145 research outputs found
Muon Bremsstrahlung and Muonic Pair Production in Air Showers
The objective of this work is to report on the modifications in air shower
development due to muon bremsstrahlung and muonic pair production. In order to
do that we have implemented new muon bremsstrahlung and muonic pair production
procedures in the AIRES air shower simulation system, and have used it to
simulate ultra high energy showers in different conditions.
The influence of the mentioned processes in the global development of the air
shower is important for primary particles of large zenith angles, while they do
not introduce significant changes in the position of the shower maximum.Comment: To be presented at the International Symposium on Very High Energy
Cosmic Ray Interactions X
Atmospheric lepton fluxes at ultrahigh energies
In order to estimate the possibility to observe exotic physics in a neutrino
telescope, it is essential to first understand the flux of atmospheric
neutrinos, muons and dimuons. We study the production of these leptons by
high-energy cosmic rays. We identify three main sources of muons of energy E >
10^6 GeV: the weak decay of charm and bottom mesons and the electromagnetic
decay of unflavored mesons. Contrary to the standard assumption, we find that
eta mesons, not the prompt decay of charm hadrons, are the dominant source of
atmospheric muons at these energies. We show that, as a consequence, the ratio
between the neutrino and muon fluxes is significantly reduced. For dimuons,
which may be a background for long-lived staus produced near a neutrino
telescope, we find that pairs of E ~ 10^7 GeV forming an angle above 10^-6 rad
are produced through D (80%) or B (10%) meson decay and through Drell-Yan
proceses (10%). The frequency of all these processes has been evaluated using
the jet code PYTHIA.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures; published versio
Propagation of B mesons in the atmosphere
Collisions of cosmic rays in the atmosphere may produce heavy hadrons of very
high energy. The decay length of a meson of energy above GeV is
larger than 1 km, implying that such a particle tends to interact in the air
before it decays. We show that the fraction of energy deposited in these
interactions is much smaller than in proton and pion collisions. We
parameterize their elasticity and determine the average number of interactions
and the atmospheric depth at the decay point for different initial energies. We
find that the profile of a GeV bottom shower may be very
different from the profile of a proton shower of the same energy, defining
either a very deep maximum, or two maxima, or other features that cannot be
parameterized with a single Gaisser-Hillas function. Finally, we discuss under
what conditions a bottom hadron inside the parent air shower may provide
observable effects.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
Extensive Air Shower Simulations at the Highest Energies
Air shower simulation programs are essential tools for the analysis of data
from cosmic ray experiments and for planning the layout of new detectors. They
are used to estimate the energy and mass of the primary particle. Unfortunately
the model uncertainties translate directly into systematic errors in the energy
and mass determination. Aiming at energies eV, the models have to
be extrapolated far beyond the energies available at accelerators. On the other
hand, hybrid measurement of ground particle densities and calorimetric shower
energy, as will be provided by the Pierre Auger Observatory, will strongly
constrain shower models. While the main uncertainty of contemporary models
comes from our poor knowledge of the (soft) hadronic interactions at high
energies, also electromagnetic interactions, low-energy hadronic interactions
and the particle transport influence details of the shower development. We
review here the physics processes and some of the computational techniques of
air shower models presently used for highest energies, and discuss the
properties and limitations of the models.Comment: 32 pages, 18 figures, accepted by Astroparticle Physic
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
Numbe
Anisotropy studies around the galactic centre at EeV energies with the Auger Observatory
Data from the Pierre Auger Observatory are analyzed to search for
anisotropies near the direction of the Galactic Centre at EeV energies. The
exposure of the surface array in this part of the sky is already significantly
larger than that of the fore-runner experiments. Our results do not support
previous findings of localized excesses in the AGASA and SUGAR data. We set an
upper bound on a point-like flux of cosmic rays arriving from the Galactic
Centre which excludes several scenarios predicting sources of EeV neutrons from
Sagittarius . Also the events detected simultaneously by the surface and
fluorescence detectors (the `hybrid' data set), which have better pointing
accuracy but are less numerous than those of the surface array alone, do not
show any significant localized excess from this direction.Comment: Matches published versio
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
The Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid detector for ultra-high energy
cosmic rays. It combines a surface array to measure secondary particles at
ground level together with a fluorescence detector to measure the development
of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The fluorescence detector
comprises 24 large telescopes specialized for measuring the nitrogen
fluorescence caused by charged particles of cosmic ray air showers. In this
paper we describe the components of the fluorescence detector including its
optical system, the design of the camera, the electronics, and the systems for
relative and absolute calibration. We also discuss the operation and the
monitoring of the detector. Finally, we evaluate the detector performance and
precision of shower reconstructions.Comment: 53 pages. Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics
Research Section
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