Correlations between Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays and Infrared-Luminous Galaxies

We confirm the UHECR horizon established by the Pierre Auger Observatory using the heterogeneous Veron-Cetty Veron (VCV) catalog of AGNs, by performing a redshift-angle-IR luminosity scan using PSCz galaxies having infrared luminosity greater than 10^{10}L_sun. The strongest correlation -- for z < 0.016, psi = 2.1 deg, and L_ir > 10^{10.5}L_sun -- arises in fewer than 0.3% of scans with isotropic source directions. When we apply a penalty for using the UHECR energy threshold that was tuned to maximize the correlation with VCV, the significance degrades to 1.1%. Since the PSCz catalog is complete and volume-limited for these parameters, this suggests that the UHECR horizon discovered by the Pierre Auger Observatory is not an artifact of the incompleteness and other idiosyncrasies of the VCV catalog. The strength of the correlation between UHECRs and the nearby highest-IR-luminosity PSCz galaxies is stronger than in about 90% percent of trials with scrambled luminosity assignments for the PSCz galaxies. If confirmed by future data, this result would indicate that the sources of UHECRs are more strongly associated with luminous IR galaxies than with ordinary, lower IR luminosity galaxies.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Replaced with accepted versio

UHECR observations and lensing in the magnetic field of the Virgo cluster

We discuss how lensing by magnetic fields in galaxy clusters affects ultrahigh energy cosmic ray (UHECR) observations. As specific example, we use Virgo together with the cluster magnetic fields obtained earlier in a constrained simulation of structure formation including MHD processes. We find that, if M87 is the single source of UHECRs from Virgo, the emitted flux is strongly anisotropic in the most interesting energy range, (50-100)EeV, and differs from the average value by a factor five or more for a significant fraction of observers. Since magnetic lensing is energy dependent, the external energy spectrum as seen by different observers varies strongly too. These anisotropies are averaged out in the case that all active galactic nuclei in Virgo emit UHECRs. In both cases, the anisotropies of the emitted UHECR flux may introduce an important bias in the interpretation of UHECR data like, e.g., the determination of the source density n_s and the source energy spectrum of UHECRs.Comment: 12 pages, 15 eps figures; v2: extended discussion of modifications in external energy spectrum, matches version to be publishe

UHECR Anisotropy from Luminous Infrared Galaxies - Predictions for the Pierre Auger Observatory

Abstract We consider the hypothesis that luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) are sources of the UHECRs. By associating the AGASA triplet with the Arp 299 galaxy we obtain reasonable values for Galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. We predict what the southern sky, to be seen by the Auger experiment, should look like, so that the LIRG hypothesis could be verified soon

Search for single sources of ultra high energy cosmic rays on the sky

In this paper, we suggest a new way to identify single bright sources of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) on the sky, on top of background. We look for doublets of events at the highest energies, E > 6 x 10^19 eV, and identify low energy tails, which are deflected by the Galactic Magnetic Field (GMF). For the sources which are detected, we can recover their angular positions on the sky within one degree from the real ones in 68% of cases. The reconstruction of the deflection power of the regular GMF is strongly affected by the value of the turbulent GMF. For typical values of 4 microG near the Earth, one can reconstruct the deflection power with 25% precision in 68% of cases.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures. Corresponds to the version published in JCA

Magnetic deflections and possible sources of the ultra-high-energy cosmic rays in the AGASA-HiRes-Yakutsk cluster

The cluster of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays observed by the AGASA, HiRes and Yakutsk experiments is studied with respect to possible deflections of particles in regular magnetic fields. Best-fit positions of a potential source of these clustered particles are found, with account of the errors in energy estimation, both in the frameworks of particular models of the Galactic magnetic field and treating the direction and the amount of deflection as free parameters. The study suggests that an unknown regular component of either Galactic or extragalactic magnetic field may dominate over modelled components in the direction of the cluster. Possible sources of the cosmic rays in that direction are considered.Comment: 18 pages, 3 eps figures, iopart.cl

Clusters of Galaxies and the Diffuse Gamma Ray Background

We discuss the diffuse emission of gamma rays and neutrinos from galaxy clusters in the viable models for structure formation in the universe. We use a self-consistent picture for cluster formation and evolution starting from a primordial density perturbation spectrum, and a realistic modelling for the distribution of the intergalactic medium which is abundantly present within galaxy clusters. We find that an evolving population of clusters can produce a fraction $\sim 0.5 \div 2$ of the diffuse gamma-ray background (DGRB) observed by EGRET. This result is robust and is weakly dependent on the cosmological scenario and on the degree of evolution of the inter galactic medium (IGM) in distant clusters, because the bulk of the sources contributing to the DGRB is located at redshifts z \simlt 0.2. We also found a correlation between the non-thermal, gamma-ray and the thermal X-ray emissions from these structures. Using this result, we derived a list of gamma-ray clusters observable with the next generation $\gamma$-ray detectors. Finally, we briefly discuss the possible relevance of galaxy clusters for neutrino astronomy and for very high energy particle astronomy.Comment: 37 pages, 9 Figures, Latex (using elsart,epsfig), to appear in Astroparticle Physics. Send comments to S.Colafrancesco: [email protected]

The signature of local cosmic structures on the ultra-high energy cosmic ray anisotropies

Current experiments collecting high statistics in ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are opening a new window on the universe facing the possibility to perform UHECR astronomy. Here we discuss a large scale structure (LSS) model for the UHECR origin for which we evaluate the expected large scale anisotropy in the UHECR arrival distribution. Employing the IRAS PSCz catalogue as tracer of the LSS, we derive the minimum statistics needed to reject or assess the correlation of the UHECRs with the baryonic distribution in the universe, in particular providing a forecast for the Auger experiment.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, contribution to the CRIS06 proceedings (Catania, Italy, May 29 - June 2, 2006

Cross-Correlation between UHECR Arrival Distribution and Large-Scale Structure

We investigate correlation between the arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and the large-scale structure (LSS) of the Universe by using statistical quantities which can find the angular scale of the correlation. The Infrared Astronomical Satellite Point Source Redshift Survey (IRAS PSCz) catalog of galaxies is adopted for LSS. We find a positive correlation of the highest energy events detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) with the IRAS galaxies inside $z=0.018$ within the angular scale of $\sim 15^{\circ}$. This positive correlation observed in the southern sky implies that a significant fraction of the highest energy events comes from nearby extragalactic objects. We also analyze the data of the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA) which observed the northern hemisphere, but the obvious signals of positive correlation with the galaxy distribution are not found. Since the exposure of the AGASA is smaller than the PAO, the cross-correlation in the northern sky should be tested using a larger number of events detected in the future. We also discuss the correlation using the all-sky combined data sets of both the PAO and AGASA, and find a significant correlation within $\sim 8^{\circ}$. These angular scales can constrain several models of intergalactic magnetic field. These cross-correlation signals can be well reproduced by a source model in which the distribution of UHECR sources is related to the IRAS galaxies.Comment: 21 pages,7 figure