the frequency spectrum obtained directly in the simulations
yields, as expected, fully consistent results. The reversal of the time
structure inside the Cherenkov cone and the signs of the corresponding pulses
are addressed in detail. The results, besides testing algorithms used for
reference calculations in the frequency domain, shed new light into the
properties of the radio pulse in the time domain. The shape of the pulse in the
time domain is directly related to the depth development of the excess charge
in the shower and its width to the observation angle with respect to the
Cherenkov direction. This information can be of great practical importance for
interpreting actual data.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Composition of Primary Cosmic-Ray Nuclei at High Energies
The TRACER instrument (``Transition Radiation Array for Cosmic Energetic
Radiation'') has been developed for direct measurements of the heavier primary
cosmic-ray nuclei at high energies. The instrument had a successful
long-duration balloon flight in Antarctica in 2003. The detector system and
measurement process are described, details of the data analysis are discussed,
and the individual energy spectra of the elements O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ar, Ca, and
Fe (nuclear charge Z=8 to 26) are presented. The large geometric factor of
TRACER and the use of a transition radiation detector make it possible to
determine the spectra up to energies in excess of 10 eV per particle. A
power-law fit to the individual energy spectra above 20 GeV per amu exhibits
nearly the same spectral index ( 2.65 0.05) for all elements,
without noticeable dependence on the elemental charge Z.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (3-Jan-08), 37
pages, 15 figure
Accelerator measurements of magnetically-induced radio emission from particle cascades with applications to cosmic-ray air showers
For fifty years, cosmic-ray air showers have been detected by their radio
emission. We present the first laboratory measurements that validate
electrodynamics simulations used in air shower modeling. An experiment at SLAC
provides a beam test of radio-frequency (RF) radiation from charged particle
cascades in the presence of a magnetic field, a model system of a cosmic-ray
air shower. This experiment provides a suite of controlled laboratory
measurements to compare to particle-level simulations of RF emission, which are
relied upon in ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray air shower detection. We compare
simulations to data for intensity, linearity with magnetic field, angular
distribution, polarization, and spectral content. In particular, we confirm
modern predictions that the magnetically induced emission in a dielectric forms
a cone that peaks at the Cherenkov angle and show that the simulations
reproduce the data within systematic uncertainties.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure
Characteristics of Four Upward-Pointing Cosmic-Ray-like Events Observed with ANITA
We report on four radio-detected cosmic-ray (CR) or CR-like events observed with the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA), a NASA-sponsored long-duration balloon payload. Two of the four were previously identified as stratospheric CR air showers during the ANITA-I flight. A third stratospheric CR was detected during the ANITA-II flight. Here, we report on characteristics of these three unusual CR events, which develop nearly horizontally, 20–30 km above the surface of Earth. In addition, we report on a fourth steeply upward-pointing ANITA-I CR-like radio event which has characteristics consistent with a primary that emerged from the surface of the ice. This suggests a possible τ-lepton decay as the origin of this event, but such an interpretation would require significant suppression of the standard model τ-neutrino cross section
Energy and Flux Measurements of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays Observed During the First ANITA Flight
The first flight of the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA)
experiment recorded 16 radio signals that were emitted by cosmic-ray induced
air showers. For 14 of these events, this radiation was reflected from the ice.
The dominant contribution to the radiation from the deflection of positrons and
electrons in the geomagnetic field, which is beamed in the direction of motion
of the air shower. This radiation is reflected from the ice and subsequently
detected by the ANITA experiment at a flight altitude of 36km. In this paper,
we estimate the energy of the 14 individual events and find that the mean
energy of the cosmic-ray sample is 2.9 EeV. By simulating the ANITA flight, we
calculate its exposure for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We estimate for the
first time the cosmic-ray flux derived only from radio observations. In
addition, we find that the Monte Carlo simulation of the ANITA data set is in
agreement with the total number of observed events and with the properties of
those events.Comment: Added more explanation of the experimental setup and textual
improvement
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