Thin and thick cloud top height retrieval algorithm with the Infrared Camera and LIDAR of the JEM-EUSO Space Mission

The origin of cosmic rays have remained a mistery for more than a century. JEM-EUSO is a pioneer space-based telescope that will be located at the International Space Station (ISS) and its aim is to detect Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) and Extremely High Energy Cosmic Rays (EHECR) by observing the atmosphere. Unlike ground-based telescopes, JEM-EUSO will observe from upwards, and therefore, for a properly UHECR reconstruction under cloudy conditions, a key element of JEM-EUSO is an Atmospheric Monitoring System (AMS). This AMS consists of a space qualified bi-spectral Infrared Camera, that will provide the cloud coverage and cloud top height in the JEM-EUSO Field of View (FoV) and a LIDAR, that will measure the atmospheric optical depth in the direction it has been shot. In this paper we will explain the effects of clouds for the determination of the UHECR arrival direction. Moreover, since the cloud top height retrieval is crucial to analyze the UHECR and EHECR events under cloudy conditions, the retrieval algorithm that fulfills the technical requierements of the Infrared Camera of JEM-EUSO to reconstruct the cloud top height is presently reported.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, Atmohead Conference 201

The Spanish Infrared Camera onboard the EUSO-BALLOON (CNES) flight on August 24, 2014

The EUSO-Balloon (CNES) campaign was held during Summer 2014 with a launch on August 24. In the gondola, next to the Photo Detector Module (PDM), a completely isolated Infrared camera was allocated. Also, a helicopter which shooted flashers flew below the balloon. We have retrieved the Cloud Top Height (CTH) with the IR camera, and also the optical depth of the nonclear atmosphere have been inferred with two approaches: The first one is with the comparison of the brightness temperature of the cloud and the real temperature obtained after the pertinent corrections. The second one is by measuring the detected signal from the helicopter flashers by the IR Camera, considering the energy of the flashers and the location of the helicopter

The atmospheric science of JEM-EUSO

An Atmospheric Monitoring System (AMS) is critical suite of instruments for JEM-EUSO whose aim is to detect Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) and (EHECR) from Space. The AMS comprises an advanced space qualified infrared camera and a LIDAR with cross checks provided by a ground-based and airborne Global Light System Stations. Moreover the Slow Data Mode of JEM-EUSO has been proven crucial for the UV background analysis by comparing the UV and IR images. It will also contribute to the investigation of atmospheric effects seen in the data from the GLS or even to our understanding of Space Weather

RESCUhE Project: Cultural Heritage vulnerability in a changing and directional climate

[EN] RESCUhE Project (Improving structural RESilience of Cultural HEritage to directional extreme hydro-meteorological events in the context of the Climate Change) is a coordinated IGME-UAM research project funded by Spanish Government (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). The framework of this research is the predicted increase in climate change vulnerability of heritage sites and the current disconnection between both environmental research on material decay and the practical aspects of designing preventive conservation measurements.RESCUhE Project (Improving structural RESilience of Cultural HEritage to directional extreme hydro-meteorological events in the context of the Climate Change) is a coordinated IGME-UAM research project funded by Spanish Government (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033).Peer reviewe

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Thin and thick cloud top height retrieval algorithm with the Infrared Camera and LIDAR of the JEM-EUSO Space Mission

The origin of cosmic rays have remained a mistery for more than a century. JEM-EUSO is a pioneer space-based telescope that will be located at the International Space Station (ISS) and its aim is to detect Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) and Extremely High Energy Cosmic Rays (EHECR) by observing the atmosphere. Unlike ground-based telescopes, JEM-EUSO will observe from upwards, and therefore, for a properly UHECR reconstruction under cloudy conditions, a key element of JEM-EUSO is an Atmospheric Monitoring System (AMS). This AMS consists of a space qualified bi-spectral Infrared Camera, that will provide the cloud coverage and cloud top height in the JEM-EUSO Field of View (FoV) and a LIDAR, that will measure the atmospheric optical depth in the direction it has been shot. In this paper we will explain the effects of clouds for the determination of the UHECR arrival direction. Moreover, since the cloud top height retrieval is crucial to analyze the UHECR and EHECR events under cloudy conditions, the retrieval algorithm that fulfills the technical requierements of the Infrared Camera of JEM-EUSO to reconstruct the cloud top height is presently reported

A Review of the EUSO-Balloon Pathfinder for the JEM-EUSO Program

International audienceEUSO-Balloon is a pathfinder for JEM-EUSO, the mission concept of a spaceborne observatory which is designed to observe Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR)-induced Extensive Air Showers (EAS) by detecting their UltraViolet (UV) light tracks “from above.” On August 25, 2014, EUSO-Balloon was launched from Timmins Stratospheric Balloon Base (Ontario, Canada) by the balloon division of the French Space Agency CNES. After reaching a floating altitude of 38 km, EUSO-Balloon imaged the UV light in the wavelength range ∼290–500 nm for more than 5 hours using the key technologies of JEM-EUSO. The flight allowed a good understanding of the performance of the detector to be developed, giving insights into possible improvements to be applied to future missions. A detailed measurement of the photoelectron counts in different atmospheric and ground conditions was achieved. By means of the simulation of the instrument response and by assuming atmospheric models, the absolute intensity of diffuse light was estimated. The instrument detected hundreds of laser tracks with similar characteristics to EASs shot by a helicopter flying underneath. These are the first recorded laser tracks measured from a fluorescence detector looking down on the atmosphere. The reconstruction of the direction of the laser tracks was performed. In this work, a review of the main results obtained by EUSO-Balloon is presented as well as implications for future space-based observations of UHECRs

Developments and results in the context of the JEM-EUSO program obtained with the ESAF simulation and analysis framework

International audienceJEM-EUSO is an international program for the development of space-based Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray observatories. The program consists of a series of missions which are either under development or in the data analysis phase. All instruments are based on a wide-field-of-view telescope, which operates in the near-UV range, designed to detect the fluorescence light emitted by extensive air showers in the atmosphere. We describe the simulation software ESAF in the framework of the JEM-EUSO program and explain the physical assumptions used. We present here the implementation of the JEM-EUSO, POEMMA, K-EUSO, TUS, Mini-EUSO, EUSO-SPB1 and EUSO-TA configurations in ESAF. For the first time ESAF simulation outputs are compared with experimental data

Ultra high energy photons and neutrinos with JEM-EUSO

Ultra high energy photons and neutrinos are carriers of very important astrophysical information. They may be produced at the sites of cosmic ray acceleration or during the propagation of the cosmic rays in the intergalactic medium. In contrast to charged cosmic rays, photon and neutrino arrival directions point to the production site because they are not deflected by the magnetic fields of the Galaxy or the intergalactic medium. In this work we study the characteristics of the longitudinal development of showers initiated by photons and neutrinos at the highest energies. These studies are relevant for development of techniques for neutrino and photon identification by the JEM-EUSO telescope. In particular, we study the possibility of observing the multi-peak structure of very deep horizontal neutrino showers with JEM-EUSO. We also discuss the possibility to determine the flavor content of the incident neutrino flux by taking advantage of the different characteristics of the longitudinal profiles generated by different type of neutrinos. This is of grate importance for the study of the fundamental properties of neutrinos at the highest energies. Regarding photons, we discuss the detectability of the cosmogenic component by JEM-EUSO and also estimate the expected upper limits on the photon fraction which can be obtained from the future JEM-EUSO data for the case in which there are no photons in the samples