333 research outputs found
Study of Small-Scale Anisotropy of Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays Observed in Stereo by HiRes
The High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) experiment is an air fluorescence
detector which, operating in stereo mode, has a typical angular resolution of
0.6 degrees and is sensitive to cosmic rays with energies above 10^18 eV. HiRes
is thus an excellent instrument for the study of the arrival directions of
ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. We present the results of a search for
anisotropies in the distribution of arrival directions on small scales (<5
degrees) and at the highest energies (>10^19 eV). The search is based on data
recorded between 1999 December and 2004 January, with a total of 271 events
above 10^19 eV. No small-scale anisotropy is found, and the strongest
clustering found in the HiRes stereo data is consistent at the 52% level with
the null hypothesis of isotropically distributed arrival directions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Matches accepted ApJL versio
Measurement of the Flux of Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays from Monocular Observations by the High Resolution Fly's Eye Experiment
We have measured the cosmic ray spectrum above 10^17.2 eV using the two air
fluorescence detectors of the High Resolution Fly's Eye observatory operating
in monocular mode. We describe the detector, photo-tube and atmospheric
calibrations, as well as the analysis techniques for the two detectors. We fit
the spectrum to a model consisting of galactic and extra-galactic sources.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Uses 10pt.rtx, amsmath.sty, aps.rtx, revsymb.sty,
revtex4.cl
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
Evolution of the number of accreting white dwarfs with shell nuclear burning and of occurrence rate of SN Ia
We analyze temporal evolution of the number of accreting white dwarfs with
shell hydrogen burning in semidetached and detached binaries. We consider a
stellar system in which star formation lasts for 10 Gyr with a constant rate,
as well as a system in which the same amount of stars is formed in a single
burst lasting for 1 Gyr. Evolution of the number of white dwarfs is confronted
to the evolution of occurrence rate of events that usually are identified with
SN Ia or accretion-induced collapses, i.e. with accumulation of Chandrasekhar
mass by a white dwarf or a merger of a pair of CO white dwarfs with total mass
not lower than the Chandrasekhar one. In the systems with a burst of star
formation, at 10 Gyr observed supersoft X-ray sources, most probably, are
not precursors of SN Ia. The same is true for an overwhelming majority of the
sources in the systems with constant star formation rate. In the systems of
both kinds mergers of white dwarfs is the dominant SN Ia scenario. In symbiotic
binaries, accreting CO-dwarfs do not accumulate enough mass for SN Ia
explosion, while ONeMg-dwarfs finish their evolution by an accretion-induced
collapse with formation of a neutron star.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, accepted by Astronomy Letter
Air fluorescence measurements in the spectral range 300-420 nm using a 28.5 GeV electron beam
Measurements are reported of the yield and spectrum of fluorescence, excited
by a 28.5 GeV electron beam, in air at a range of pressures of interest to
ultra-high energy cosmic ray detectors. The wavelength range was 300 - 420 nm.
System calibration has been performed using Rayleigh scattering of a nitrogen
laser beam. In atmospheric pressure dry air at 304 K the yield is 20.8 +/- 1.6
photons per MeV.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures. Submitted to Astroparticle Physic
An upper limit on the electron-neutrino flux from the HiRes detector
Air-fluorescence detectors such as the High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes)
detector are very sensitive to upward-going, Earth-skimming ultrahigh energy
electron-neutrino-induced showers. This is due to the relatively large
interaction cross sections of these high-energy neutrinos and to the
Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal (LPM) effect. The LPM effect causes a significant
decrease in the cross sections for bremsstrahlung and pair production, allowing
charged-current electron-neutrino-induced showers occurring deep in the Earth's
crust to be detectable as they exit the Earth into the atmosphere. A search for
upward-going neutrino-induced showers in the HiRes-II monocular dataset has
yielded a null result. From an LPM calculation of the energy spectrum of
charged particles as a function of primary energy and depth for
electron-induced showers in rock, we calculate the shape of the resulting
profile of these showers in air. We describe a full detector Monte Carlo
simulation to determine the detector response to upward-going
electron-neutrino-induced cascades and present an upper limit on the flux of
electron-neutrinos.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. submitted to Astrophysical Journa
A Search for Arrival Direction Clustering in the HiRes-I Monocular Data above 10^(19.5) eV
In the past few years, small scale anisotropy has become a primary focus in
the search for source of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs). The Akeno
Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA) has reported the presence of clusters of event
arrival directions in their highest energy data set. The High Resolution Fly's
Eye (HiRes) has accumulated an exposure in one of its monocular eyes at
energies above 10^(19.5) eV comparable to that of AGASA. However, monocular
events observed with an air fluorescence detector are characterized by highly
asymmetric angular resolution. A method is developed for measuring
autocorrelation with asymmetric angular resolution. It is concluded that
HiRes-I observations are consistent with no autocorrelation and that the
sensitivity to clustering of the HiRes-I detector is comparable to that of the
reported AGASA data set. Furthermore, we state with a 90% confidence level that
no more than 13% of the observed HiRes-I events above 10^(19.5) eV could be
sharing common arrival directions. However, because a measure of
autocorrelation makes no assumption of the underlying astrophysical mechanism
that results in clustering phenomena, we cannot claim that the HiRes monocular
analysis and the AGASA analysis are inconsistent beyond a specified confidence
level.Comment: 16 pages, 23 figure
Search for Point Sources of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays Above 40 EeV Using a Maximum Likelihood Ratio Test
We present the results of a search for cosmic ray point sources at energies
above 40 EeV in the combined data sets recorded by the AGASA and HiRes stereo
experiments. The analysis is based on a maximum likelihood ratio test using the
probability density function for each event rather than requiring an a priori
choice of a fixed angular bin size. No statistically significant clustering of
events consistent with a point source is found.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Search for Correlations between HiRes Stereo Events and Active Galactic Nuclei
We have searched for correlations between the pointing directions of
ultrahigh energy cosmic rays observed by the High Resolution Fly's Eye
experiment and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) visible from its northern
hemisphere location. No correlations, other than random correlations, have been
found. We report our results using search parameters prescribed by the Pierre
Auger collaboration. Using these parameters, the Auger collaboration concludes
that a positive correlation exists for sources visible to their southern
hemisphere location. We also describe results using two methods for determining
the chance probability of correlations: one in which a hypothesis is formed
from scanning one half of the data and tested on the second half, and another
which involves a scan over the entire data set. The most significant
correlation found occurred with a chance probability of 24%.Comment: 13 pages, 1 table, 5 figure
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