Concept and Analysis of a Satellite for Space-Based Radio Detection of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romero-Wolf, Andrew; Gorham, P.; Booth, J.; Chen, P.; Duren, R. M.; Liewer, K.; Nam, J.; Saltzberg, D.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Wissel, S.; Zairfian, P.

2014-01-01

We present a concept for on-orbit radio detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) that has the potential to provide collection rates of ~100 events per year for energies above 10^20 eV. The synoptic wideband orbiting radio detector (SWORD) mission's high event statistics at these energies combined with the pointing capabilities of a space-borne antenna array could enable charged particle astronomy. The detector concept is based on ANITA's successful detection UHECRs where the geosynchrotron radio signal produced by the extended air shower is reflected off the Earth's surface and detected in flight.

ON ULTRA-HIGH-ENERGY COSMIC RAYS AND THEIR RESULTANT GAMMA-RAYS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gavish, Eyal; Eichler, David

2016-05-01

The Fermi Large Area Telescope collaboration has recently reported on 50 months of measurements of the isotropic extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGRB) spectrum between 100 MeV and 820 GeV. Ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) protons interact with the cosmic microwave background photons and produce cascade photons of energies 10 MeV–1 TeV that contribute to the EGRB flux. We examine seven possible evolution models for UHECRs and find that UHECR sources that evolve as the star formation rate (SFR), medium low luminosity active galactic nuclei type-1 ( L = 10{sup 43.5} erg s{sup −1} in the [0.5–2] KeV band), and BL Lacertae objectsmore » (BL Lacs) are the most acceptable given the constraints imposed by the observed EGRB. Other possibilities produce too much secondary γ -radiation. In all cases, the decaying dark matter (DM) contribution improves the fit at high energy, but the contribution of still unresolved blazars, which would leave the smallest role for decaying DM, may yet provide an alternative improvement. The possibility that the entire EGRB can be fitted with resolvable but not-yet-resolved blazars, as recently claimed by Ajello et al., would leave little room in the EGRB to accommodate γ -rays from extragalactic UHECR production, even for many source evolution rates that would otherwise be acceptable. We find that under the assumption of UHECRs being mostly protons, there is not enough room for producing extragalactic UHECRs with active galactic nucleus, gamma-ray burst, or even SFR source evolution. Sources that evolve as BL Lacs, on the other hand, would produce much less secondary γ -radiation and would remain a viable source of UHECRs, provided that they dominate.« less

Shock waves raised by explosions in space as sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kichigin, Gennadiy

2015-03-01

The paper discusses the possibility of particle acceleration up to ultrahigh energies in the relativistic waves generated by various explosive processes in the interstellar medium. We propose to use the surfatron mechanism of acceleration (surfing) of charged particles trapped in the front of relativistic waves as a generator of high-energy cosmic rays (CRs). Conditions under which surfing in these waves can be made are studied thoroughly. Ultra-high-energy CRs (up to 10^20 eV) are shown to be obtained due to the surfing in the relativistic plane and spherical waves. Surfing is supposed to take place in nonlinear Langmuir waves excited by powerful electromagnetic radiation or relativistic beams of charged particles, as well as in strong shock waves generated by relativistic jets or spherical formations that expand fast (fireballs).

Mass composition studies of Ultra High Energy cosmic rays through the measurement of the Muon Production Depths at the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Collica, Laura

The Pierre Auger Observatory (Auger) in Argentina studies Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) physics. The flux of cosmic rays at these energies (above 1018 eV) is very low (less than 100 particle/km2-year) and UHECR properties must be inferred from the measurements of the secondary particles that the cosmic ray primary produces in the atmosphere. These particles cascades are called Extensive Air Showers (EAS) and can be studied at ground by deploying detectors covering large areas. The EAS physics is complex, and the properties of secondary particles depend strongly on the first interaction, which takes place at an energy beyondmore » the ones reached at accelerators. As a consequence, the analysis of UHECRs is subject to large uncertainties and hence many of their properties, in particular their composition, are still unclear. Two complementary techniques are used at Auger to detect EAS initiated by UHE- CRs: a 3000 km2 surface detector (SD) array of water Cherenkov tanks which samples particles at ground level and fluorescence detectors (FD) which collect the ultraviolet light emitted by the de-excitation of nitrogen nuclei in the atmosphere, and can operate only in clear, moonless nights. Auger is the largest cosmic rays detector ever built and it provides high-quality data together with unprecedented statistics. The main goal of this thesis is the measurement of UHECR mass composition using data from the SD of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Measuring the cosmic ray composition at the highest energies is of fundamental importance from the astrophysical point of view, since it could discriminate between different scenarios of origin and propagation of cosmic rays. Moreover, mass composition studies are of utmost importance for particle physics. As a matter of fact, knowing the composition helps in exploring the hadronic interactions at ultra-high energies, inaccessible to present accelerator experiments.« less

Observation of ultra high energy cosmic rays from space: Status and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casolino, M.; Klimov, P.; Piotrowski, L.

2017-12-01

The study of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) offers unique possibilities to probe the energies currently inaccessible by man-made accelerators. Recent years have shed light on several characteristics of these particles, but—due to their extremely low flux—their origin, nature, and acceleration mechanisms are still unclear. Space-based observations have the potential for an increase in statistics, up to several orders of magnitude, and would be able to cover the whole sky, allowing for a direct comparison of spectra and direction of arrival. A detector with the exposure of a few times that of the Pierre Auger Observatory would be able to clarify the observed differences between the northern and southern skies, confirm the existence of TA hot spot, and measure multipolar anisotropies with high precision. A number of novel technologies—from optics to sensors, front-end and read-out electronics—have been developed over the years to achieve this goal. In this paper we describe the progress and results obtained so far and discuss the perspectives of UHECR physics observation from space.

The mass composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with the Pierre Auger Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martraire, D.

2014-12-01

Ultra-high energy cosmic rays are the most energetic particles known in nature. The Pierre Auger Observatory was built to study these amazing particles to determine their origin. The study of their mass composition can help to constrain the models concerning their origins and their production mechanisms in the astrophysical sources. To this aim, several methods have been developed to infer the composition using the Auger surface detector array data. The main difficulty is to isolate the muonic component in the signal measured by the surface detector. We present the results of the composition parameters derived from the ground level component and compare them to the predictions for different nuclear masses of the primary particles and hadronic interaction models.

Ultra High Energy Neutrinos and Cosmic Rays: a “Vision” for the next decade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santangelo, A.

2007-04-01

Ultra High Energy Neutrinos, with energies from a few 1018 eV to beyond the decade of 1020 eV, and Cosmic Rays with E≥5×10 eV appear to be the only suitable messengers to explore the Universe at frontier energies, where radiation is expected to be produced under the most extreme physical conditions. Observations of these UHE particles will certainly provide new information on the sources and on the physical mechanisms able to accelerate these extreme messengers to macroscopic energies. Moreover, they might, also, provide evidence of yet unknown physics or of exotic particles, relics of the early Universe. To reach these goals, innovative experiments with larger effective aperture (A≥10 kmsr) and good understanding of systematic uncertainties (less than ˜ 10%) must be developed. The ground-based Pierre Auger Observatory, whose southern site is expected to be completed in Malargue, Argentina by the end of 2006, will surely provide, in the near future, a more solid observational scenario (Flux, Spectral shape, Composition) for UHE Cosmic Rays (UHECR). However, only space-based observatories can reach the effective area necessary to systematically explore the UHE Universe. In the present paper 1.) we present the Science Rationale behind UHE studies; 2.) we review the status of current experimental efforts, with main emphasis on the actual generation of space-based observatories; 3.) we briefly discuss the science goals, requirements, and R&D of a “next-generation” space-based mission for UHE observations. To develop such a challenging and innovative observatory for UHE particles, the ESA “Cosmic Vision 2015-2025” long term plan provides certainly an unique opportunity.

HOW MANY ULTRA-HIGH ENERGY COSMIC RAYS COULD WE EXPECT FROM CENTAURUS A?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fraija, N.; Gonzalez, M. M.; Perez, M.

2012-07-01

The Pierre Auger Observatory has associated a few ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with the direction of Centaurus A. This source has been deeply studied in radio, infrared, X-ray, and {gamma}-rays (MeV-TeV) because it is the nearest radio-loud active galactic nucleus. Its spectral energy distribution or spectrum shows two main peaks, the low-energy peak, at an energy of 10{sup -2} eV, and the high-energy peak, at about 150 keV. There is also a faint very high energy (VHE; E {>=} 100 GeV) {gamma}-ray emission fully detected by the High Energy Stereoscopic System experiment. In this work, we describe the entiremore » spectrum: the two main peaks with a synchrotron/synchrotron self-Compton model, and the VHE emission with a hadronic model. We consider p{gamma} and pp interactions. For the p{gamma} interaction, we assume that the target photons are those produced at 150 keV in leptonic processes. On the other hand, for the pp interaction we consider as targets the thermal particle densities in the lobes. Requiring a satisfactory description of the spectra at very high energies with p{gamma} interaction, we obtain an excessive luminosity in UHECRs (even exceeding the Eddington luminosity). However, when considering the pp interaction to describe the {gamma}-spectrum, the number of UHECRs obtained is in agreement with Pierre Auger observations. We also calculate the possible neutrino signal from pp interactions on a Km{sup 3} neutrino telescope using Monte Carlo simulations.« less

The MIDAS telescope for microwave detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Amaral Soares, E.; Berlin, A.; Bogdan, M.; Boháčová, M.; Bonifazi, C.; Carvalho, W. R.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; Facal San Luis, P.; Genat, J. F.; Hollon, N.; Mills, E.; Monasor, M.; Privitera, P.; Ramos de Castro, A.; Reyes, L. C.; Richardson, M.; Rouille d'Orfeuil, B.; Santos, E. M.; Wayne, S.; Williams, C.; Zas, E.; Zhou, J.

2013-08-01

We present the design, implementation and data taking performance of the MIcrowave Detection of Air Showers (MIDAS) experiment, a large field of view imaging telescope designed to detect microwave radiation from extensive air showers induced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. This novel technique may bring a tenfold increase in detector duty cycle when compared to the standard fluorescence technique based on detection of ultraviolet photons. The MIDAS telescope consists of a 4.5 m diameter dish with a 53-pixel receiver camera, instrumented with feed horns operating in the commercial extended C-Band (3.4-4.2 GHz). A self-trigger capability is implemented in the digital electronics. The main objectives of this first prototype of the MIDAS telescope - to validate the telescope design, and to demonstrate a large detector duty cycle - were successfully accomplished in a dedicated data taking run at the University of Chicago campus prior to installation at the Pierre Auger Observatory.

Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays from low-luminosity active galactic nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duţan, Ioana; Caramete, Laurenţiu I.

2015-03-01

We investigate the production of ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) in relativistic jets from low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGN). We start by proposing a model for the UHECR contribution from the black holes (BHs) in LLAGN, which present a jet power Pj ⩽1046 erg s-1. This is in contrast to the opinion that only high-luminosity AGN can accelerate particles to energies ⩾ 50 EeV. We rewrite the equations which describe the synchrotron self-absorbed emission of a non-thermal particle distribution to obtain the observed radio flux density from sources with a flat-spectrum core and its relationship to the jet power. We found that the UHECR flux is dependent on the observed radio flux density, the distance to the AGN, and the BH mass, where the particle acceleration regions can be sustained by the magnetic energy extraction from the BH at the center of the AGN. We use a complete sample of 29 radio sources with a total flux density at 5 GHz greater than 0.5 Jy to make predictions for the maximum particle energy, luminosity, and flux of the UHECRs from nearby AGN. These predictions are then used in a semi-analytical code developed in Mathematica (SAM code) as inputs for the Monte-Carlo simulations to obtain the distribution of the arrival direction at the Earth and the energy spectrum of the UHECRs, taking into account their deflection in the intergalactic magnetic fields. For comparison, we also use the CRPropa code with the same initial conditions as for the SAM code. Importantly, to calculate the energy spectrum we also include the weighting of the UHECR flux per each UHECR source. Next, we compare the energy spectrum of the UHECRs with that obtained by the Pierre Auger Observatory.

The energy spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays measured by the Telescope Array FADC fluorescence detectors in monocular mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abu-Zayyad, T.; Aida, R.; Allen, M.; Anderson, R.; Azuma, R.; Barcikowski, E.; Belz, J. W.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Cady, R.; Cheon, B. G.; Chiba, J.; Chikawa, M.; Cho, E. J.; Cho, W. R.; Fujii, H.; Fujii, T.; Fukuda, T.; Fukushima, M.; Hanlon, W.; Hayashi, K.; Hayashi, Y.; Hayashida, N.; Hibino, K.; Hiyama, K.; Honda, K.; Iguchi, T.; Ikeda, D.; Ikuta, K.; Inoue, N.; Ishii, T.; Ishimori, R.; Ito, H.; Ivanov, D.; Iwamoto, S.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kadota, K.; Kakimoto, F.; Kalashev, O.; Kanbe, T.; Kasahara, K.; Kawai, H.; Kawakami, S.; Kawana, S.; Kido, E.; Kim, H. B.; Kim, H. K.; Kim, J. H.; Kim, J. H.; Kitamoto, K.; Kitamura, S.; Kitamura, Y.; Kobayashi, K.; Kobayashi, Y.; Kondo, Y.; Kuramoto, K.; Kuzmin, V.; Kwon, Y. J.; Lan, J.; Lim, S. I.; Lundquist, J. P.; Machida, S.; Martens, K.; Matsuda, T.; Matsuura, T.; Matsuyama, T.; Matthews, J. N.; Myers, I.; Minamino, M.; Miyata, K.; Murano, Y.; Nagataki, S.; Nakamura, T.; Nam, S. W.; Nonaka, T.; Ogio, S.; Ogura, J.; Ohnishi, M.; Ohoka, H.; Oki, K.; Oku, D.; Okuda, T.; Ono, M.; Oshima, A.; Ozawa, S.; Park, I. H.; Pshirkov, M. S.; Rodriguez, D. C.; Roh, S. Y.; Rubtsov, G.; Ryu, D.; Sagawa, H.; Sakurai, N.; Sampson, A. L.; Scott, L. M.; Shah, P. D.; Shibata, F.; Shibata, T.; Shimodaira, H.; Shin, B. K.; Shin, J. I.; Shirahama, T.; Smith, J. D.; Sokolsky, P.; Sonley, T. J.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Stratton, S. R.; Stroman, T. A.; Suzuki, S.; Takahashi, Y.; Takeda, M.; Taketa, A.; Takita, M.; Tameda, Y.; Tanaka, H.; Tanaka, K.; Tanaka, M.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tinyakov, P.; Tkachev, I.; Tokuno, H.; Tomida, T.; Troitsky, S.; Tsunesada, Y.; Tsutsumi, K.; Tsuyuguchi, Y.; Uchihori, Y.; Udo, S.; Ukai, H.; Vasiloff, G.; Wada, Y.; Wong, T.; Yamakawa, Y.; Yamane, R.; Yamaoka, H.; Yamazaki, K.; Yang, J.; Yoneda, Y.; Yoshida, S.; Yoshii, H.; Zollinger, R.; Zundel, Z.

2013-08-01

We present a measurement of the energy spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays performed by the Telescope Array experiment using monocular observations from its two new FADC-based fluorescence detectors. After a short description of the experiment, we describe the data analysis and event reconstruction procedures. Since the aperture of the experiment must be calculated by Monte Carlo simulation, we describe this calculation and the comparisons of simulated and real data used to verify the validity of the aperture calculation. Finally, we present the energy spectrum calculated from the merged monocular data sets of the two FADC-based detectors, and also the combination of this merged spectrum with an independent, previously published monocular spectrum measurement performed by Telescope Array's third fluorescence detector [T. Abu-Zayyad et al., The energy spectrum of Telescope Array's middle drum detector and the direct comparison to the high resolution fly's eye experiment, Astroparticle Physics 39 (2012) 109-119, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2012.05.012, Available from: ]. This combined spectrum corroborates the recently published Telescope Array surface detector spectrum [T. Abu-Zayyad, et al., The cosmic-ray energy spectrum observed with the surface detector of the Telescope Array experiment, ApJ 768 (2013) L1, http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/768/1/L1, Available from: ] with independent systematic uncertainties.

Study of dispersion of mass distribution of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using a surface array of muon and electromagnetic detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vícha, Jakub; Trávníček, Petr; Nosek, Dalibor; Ebr, Jan

2015-09-01

We consider a hypothetical observatory of ultra-high energy cosmic rays consisting of two surface detector arrays that measure independently electromagnetic and muon signals induced by air showers. Using the constant intensity cut method, sets of events ordered according to each of both signal sizes are compared giving the number of matched events. Based on its dependence on the zenith angle, a parameter sensitive to the dispersion of the distribution of the logarithmic mass of cosmic rays is introduced. The results obtained using two post-LHC models of hadronic interactions are very similar and indicate a weak dependence on details of these interactions.

Ultra high energy events in ECHOS series and primary energy spectrum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Capdevielle, J. N.; Iwai, J.; Ogata, T.

1985-01-01

The compilation of ultra high energy jets suggests at present the existence of a bump in primary energy spectrum (with the standard concept of high energy collisions). The pseudo-rapidity distribution exhibits some typical anomalies, more than the (P sub t) behavior, which are (may be) the fingerprints of quark gluon plasma transition. The next results of Emulsion Chamber on Supersonic (ECHOS) will be in both cases determinant to confirm those tendancies, as well as an important effort of the cosmic ray community to develop in that sense a flying emulsion chamber experiment.

Recent Ultra High Energy neutrino bounds and multimessenger observations with the Pierre Auger Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zas, Enrique

2018-01-01

The overall picture of the highest energy particles produced in the Universe is changing because of measurements made with the Pierre Auger Observatory. Composition studies of cosmic rays point towards an unexpected mixed composition of intermediate mass nuclei, more isotropic than anticipated, which is reshaping the future of the field and underlining the priority to understand composition at the highest energies. The Observatory is competitive in the search for neutrinos of all flavors above about 100 PeV by looking for very inclined showers produced deep in the atmosphere by neutrinos interacting either in the atmosphere or in the Earth's crust. It covers a large field of view between -85° and 60° declination in equatorial coordinates. Neutrinos are expected because of the existence of ultra high energy cosmic rays. They provide valuable complementary information, their fluxes being sensitive to the primary cosmic ray masses and their directions reflecting the source positions. We report the results of the neutrino search providing competitive bounds to neutrino production and strong constraints to a number of production models including cosmogenic neutrinos due to ultra high energy protons. We also report on two recent contributions of the Observatory to multimessenger studies by searching for correlations of neutrinos both with cosmic rays and with gravitational waves. The correlations of the directions of the highest energy astrophysical neutrinos discovered with IceCube with the highest energy cosmic rays detected with the Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array revealed an excess that is not statistically significant and is being monitored. The targeted search for neutrinos correlated with the discovery of the gravitational wave events GW150914 and GW151226 with advanced LIGO has led to the first bounds on the energy emitted by black hole mergers in Ultra-High Energy Neutrinos.

Design And Development Of An Autonomous Radar Receiver For The Detection Of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunwar, Samridha

The detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays is constrained by their flux, requiring detectors with apertures of hundreds or even thousands of square kilometers and close to one hundred percent duty cycle. The sheer scale that would be required of conventional detectors, to acquire sufficient statistics for energy, composition or anisotropy studies, means that new techniques that reduce manpower and financial resources are continually being sought. In this dissertation, the development of a remote sensing technique based observatory known as bistatic radar, which aims to achieve extensive coverage of the Earth's surface, cf. Telescope Array's 700 km2 surface detector, is discussed. Construction of the radar projects transmitter station was completed in the summer of 2013, and remote receiver stations were deployed in June and November of 2014. These stations accomplish radar echo detection using an analog signal chain. Subject to less radio interference, the remote stations add stereoscopic measurement capabilities that theoretically allow unique determination of cosmic ray geometry and core location. An FPGA is used as a distributed data processing node within the project. The FPGA provides triggering logic for data sampled at 200 MSa/s, detecting Cosmic Ray shower echoes chirping at -1 to -10 Megahertz/microsecond (depending on the geometry) for several microseconds. The data acquisition system with low power consumption at a cost that is also comparatively inexpensive is described herein.

The influence of the observatory latitude on the study of ultra high energy cosmic rays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anjos, Rita C. dos; De Souza, Vitor; De Almeida, Rogerio M.

2017-07-01

Recent precision measurements of the Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) arrival directions, spectrum and parameters related to the mass of the primary particle have been done by the HiRes, Pierre Auger and Telescope Array (TA) Observatories. In this paper, distributions of arrival directions of events in the nearby Universe are assumed to correlate with sources in the 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS), IRAS 1.2 Jy Survey, Palermo Swift-BAT and Swift-BAT catalogs, and the effect of the latitude of the observatory on the measurement of the energy spectrum and on the capability of measuring anisotropy is studied. The differences between givenmore » latitudes on the northern and southern hemispheres are quantified. It is shown that the latitude of the observatory: a) has an influence on the total flux measured and b) imposes an important limitation on the capability of measuring an anisotropic sky.« less

The LDEF ultra heavy cosmic ray experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Osullivan, D.; Thompson, A.; Bosch, J.; Keegan, R.; Wenzel, K.-P.; Smit, A.; Domingo, C.

1992-01-01

The LDEF Ultra Heavy Cosmic Ray Experiment (UHCRE) used 16 side viewing LDEF trays giving a total geometry factor for high energy cosmic rays of 30 sq m sr. The total exposure factor was 170 sq m sr y. The experiment is based on a modular array of 192 solid state nuclear track detector stacks, mounted in sets of four in 48 pressure vessels. The extended duration of the LDEF mission has resulted in a greatly enhanced potential scientific yield from the UHCRE. Initial scanning results indicate that at least 1800 cosmic ray nuclei with Z greater than 65 were collected, including the world's first statistically significant sample of actinides. Post flight work to date and the current status of the experiment are reviewed.

Ultra heavy cosmic ray experiment (A0178)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, A.; Osullivan, D.; Bosch, J.; Keegan, R.; Wenzel, K. P.; Jansen, F.; Domingo, C.

1992-01-01

The Ultra Heavy Cosmic Ray Experiment (UHCRE) is based on a modular array of 192 side viewing solid state nuclear track detector stacks. These stacks were mounted in sets of four in 48 pressure vessels using 16 peripheral LDEF trays. The geometry factor for high energy cosmic ray nuclei, allowing for Earth shadowing, was 30 sq m sr, giving a total exposure factor of 170 sq m sr y at an orbital inclination of 28.4 degs. Scanning results indicate that about 3000 cosmic ray nuclei in the charge region with Z greater than 65 were collected. This sample is more than ten times the current world data in the field (taken to be the data set from the HEAO-3 mission plus that from the Ariel-6 mission) and is sufficient to provide the world's first statistically significant sample of actinide cosmic rays. Results are presented including a sample of ultra heavy cosmic ray nuclei, analysis of pre-flight and post-flight calibration events and details of track response in the context of detector temperature history. The integrated effect of all temperature and age related latent track variations cause a maximum charge shift of + or - 0.8e for uranium and + or - 0.6e for the platinum-lead group. Astrophysical implications of the UHCRE charge spectrum are discussed.

A search for anisotropy in the arrival directions of ultra high energy cosmic rays recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierre Auger Collaboration; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Ahlers, M.; Ahn, E. J.; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Allard, D.; Allekotte, I.; Allen, J.; Allison, P.; Almela, A.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Ambrosio, M.; Aminaei, A.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andringa, S.; Antici'c, T.; Aramo, C.; Arganda, E.; Arqueros, F.; Asorey, H.; Assis, P.; Aublin, J.; Ave, M.; Avenier, M.; Avila, G.; Bäcker, T.; Badescu, A. M.; Balzer, M.; Barber, K. B.; Barbosa, A. F.; Bardenet, R.; Barroso, S. L. C.; Baughman, B.; Bäuml, J.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, B. R.; Becker, K. H.; Bellétoile, A.; Bellido, J. A.; BenZvi, S.; Berat, C.; Bertou, X.; Biermann, P. L.; Billoir, P.; Blanco, F.; Blanco, M.; Bleve, C.; Blümer, H.; Bohácová, M.; Boncioli, D.; Bonifazi, C.; Bonino, R.; Borodai, N.; Brack, J.; Brancus, I.; Brogueira, P.; Brown, W. C.; Bruijn, R.; Buchholz, P.; Bueno, A.; Burton, R. E.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Caccianiga, B.; Caramete, L.; Caruso, R.; Castellina, A.; Catalano, O.; Cataldi, G.; Cazon, L.; Cester, R.; Chauvin, J.; Cheng, S. H.; Chiavassa, A.; Chinellato, J. A.; Chirinos Diaz, J.; Chudoba, J.; Cilmo, M.; Clay, R. W.; Coluccia, M. R.; Conceição, R.; Contreras, F.; Cook, H.; Cooper, M. J.; Coppens, J.; Cordier, A.; Coutu, S.; Covault, C. E.; Creusot, A.; Criss, A.; Cronin, J.; Curutiu, A.; Dagoret-Campagne, S.; Dallier, R.; Dasso, S.; Daumiller, K.; Dawson, B. R.; de Almeida, R. M.; De Domenico, M.; De Donato, C.; de Jong, S. J.; De La Vega, G.; de Mello Junior, W. J. M.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; De Mitri, I.; de Souza, V.; de Vries, K. D.; del Peral, L.; del Río, M.; Deligny, O.; Dembinski, H.; Dhital, N.; Di Giulio, C.; Díaz Castro, M. L.; Diep, P. N.; Diogo, F.; Dobrigkeit, C.; Docters, W.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dong, P. N.; Dorofeev, A.; dos Anjos, J. C.; Dova, M. T.; D'Urso, D.; Dutan, I.; Ebr, J.; Engel, R.; Erdmann, M.; Escobar, C. O.; Espadanal, J.; Etchegoyen, A.; Facal San Luis, P.; Fajardo Tapia, I.; Falcke, H.; Farrar, G.; Fauth, A. C.; Fazzini, N.; Ferguson, A. P.; Fick, B.; Filevich, A.; Filipcic, A.; Fliescher, S.; Fracchiolla, C. E.; Fraenkel, E. D.; Fratu, O.; Fröhlich, U.; Fuchs, B.; Gaior, R.; Gamarra, R. F.; Gambetta, S.; García, B.; Garcia Roca, S. T.; Garcia-Gamez, D.; Garcia-Pinto, D.; Gascon, A.; Gemmeke, H.; Ghia, P. L.; Giaccari, U.; Giller, M.; Glass, H.; Gold, M. S.; Golup, G.; Gomez Albarracin, F.; Gómez Berisso, M.; Gómez Vitale, P. F.; Gonçalves, P.; Gonzalez, D.; Gonzalez, J. G.; Gookin, B.; Gorgi, A.; Gouffon, P.; Grashorn, E.; Grebe, S.; Griffith, N.; Grigat, M.; Grillo, A. F.; Guardincerri, Y.; Guarino, F.; Guedes, G. P.; Guzman, A.; Hague, J. D.; Hansen, P.; Harari, D.; Harmsma, S.; Harrison, T. A.; Harton, J. L.; Haungs, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heck, D.; Herve, A. E.; Hojvat, C.; Hollon, N.; Holmes, V. C.; Homola, P.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horneffer, A.; Horvath, P.; Hrabovský, M.; Huege, T.; Insolia, A.; Ionita, F.; Italiano, A.; Jarne, C.; Jiraskova, S.; Josebachuili, M.; Kadija, K.; Kampert, K. H.; Karhan, P.; Kasper, P.; Kégl, B.; Keilhauer, B.; Keivani, A.; Kelley, J. L.; Kemp, E.; Kieckhafer, R. M.; Klages, H. O.; Kleifges, M.; Kleinfeller, J.; Knapp, J.; Koang, D.-H.; Kotera, K.; Krohm, N.; Krömer, O.; Kruppke-Hansen, D.; Kuehn, F.; Kuempel, D.; Kulbartz, J. K.; Kunka, N.; La Rosa, G.; Lachaud, C.; Lauer, R.; Lautridou, P.; Le Coz, S.; Leão, M. S. A. B.; Lebrun, D.; Lebrun, P.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Letessier-Selvon, A.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Link, K.; López, R.; Lopez Agüera, A.; Louedec, K.; Lozano Bahilo, J.; Lu, L.; Lucero, A.; Ludwig, M.; Lyberis, H.; Macolino, C.; Maldera, S.; Mandat, D.; Mantsch, P.; Mariazzi, A. G.; Marin, J.; Marin, V.; Maris, I. C.; Marquez Falcon, H. R.; Marsella, G.; Martello, D.; Martin, L.; Martinez, H.; Martínez Bravo, O.; Mathes, H. J.; Matthews, J.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthiae, G.; Maurel, D.; Maurizio, D.; Mazur, P. O.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Melissas, M.; Melo, D.; Menichetti, E.; Menshikov, A.; Mertsch, P.; Meurer, C.; Mi'canovi'c, S.; Micheletti, M. I.; Minaya, I. A.; Miramonti, L.; Molina-Bueno, L.; Mollerach, S.; Monasor, M.; Monnier Ragaigne, D.; Montanet, F.; Morales, B.; Morello, C.; Moreno, E.; Moreno, J. C.; Mostafá, M.; Moura, C. A.; Muller, M. A.; Müller, G.; Münchmeyer, M.; Mussa, R.; Navarra, G.; Navarro, J. L.; Navas, S.; Necesal, P.; Nellen, L.; Nelles, A.; Neuser, J.; Nhung, P. T.; Niechciol, M.; Niemietz, L.; Nierstenhoefer, N.; Nitz, D.; Nosek, D.; Nožka, L.; Nyklicek, M.; Oehlschläger, J.; Olinto, A.; Ortiz, M.; Pacheco, N.; Pakk Selmi-Dei, D.; Palatka, M.; Pallotta, J.; Palmieri, N.; Parente, G.; Parizot, E.; Parra, A.; Pastor, S.; Paul, T.; Pech, M.; Pekala, J.; Pelayo, R.; Pepe, I. M.; Perrone, L.; Pesce, R.; Petermann, E.; Petrera, S.; Petrinca, P.; Petrolini, A.; Petrov, Y.; Petrovic, J.; Pfendner, C.; Piegaia, R.; Pierog, T.; Pieroni, P.; Pimenta, M.; Pirronello, V.; Platino, M.; Ponce, V. H.; Pontz, M.; Porcelli, A.; Privitera, P.; Prouza, M.; Quel, E. J.; Querchfeld, S.; Rautenberg, J.; Ravel, O.; Ravignani, D.; Revenu, B.; Ridky, J.; Riggi, S.; Risse, M.; Ristori, P.; Rivera, H.; Rizi, V.; Roberts, J.; Rodrigues de Carvalho, W.; Rodriguez, G.; Rodriguez Martino, J.; Rodriguez Rojo, J.; Rodriguez-Cabo, I.; Rodríguez-Frías, M. D.; Ros, G.; Rosado, J.; Rossler, T.; Roth, M.; Rouillé-d'Orfeuil, B.; Roulet, E.; Rovero, A. C.; Rühle, C.; Saftoiu, A.; Salamida, F.; Salazar, H.; Salesa Greus, F.; Salina, G.; Sánchez, F.; Santo, C. E.; Santos, E.; Santos, E. M.; Sarazin, F.; Sarkar, B.; Sarkar, S.; Sato, R.; Scharf, N.; Scherini, V.; Schieler, H.; Schiffer, P.; Schmidt, A.; Scholten, O.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Schovancova, J.; Schovánek, P.; Schröder, F.; Schulte, S.; Schuster, D.; Sciutto, S. J.; Scuderi, M.; Segreto, A.; Settimo, M.; Shadkam, A.; Shellard, R. C.; Sidelnik, I.; Sigl, G.; Silva Lopez, H. H.; Sima, O.; 'Smiałkowski, A.; Šmída, R.; Snow, G. R.; Sommers, P.; Sorokin, J.; Spinka, H.; Squartini, R.; Srivastava, Y. N.; Stanic, S.; Stapleton, J.; Stasielak, J.; Stephan, M.; Stutz, A.; Suarez, F.; Suomijärvi, T.; Supanitsky, A. D.; Šuša, T.; Sutherland, M. S.; Swain, J.; Szadkowski, Z.; Szuba, M.; Tapia, A.; Tartare, M.; Taşcău, O.; Tavera Ruiz, C. G.; Tcaciuc, R.; Tegolo, D.; Thao, N. T.; Thomas, D.; Tiffenberg, J.; Timmermans, C.; Tkaczyk, W.; Todero Peixoto, C. J.; Toma, G.; Tomé, B.; Tonachini, A.; Travnicek, P.; Tridapalli, D. B.; Tristram, G.; Trovato, E.; Tueros, M.; Ulrich, R.; Unger, M.; Urban, M.; Valdés Galicia, J. F.; Valiño, I.; Valore, L.; van den Berg, A. M.; Varela, E.; Vargas Cárdenas, B.; Vázquez, J. R.; Vázquez, R. A.; Veberic, D.; Verzi, V.; Vicha, J.; Videla, M.; Villaseñor, L.; Wahlberg, H.; Wahrlich, P.; Wainberg, O.; Walz, D.; Watson, A. A.; Weber, M.; Weidenhaupt, K.; Weindl, A.; Werner, F.; Westerhoff, S.; Whelan, B. J.; Widom, A.; Wieczorek, G.; Wiencke, L.; Wilczyńska, B.; Wilczyński, H.; Will, M.; Williams, C.; Winchen, T.; Wommer, M.; Wundheiler, B.; Yamamoto, T.; Yapici, T.; Younk, P.; Yuan, G.; Yushkov, A.; Zamorano, B.; Zas, E.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zaw, I.; Zepeda, A.; Zhu, Y.; Zimbres Silva, M.; Ziolkowski, M.

2012-04-01

Observations of cosmic ray arrival directions made with the Pierre Auger Observatory have previously provided evidence of anisotropy at the 99% CL using the correlation of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with objects drawn from the Véron-Cetty Véron catalog. In this paper we report on the use of three catalog independent methods to search for anisotropy. The 2pt-L, 2pt+ and 3pt methods, each giving a different measure of self-clustering in arrival directions, were tested on mock cosmic ray data sets to study the impacts of sample size and magnetic smearing on their results, accounting for both angular and energy resolutions. If the sources of UHECRs follow the same large scale structure as ordinary galaxies in the local Universe and if UHECRs are deflected no more than a few degrees, a study of mock maps suggests that these three methods can efficiently respond to the resulting anisotropy with a P-value = 1.0% or smaller with data sets as few as 100 events. Using data taken from January 1, 2004 to July 31, 2010 we examined the 20,30,...,110 highest energy events with a corresponding minimum energy threshold of about 49.3 EeV. The minimum P-values found were 13.5% using the 2pt-L method, 1.0% using the 2pt+ method and 1.1% using the 3pt method for the highest 100 energy events. In view of the multiple (correlated) scans performed on the data set, these catalog-independent methods do not yield strong evidence of anisotropy in the highest energy cosmic rays.

On the origin of ultra high energy cosmic rays: subluminal and superluminal relativistic shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meli, A.; Becker, J. K.; Quenby, J. J.

2008-12-01

Aims: The flux of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) at E > 1018.5 eV is believed to arise in plasma shock environments in extragalactic sources. In this paper, we present a systematic study of cosmic ray (CR) particle acceleration by relativistic shocks, in particular concerning the dependence on bulk Lorentz factor and the angle between the magnetic field and the shock flow. The contribution to the observed diffuse CR spectrum provided by the accelerated particles is discussed. Methods: For the first time, Monte Carlo simulations for super- and subluminal shocks are extended to boost factors up to Γ = 1000 and systematically compared. The source spectra derived are translated into the expected diffuse proton flux from astrophysical sources by folding the spectra with the spatial distribution of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and gamma ray bursts (GRBs). Results of these predictions are compared with UHECR data. Results: While superluminal shocks are shown to be inefficient at providing acceleration to the highest energies (E > 1018.5 eV), subluminal shocks may provide particles up to 1021 eV, limited only by the Hillas-criterion. In the subluminal case, we find that mildly-relativistic shocks, thought to occur in jets of AGN (Γ ~ 10-30), yield energy spectra of dN/dE ~ E-2. Highly relativistic shocks expected in GRBs (100 < Γ < 1000), on the other hand, produce spectra as flat as ~ E-1.0 above 109.5 GeV. The model results are compared with the measured flux of CRs at the highest energies and it is shown that, while AGN spectra provide an excellent fit, GRB spectra are too flat to explain the observed flux. The first evidence of a correlation between the CR flux above 5.7 × 1010 GeV and the distribution of AGN provided by Auger are explained by our model. Although GRBs are excluded as the principle origin of UHECRs, neutrino production is expected in these sources either in mildly or highly relativistic shocks. In particular, superluminal shocks in GRBs may

Extragalactic Ultra-High Energy Cosmic-Rays - Part One - Contribution from Hot Spots in Fr-II Radio Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rachen, J. P.; Biermann, P. L.

1993-05-01

The hot spots of Fanaroff-Riley class II radio galaxies, considered as working surfaces of highly collimated plasma jets, are proposed to be the dominant sources of the cosmic rays at energies above 1 EeV^a^. We apply the model of first order Fermi acceleration at strong, nonrelativistic shock waves to the hot spot region. The strength of the model has been demonstrated by Biermann & Strittmatter (1987) and by Meisenheimer et al. (1989), who explain their radio-to optical spectra and infer the physical conditions of the radiating plasma. Using synchrotron radiating electrons as a trace, we can calculate the spectrum and the maximum energy of protons accelerated under the same conditions. For simplicity, we disregard heavy nuclei, but their probable role is discussed. The normalization of proton flux injected in extragalactic space is performed by using estimates from Rawlings & Saunders (1991) for the total energy stored in relativistic particles inside the jets and radio galaxy evolution models given by Peacock (1985). We calculate the spectral modifications due to interactions of the protons with the microwave background photons in an evolving universe, following Berezinsky & Grigor'eva (1988). Constraints on the extragalactic magnetic field can be imposed, since it must permit an almost homogeneous filling of the universe with energetic protons. The observed ultra-high energy cosmic ray spectrum is reproduced in slope and flux, limited at high energies by the Greisen-cutoff at about 80 EeV. The requirements on the content of relativistic protons in jets and the constraints to the extragalactic magnetic field are consistent with common estimates. The data beyond the Greisen cutoff for protons may be explained by including heavy nuclei in our model, since they can propagate over cosmological distances up to more than 100 EeV.

A search for anisotropy in the arrival directions of ultra high energy cosmic rays recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abreu, P.

2012-01-01

Observations of cosmic ray arrival directions made with the Pierre Auger Observatory have previously provided evidence of anisotropy at the 99% CL using the correlation of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with objects drawn from the Veron-Cetty Veron catalog. In this paper we report on the use of three catalog independent methods to search for anisotropy. The 2pt-L, 2pt+ and 3pt methods, each giving a different measure of self-clustering in arrival directions, were tested on mock cosmic ray data sets to study the impacts of sample size and magnetic smearing on their results, accounting for both angular and energymore » resolutions. If the sources of UHECRs follow the same large scale structure as ordinary galaxies in the local Universe and if UHECRs are deflected no more than a few degrees, a study of mock maps suggests that these three methods can efficiently respond to the resulting anisotropy with a P-value = 1.0% or smaller with data sets as few as 100 events. Using data taken from January 1, 2004 to July 31, 2010 we examined the 20, 30, ..., 110 highest energy events with a corresponding minimum energy threshold of about 51 EeV. The minimum P-values found were 13.5% using the 2pt-L method, 1.0% using the 2pt+ method and 1.1% using the 3pt method for the highest 100 energy events. In view of the multiple (correlated) scans performed on the data set, these catalog-independent methods do not yield strong evidence of anisotropy in the highest energy cosmic rays.« less

The LDEF ultra heavy cosmic ray experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Osullivan, D.; Thompson, A.; Bosch, J.; Keegan, R.; Wenzel, K.-P.; Smit, A.; Domingo, C.

1991-01-01

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) Ultra Heavy Cosmic Ray Experiment (UHCRE) used 16 side viewing LDEF trays giving a total geometry factor for high energy cosmic rays of 30 sq m sr. The total exposure factor was 170 sq m sr y. The experiment is based on a modular array of 192 solid state nuclear track detector stacks, mounted in sets of 4 pressure vessels (3 experiment tray). The extended duration of the LDEF mission has resulted in a greatly enhanced potential scientific yield from the UHCRE. Initial scanning results indicate that at least 2000 cosmic ray nuclei with Z greater than 65 were collected, including the world's first statistically significant sample of actinides. Postflight work to date and the current status of the experiment are reviewed. Provisional results from analysis of preflight and postflight calibrations are presented.

PHYSICS OF OUR DAYS Physical conditions in potential accelerators of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays: updated Hillas plot and radiation-loss constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ptitsyna, Kseniya V.; Troitsky, Sergei V.

2010-10-01

We review basic constraints on the acceleration of ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays (CRs) in astrophysical sources, namely, the geometric (Hillas) criterion and the restrictions from radiation losses in different acceleration regimes. Using the latest available astrophysical data, we redraw the Hillas plot and find potential UHECR accelerators. For the acceleration in the central engines of active galactic nuclei, we constrain the maximal UHECR energy for a given black hole mass. Among active galaxies, only the most powerful ones, radio galaxies and blazars, are able to accelerate protons to UHE, although acceleration of heavier nuclei is possible in much more abundant lower-power Seyfert galaxies.

Measurement of the flux of ultra high energy cosmic rays by the stereo technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

High Resolution Fly'S Eye Collaboration; Abbasi, R. U.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Al-Seady, M.; Allen, M.; Amann, J. F.; Archbold, G.; Belov, K.; Belz, J. W.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Brusova, O. A.; Burt, G. W.; Cannon, C.; Cao, Z.; Deng, W.; Fedorova, Y.; Findlay, J.; Finley, C. B.; Gray, R. C.; Hanlon, W. F.; Hoffman, C. M.; Holzscheiter, M. H.; Hughes, G.; Hüntemeyer, P.; Ivanov, D.; Jones, B. F.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kim, K.; Kirn, M. A.; Loh, E. C.; Maestas, M. M.; Manago, N.; Marek, L. J.; Martens, K.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthews, J. N.; Moore, S. A.; O'Neill, A.; Painter, C. A.; Perera, L.; Reil, K.; Riehle, R.; Roberts, M. D.; Rodriguez, D.; Sasaki, M.; Schnetzer, S. R.; Scott, L. M.; Sinnis, G.; Smith, J. D.; Snow, R.; Sokolsky, P.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Stratton, S. R.; Thomas, J. R.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tupa, D.; Wiencke, L. R.; Zech, A.; Zhang, B. K.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, Y.; High Resolution Fly's Eye Collaboration

2009-08-01

The High Resolution Fly’s Eye (HiRes) experiment has measured the flux of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays using the stereoscopic air fluorescence technique. The HiRes experiment consists of two detectors that observe cosmic ray showers via the fluorescence light they emit. HiRes data can be analyzed in monocular mode, where each detector is treated separately, or in stereoscopic mode where they are considered together. Using the monocular mode the HiRes collaboration measured the cosmic ray spectrum and made the first observation of the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff. In this paper we present the cosmic ray spectrum measured by the stereoscopic technique. Good agreement is found with the monocular spectrum in all details.

A method for establishing constraints on galactic magnetic field models using ultra high energy cosmic rays and results from the data of the Pierre Auger Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutherland, Michael Stephen

2010-12-01

The Galactic magnetic field is poorly understood. Essentially the only reliable measurements of its properties are the local orientation and field strength. Its behavior at galactic scales is unknown. Historically, magnetic field measurements have been performed using radio astronomy techniques which are sensitive to certain regions of the Galaxy and rely upon models of the distribution of gas and dust within the disk. However, the deflection of trajectories of ultra high energy cosmic rays arriving from extragalactic sources depends only on the properties of the magnetic field. In this work, a method is developed for determining acceptable global models of the Galactic magnetic field by backtracking cosmic rays through the field model. This method constrains the parameter space of magnetic field models by comparing a test statistic between backtracked cosmic rays and isotropic expectations for assumed cosmic ray source and composition hypotheses. Constraints on Galactic magnetic field models are established using data from the southern site of the Pierre Auger Observatory under various source distribution and cosmic ray composition hypotheses. Field models possessing structure similar to the stellar spiral arms are found to be inconsistent with hypotheses of an iron cosmic ray composition and sources selected from catalogs tracing the local matter distribution in the universe. These field models are consistent with hypothesis combinations of proton composition and sources tracing the local matter distribution. In particular, strong constraints are found on the parameter space of bisymmetric magnetic field models scanned under hypotheses of proton composition and sources selected from the 2MRS-VS, Swift 39-month, and VCV catalogs. Assuming that the Galactic magnetic field is well-described by a bisymmetric model under these hypotheses, the magnetic field strength near the Sun is less than 3-4 muG and magnetic pitch angle is less than -8°. These results comprise

Radio detection of cosmic-ray air showers and high-energy neutrinos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schröder, Frank G.

2017-03-01

In the last fifteen years radio detection made it back to the list of promising techniques for extensive air showers, firstly, due to the installation and successful operation of digital radio experiments and, secondly, due to the quantitative understanding of the radio emission from atmospheric particle cascades. The radio technique has an energy threshold of about 100 PeV, which coincides with the energy at which a transition from the highest-energy galactic sources to the even more energetic extragalactic cosmic rays is assumed. Thus, radio detectors are particularly useful to study the highest-energy galactic particles and ultra-high-energy extragalactic particles of all types. Recent measurements by various antenna arrays like LOPES, CODALEMA, AERA, LOFAR, Tunka-Rex, and others have shown that radio measurements can compete in precision with other established techniques, in particular for the arrival direction, the energy, and the position of the shower maximum, which is one of the best estimators for the composition of the primary cosmic rays. The scientific potential of the radio technique seems to be maximum in combination with particle detectors, because this combination of complementary detectors can significantly increase the total accuracy for air-shower measurements. This increase in accuracy is crucial for a better separation of different primary particles, like gamma-ray photons, neutrinos, or different types of nuclei, because showers initiated by these particles differ in average depth of the shower maximum and in the ratio between the amplitude of the radio signal and the number of muons. In addition to air-shower measurements, the radio technique can be used to measure particle cascades in dense media, which is a promising technique for detection of ultra-high-energy neutrinos. Several pioneering experiments like ARA, ARIANNA, and ANITA are currently searching for the radio emission by neutrino-induced particle cascades in ice. In the next years

Search for ultra high energy astrophysical neutrinos with the ANITA experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romero-Wolf, Andrew

2010-12-01

This work describes a search for cosmogenic neutrinos at energies above 1018 eV with the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA). ANITA is a balloon-borne radio interferometer designed to measure radio impulsive emission from particle showers produced in the Antarctic ice-sheet by ultra-high energy neutrinos (UHEnu). Flying at 37 km altitude the ANITA detector is sensitive to 1M km3 of ice and is expected to produce the highest exposure to ultra high energy neutrinos to date. The design, flight performance, and analysis of the first flight of ANITA in 2006 are the subject of this dissertation. Due to sparse anthropogenic backgrounds throughout the Antarctic continent, the ANITA analysis depends on high resolution directional reconstruction. An interferometric method was developed that not only provides high resolution but is also sensitive to very weak radio emissions. The results of ANITA provide the strongest constraints on current ultra-high energy neutrino models. In addition there was a serendipitous observation of ultra-high energy cosmic ray geosynchrotron emissions that are of distinct character from the expected neutrino signal. This thesis includes a study of the radio Cherenkov emission from ultra-high energy electromagnetic showers in ice in the time-domain. All previous simulations computed the radio pulse frequency spectrum. I developed a purely time-domain algorithm for computing radiation using the vector potentials of charged particle tracks. The results are fully consistent with previous frequency domain calculations and 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.

Radio-wave detection of ultra-high-energy neutrinos and cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huege, Tim; Besson, Dave

2017-12-01

Radio waves, perhaps because our terrestrial atmosphere and the cosmos beyond are uniquely transparent to them, or perhaps because they are macroscopic, so the basic instruments of detection (antennas) are easily constructible, arguably occupy a privileged position within the electromagnetic spectrum, and, correspondingly, receive disproportionate attention experimentally. Detection of radio-frequency radiation, at macroscopic wavelengths, has blossomed within the last decade as a competitive method for the measurement of cosmic particles, particularly charged cosmic rays and neutrinos. Cosmic-ray detection via radio emission from extensive air showers has been demonstrated to be a reliable technique that has reached a reconstruction quality of the cosmic-ray parameters competitive with more traditional approaches. Radio detection of neutrinos in dense media seems to be the most promising technique to achieve the gigantic detection volumes required to measure neutrinos at energies beyond the PeV-scale flux established by IceCube. In this article, we review radio detection both of cosmic rays in the atmosphere, as well as neutrinos in dense media.

Design and Performance Tests of Ultra-Compact Calorimeters for High Energy Astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salgado, Carlos W.

2003-01-01

This R&D project had two goals: a) the study of general-application ultra-compact calorimetry technologies for use in High Energy Astrophysics and, b) contribute to the design of an efficient calorimeter for the ACCESS mission. The direct measurement of galactic cosmic ray fluxes is performed from space or from balloon-borne detectors. Detectors used in those studies are limited in size and, specially, in weight. Since galactic cosmic ray fluxes are very small, detectors with high geometrical acceptances and long exposures are usually required for collecting enough statistics. We have studied calorimeter techniques that could produce large geometrical acceptance per unit of mass (G/w) and that may be used to study galactic cosmic rays at intermediate energies (knee energies).-The most important asset for detection of primary cosmic rays at and about the knee is large acceptance. To construct a large acceptance calorimeter (this term is used here in its most general accepted meaning of calorimeter as a device to measure particle energies ) the detector needs to be verv liaht or verv shallow . We studied two possible technologies to built compact calorimeters: the use of lead-tungstate crystals (PWO) and the use of sampling calorimetry using scintillating fibers embedded in a matrix of powder tungsten. For a very light detector, we considered the possibility of using Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) to measure the energy (and perhaps also direction and identity) of VHE cosmic rays.

The Lateral Trigger Probability function for the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray showers detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierre Auger Collaboration; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Ahn, E. J.; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Allard, D.; Allekotte, I.; Allen, J.; Allison, P.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Ambrosio, M.; Aminaei, A.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andringa, S.; Antičić, T.; Anzalone, A.; Aramo, C.; Arganda, E.; Arqueros, F.; Asorey, H.; Assis, P.; Aublin, J.; Ave, M.; Avenier, M.; Avila, G.; Bäcker, T.; Balzer, M.; Barber, K. B.; Barbosa, A. F.; Bardenet, R.; Barroso, S. L. C.; Baughman, B.; Bäuml, J.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, B. R.; Becker, K. H.; Bellétoile, A.; Bellido, J. A.; Benzvi, S.; Berat, C.; Bertou, X.; Biermann, P. L.; Billoir, P.; Blanco, F.; Blanco, M.; Bleve, C.; Blümer, H.; Boháčová, M.; Boncioli, D.; Bonifazi, C.; Bonino, R.; Borodai, N.; Brack, J.; Brogueira, P.; Brown, W. C.; Bruijn, R.; Buchholz, P.; Bueno, A.; Burton, R. E.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Caramete, L.; Caruso, R.; Castellina, A.; Catalano, O.; Cataldi, G.; Cazon, L.; Cester, R.; Chauvin, J.; Cheng, S. H.; Chiavassa, A.; Chinellato, J. A.; Chou, A.; Chudoba, J.; Clay, R. W.; Coluccia, M. R.; Conceição, R.; Contreras, F.; Cook, H.; Cooper, M. J.; Coppens, J.; Cordier, A.; Cotti, U.; Coutu, S.; Covault, C. E.; Creusot, A.; Criss, A.; Cronin, J.; Curutiu, A.; Dagoret-Campagne, S.; Dallier, R.; Dasso, S.; Daumiller, K.; Dawson, B. R.; de Almeida, R. M.; de Domenico, M.; de Donato, C.; de Jong, S. J.; de La Vega, G.; de Mello Junior, W. J. M.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; de Mitri, I.; de Souza, V.; de Vries, K. D.; Decerprit, G.; Del Peral, L.; Deligny, O.; Dembinski, H.; Dhital, N.; di Giulio, C.; Diaz, J. C.; Díaz Castro, M. L.; Diep, P. N.; Dobrigkeit, C.; Docters, W.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dong, P. N.; Dorofeev, A.; Dos Anjos, J. C.; Dova, M. T.; D'Urso, D.; Dutan, I.; Ebr, J.; Engel, R.; Erdmann, M.; Escobar, C. O.; Etchegoyen, A.; Facal San Luis, P.; Fajardo Tapia, I.; Falcke, H.; Farrar, G.; Fauth, A. C.; Fazzini, N.; Ferguson, A. P.; Ferrero, A.; Fick, B.; Filevich, A.; Filipčič, A.; Fliescher, S.; Fracchiolla, C. E.; Fraenkel, E. D.; Fröhlich, U.; Fuchs, B.; Gaior, R.; Gamarra, R. F.; Gambetta, S.; García, B.; García Gámez, D.; Garcia-Pinto, D.; Gascon, A.; Gemmeke, H.; Gesterling, K.; Ghia, P. L.; Giaccari, U.; Giller, M.; Glass, H.; Gold, M. S.; Golup, G.; Gomez Albarracin, F.; Gómez Berisso, M.; Gonçalves, P.; Gonzalez, D.; Gonzalez, J. G.; Gookin, B.; Góra, D.; Gorgi, A.; Gouffon, P.; Gozzini, S. R.; Grashorn, E.; Grebe, S.; Griffith, N.; Grigat, M.; Grillo, A. F.; Guardincerri, Y.; Guarino, F.; Guedes, G. P.; Guzman, A.; Hague, J. D.; Hansen, P.; Harari, D.; Harmsma, S.; Harton, J. L.; Haungs, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heck, D.; Herve, A. E.; Hojvat, C.; Hollon, N.; Holmes, V. C.; Homola, P.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horneffer, A.; Hrabovský, M.; Huege, T.; Insolia, A.; Ionita, F.; Italiano, A.; Jarne, C.; Jiraskova, S.; Kadija, K.; Kampert, K. H.; Karhan, P.; Kasper, P.; Kégl, B.; Keilhauer, B.; Keivani, A.; Kelley, J. L.; Kemp, E.; Kieckhafer, R. M.; Klages, H. O.; Kleifges, M.; Kleinfeller, J.; Knapp, J.; Koang, D.-H.; Kotera, K.; Krohm, N.; Krömer, O.; Kruppke-Hansen, D.; Kuehn, F.; Kuempel, D.; Kulbartz, J. K.; Kunka, N.; La Rosa, G.; Lachaud, C.; Lautridou, P.; Leão, M. S. A. B.; Lebrun, D.; Lebrun, P.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Lemiere, A.; Letessier-Selvon, A.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Link, K.; López, R.; Lopez Agüera, A.; Louedec, K.; Lozano Bahilo, J.; Lucero, A.; Ludwig, M.; Lyberis, H.; Maccarone, M. C.; Macolino, C.; Maldera, S.; Mandat, D.; Mantsch, P.; Mariazzi, A. G.; Marin, J.; Marin, V.; Maris, I. C.; Marquez Falcon, H. R.; Marsella, G.; Martello, D.; Martin, L.; Martinez, H.; Martínez Bravo, O.; Mathes, H. J.; Matthews, J.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthiae, G.; Maurizio, D.; Mazur, P. O.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Melissas, M.; Melo, D.; Menichetti, E.; Menshikov, A.; Mertsch, P.; Meurer, C.; Mićanović, S.; Micheletti, M. I.; Miller, W.; Miramonti, L.; Mollerach, S.; Monasor, M.; Monnier Ragaigne, D.; Montanet, F.; Morales, B.; Morello, C.; Moreno, E.; Moreno, J. C.; Morris, C.; Mostafá, M.; Moura, C. A.; Mueller, S.; Muller, M. A.; Müller, G.; Münchmeyer, M.; Mussa, R.; Navarra, G.; Navarro, J. L.; Navas, S.; Necesal, P.; Nellen, L.; Nelles, A.; Nhung, P. T.; Niemietz, L.; Nierstenhoefer, N.; Nitz, D.; Nosek, D.; Nožka, L.; Nyklicek, M.; Oehlschläger, J.; Olinto, A.; Oliva, P.; Olmos-Gilbaja, V. M.; Ortiz, M.; Pacheco, N.; Pakk Selmi-Dei, D.; Palatka, M.; Pallotta, J.; Palmieri, N.; Parente, G.; Parizot, E.; Parra, A.; Parsons, R. D.; Pastor, S.; Paul, T.; Pech, M.; Pȩkala, J.; Pelayo, R.; Pepe, I. M.; Perrone, L.; Pesce, R.; Petermann, E.; Petrera, S.; Petrinca, P.; Petrolini, A.; Petrov, Y.; Petrovic, J.; Pfendner, C.; Phan, N.; Piegaia, R.; Pierog, T.; Pieroni, P.; Pimenta, M.; Pirronello, V.; Platino, M.; Ponce, V. H.; Pontz, M.; Privitera, P.; Prouza, M.; Quel, E. J.; Querchfeld, S.; Rautenberg, J.; Ravel, O.; Ravignani, D.; Revenu, B.; Ridky, J.; Riggi, S.; Risse, M.; Ristori, P.; Rivera, H.; Rizi, V.; Roberts, J.; Robledo, C.; Rodrigues de Carvalho, W.; Rodriguez, G.; Rodriguez Martino, J.; Rodriguez Rojo, J.; Rodriguez-Cabo, I.; Rodríguez-Frías, M. D.; Ros, G.; Rosado, J.; Rossler, T.; Roth, M.; Rouillé-D'Orfeuil, B.; Roulet, E.; Rovero, A. C.; Rühle, C.; Salamida, F.; Salazar, H.; Salina, G.; Sánchez, F.; Santander, M.; Santo, C. E.; Santos, E.; Santos, E. M.; Sarazin, F.; Sarkar, B.; Sarkar, S.; Sato, R.; Scharf, N.; Scherini, V.; Schieler, H.; Schiffer, P.; Schmidt, A.; Schmidt, F.; Schmidt, T.; Scholten, O.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Schovancova, J.; Schovánek, P.; Schröder, F.; Schulte, S.; Schuster, D.; Sciutto, S. J.; Scuderi, M.; Segreto, A.; Settimo, M.; Shadkam, A.; Shellard, R. C.; Sidelnik, I.; Sigl, G.; Silva Lopez, H. H.; Śmiałkowski, A.; Šmída, R.; Snow, G. R.; Sommers, P.; Sorokin, J.; Spinka, H.; Squartini, R.; Stapleton, J.; Stasielak, J.; Stephan, M.; Strazzeri, E.; Stutz, A.; Suarez, F.; Suomijärvi, T.; Supanitsky, A. D.; Šuša, T.; Sutherland, M. S.; Swain, J.; Szadkowski, Z.; Szuba, M.; Tamashiro, A.; Tapia, A.; Tartare, M.; Taşcău, O.; Tavera Ruiz, C. G.; Tcaciuc, R.; Tegolo, D.; Thao, N. T.; Thomas, D.; Tiffenberg, J.; Timmermans, C.; Tiwari, D. K.; Tkaczyk, W.; Todero Peixoto, C. J.; Tomé, B.; Tonachini, A.; Travnicek, P.; Tridapalli, D. B.; Tristram, G.; Trovato, E.; Tueros, M.; Ulrich, R.; Unger, M.; Urban, M.; Valdés Galicia, J. F.; Valiño, I.; Valore, L.; van den Berg, A. M.; Varela, E.; Vargas Cárdenas, B.; Vázquez, J. R.; Vázquez, R. A.; Veberič, D.; Verzi, V.; Vicha, J.; Videla, M.; Villaseñor, L.; Wahlberg, H.; Wahrlich, P.; Wainberg, O.; Warner, D.; Watson, A. A.; Weber, M.; Weidenhaupt, K.; Weindl, A.; Westerhoff, S.; Whelan, B. J.; Wieczorek, G.; Wiencke, L.; Wilczyńska, B.; Wilczyński, H.; Will, M.; Williams, C.; Winchen, T.; Winders, L.; Winnick, M. G.; Wommer, M.; Wundheiler, B.; Yamamoto, T.; Yapici, T.; Younk, P.; Yuan, G.; Yushkov, A.; Zamorano, B.; Zas, E.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zaw, I.; Zepeda, A.; Ziolkowski, M.

2011-12-01

In this paper we introduce the concept of Lateral Trigger Probability (LTP) function, i.e., the probability for an Extensive Air Shower (EAS) to trigger an individual detector of a ground based array as a function of distance to the shower axis, taking into account energy, mass and direction of the primary cosmic ray. We apply this concept to the surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory consisting of a 1.5 km spaced grid of about 1600 water Cherenkov stations. Using Monte Carlo simulations of ultra-high energy showers the LTP functions are derived for energies in the range between 1017 and 1019 eV and zenith angles up to 65°. A parametrization combining a step function with an exponential is found to reproduce them very well in the considered range of energies and zenith angles. The LTP functions can also be obtained from data using events simultaneously observed by the fluorescence and the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory (hybrid events). We validate the Monte Carlo results showing how LTP functions from data are in good agreement with simulations.

Ultra high energy electrons powered by pulsar rotation.

PubMed

Mahajan, Swadesh; Machabeli, George; Osmanov, Zaza; Chkheidze, Nino

2013-01-01

A new mechanism of particle acceleration, driven by the rotational slow down of the Crab pulsar, is explored. The rotation, through the time dependent centrifugal force, can efficiently excite unstable Langmuir waves in the electron-positron (hereafter e(±)) plasma of the star magnetosphere. These waves, then, Landau damp on electrons accelerating them in the process. The net transfer of energy is optimal when the wave growth and the Landau damping times are comparable and are both very short compared to the star rotation time. We show, by detailed calculations, that these are precisely the conditions for the parameters of the Crab pulsar. This highly efficient route for energy transfer allows the electrons in the primary beam to be catapulted to multiple TeV (~ 100 TeV) and even PeV energy domain. It is expected that the proposed mechanism may, unravel the puzzle of the origin of ultra high energy cosmic ray electrons.

Power-law partition and entropy production of high-energy cosmic rays: Knee-ankle structure of the all-particle spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomaschitz, Roman

2013-10-01

A statistical description of the all-particle cosmic-ray spectrum is given in the 10^{14}\\ \\text{eV} to 10^{20}\\ \\text{eV} interval. The high-energy cosmic-ray flux is modeled as an ultra-relativistic multi-component plasma, whose components constitute a mixture of nearly ideal but nonthermal gases of low density and high temperature. Each plasma component is described by an ultra-relativistic power-law density manifested as spectral peak in the wideband fit. The “knee” and “ankle” features of the high- and ultra-high-energy spectrum turn out to be the global and local extrema of the double-logarithmic E3-scaled flux representation in which the spectral fit is performed. The all-particle spectrum is covered by recent data sets from several air shower arrays, and can be modeled as three-component plasma in the indicated energy range extending over six decades. The temperature, specific number density, internal energy and entropy of each plasma component are extracted from the partial fluxes in the broadband fit. The grand partition function and the extensive entropy functional of a non-equilibrated gas mixture with power-law components are derived in phase space by ensemble averaging.

Estimative of conversion fractions of AGN magnetic luminosity to produce ultra high energy cosmic rays from the observation of Fermi-LAT gamma rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coimbra-Araújo, Carlos H.; Anjos, Rita C.

2017-01-01

A fraction of the magnetic luminosity (LB) produced by Kerr black holes in some active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can produce the necessary energy to accelerate ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) beyond the GZK limit, observed, e.g., by the Pierre Auger experiment. Nevertheless, the direct detection of those UHECRs has a lack of information about the direction of the source from where those cosmic rays are coming, since charged particles are deflected by the intergalactic magnetic field. This problem arises the needing of alternative methods to evaluate the luminosity of UHECRs (LCR) from a given source. Methods proposed in literature range from the observation of upper limits in gamma rays to the observation of upper limits in neutrinos produced by cascade effects during the propagation of UHECRs. In this aspect, the present work proposes a method to calculate limits of the main possible conversion fractions ηCR = LCR/LB for nine UHECR AGN Seyfert sources based on the respective observation of gamma ray upper limits from Fermi-LAT data.

The EUSO program: Imaging of ultra-high energy cosmic rays by high-speed UV-video from space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuglesang, Christer; JEM-EUSO Collaboration

2017-11-01

The Extreme-Energy Cosmic Rays (EECR), with energy above 5•1019 eV, are very interesting objects to study that can provide new information about our universe. At the same time EECRs are exceptionally challenging to study because they are so rare. To obtain a reasonably large statistical sample, the JEM-EUSO collaboration aims to place a telescope into space. Various technologies are being developed and studied to achieve this goal. Several pathfinders are used for validation and testing. In particular, during 2017 a long-duration super-pressure balloon flight will observe the first high energy cosmic rays from above using the fluorescence technique, and a small test unit, Mini-EUSO, will be sent to ISS to measure the UV-background from Earth night side. In addition, these missions will provide various scientific results.

Uncorrelated Far Active Galactic Nuclei Flaring with Their Delayed Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fargion, Daniele; Oliva, Pietro; De Sanctis Lucentini, Pier Giorgio

The most distant Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), within the allowed Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cut-off radius ( ≲ 100 Mpc), have been recently candidate by many authors as the best location for the observed Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) origination. Indeed, the apparent homogeneity and isotropy of recent UHECR signals seems to require a far cosmic isotropic and homogeneous scenario, involving a proton UHECR courier: our galaxy or nearest local group or super galactic plane (ruled by the Virgo cluster) are too near and apparently too anisotropic to be in agreement with the (Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) and Telescope Array (TA) almost-homogeneous data sample. However, the few and mild UHECR observed clustering, the so called North and South Hot Spots, are smeared in wide (±18°) solid angles. Their consequent random walk flight from most far GZK UHECR sources, nearly at 100 Mpc, must be delayed — withrespect to a straight AGN photon gamma flaring arrival trajectory — at least by a million years. During this time, the AGN jet blazing signal, its probable axis deflection (such as the helical jet in Mrk 501), its miss alignment or even its almost certain exhaust activity, may lead to a complete misleading correlation between present UHECR events and a much earlier active AGN ejection. UHECR maps may be anyway related to galactic or nearest (Cen A, M82) AGN extragalactic UHECR sources shining in twin Hot Spot. Therefore we defend our (quite different) scenario where UHECR are mostly made by lightest UHECR nuclei originated by nearby AGN sources, or few galactic sources, whose delayed signals are reaching us within few thousand years in the observed smeared sky areas.

Study of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays from Extensive Air Showers Radio Emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrov, Igor; Kozlov, Vladimir; Petrov, Zim; Knurenko, Stanislav; Pravdin, Mikhail

The study of cosmic rays with the help of radio detection from extensive air showers may be an alternative to traditional detecting methods, which use a large area array installed with hundreds and thousands of scintillation detectors for charged particles, or the detectors of measuring the emission produced by relativistic particles of EAS in the optical wavelengths. Processes that lead to the emission of electromagnetic radiation are well known and calculations show that the air shower radio emission depends on the processes of development of the electromagnetic cascade, i.e. related with the longitudinal development of the shower, with the magnetic field near sea level etc. In this regard, there is a question to establish the correlation between characteristics of EAS both longitudinal and lateral development and radio emission parameters observed when air shower particles pass through the atmosphere. For this purpose, in Yakutsk, radio array for detecting air shower radio emission was established. The array consists of the antenna field on which crossed antennas are installed; antennas oriented E - W and N - S. Radio emission measurements are conducted at frequency 32 MHz, free from industrial noise. In 2008 - 2013 years, Yakutsk array has measured several seasons of registration of EAS events, including showers with energies above 10 (19) eV. In the course of the data analysis the following results were obtained: a) lateral distribution of the radio signal plotted as a function of distance from the shower axis ; b) a correlation between the amplitude of the radio signal with the energy of the shower, which is determined by measuring the fluxes of charged particles , muons and EAS Cerenkov radiation (energy balance method); c) we made evaluation of the depth of maximum development of the shower using form of radio emission LDF measured in ultra-high energy showers; g) a comparison of the Yakutsk array data with data from other arrays.

Study of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray composition using Telescope Array's Middle Drum detector and surface array in hybrid mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R. U.; Abe, M.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Allen, M.; Anderson, R.; Azuma, R.; Barcikowski, E.; Belz, J. W.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Cady, R.; Chae, M. J.; Cheon, B. G.; Chiba, J.; Chikawa, M.; Cho, W. R.; Fujii, T.; Fukushima, M.; Goto, T.; Hanlon, W.; Hayashi, Y.; Hayashida, N.; Hibino, K.; Honda, K.; Ikeda, D.; Inoue, N.; Ishii, T.; Ishimori, R.; Ito, H.; Ivanov, D.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kadota, K.; Kakimoto, F.; Kalashev, O.; Kasahara, K.; Kawai, H.; Kawakami, S.; Kawana, S.; Kawata, K.; Kido, E.; Kim, H. B.; Kim, J. H.; Kim, J. H.; Kitamura, S.; Kitamura, Y.; Kuzmin, V.; Kwon, Y. J.; Lan, J.; Lim, S. I.; Lundquist, J. P.; Machida, K.; Martens, K.; Matsuda, T.; Matsuyama, T.; Matthews, J. N.; Minamino, M.; Mukai, Y.; Myers, I.; Nagasawa, K.; Nagataki, S.; Nakamura, T.; Nonaka, T.; Nozato, A.; Ogio, S.; Ogura, J.; Ohnishi, M.; Ohoka, H.; Oki, K.; Okuda, T.; Ono, M.; Oshima, A.; Ozawa, S.; Park, I. H.; Pshirkov, M. S.; Rodriguez, D. C.; Rubtsov, G.; Ryu, D.; Sagawa, H.; Sakurai, N.; Sampson, A. L.; Scott, L. M.; Shah, P. D.; Shibata, F.; Shibata, T.; Shimodaira, H.; Shin, B. K.; Shin, H. S.; Smith, J. D.; Sokolsky, P.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Stratton, S. R.; Stroman, T.; Suzawa, T.; Takamura, M.; Takeda, M.; Takeishi, R.; Taketa, A.; Takita, M.; Tameda, Y.; Tanaka, H.; Tanaka, K.; Tanaka, M.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tinyakov, P.; Tkachev, I.; Tokuno, H.; Tomida, T.; Troitsky, S.; Tsunesada, Y.; Tsutsumi, K.; Uchihori, Y.; Udo, S.; Urban, F.; Vasiloff, G.; Wong, T.; Yamane, R.; Yamaoka, H.; Yamazaki, K.; Yang, J.; Yashiro, K.; Yoneda, Y.; Yoshida, S.; Yoshii, H.; Zollinger, R.; Zundel, Z.

2015-04-01

Previous measurements of the composition of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) made by the High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) and Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) are seemingly contradictory, but utilize different detection methods, as HiRes was a stereo detector and PAO is a hybrid detector. The five year Telescope Array (TA) Middle Drum hybrid composition measurement is similar in some, but not all, respects in methodology to PAO, and good agreement is evident between data and a light, largely protonic, composition when comparing the measurements to predictions obtained with the QGSJetII-03 and QGSJet-01c models. These models are also in agreement with previous HiRes stereo measurements, confirming the equivalence of the stereo and hybrid methods. The data is incompatible with a pure iron composition, for all models examined, over the available range of energies. The elongation rate and mean values of Xmax are in good agreement with Pierre Auger Observatory data. This analysis is presented using two methods: data cuts using simple geometrical variables and a new pattern recognition technique.

Search for Ultra-High-Energy Neutrinos with AMANDA-II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ackermann, M.; Adams, J.; Ahrens, J.; Andeen, K.; Auffenberg, J.; Bai, X.; Baret, B.; Barwick, S. W.; Bay, R.; Beattie, K.; Becka, T.; Becker, J. K.; Becker, K.-H.; Beimforde, M.; Berghaus, P.; Berley, D.; Bernardini, E.; Bertrand, D.; Besson, D. Z.; Blaufuss, E.; Boersma, D. J.; Bohm, C.; Bolmont, J.; Böser, S.; Botner, O.; Bouchta, A.; Braun, J.; Burgess, T.; Castermans, T.; Chirkin, D.; Christy, B.; Clem, J.; Cowen, D. F.; D'Agostino, M. V.; Davour, A.; Day, C. T.; De Clercq, C.; Demirörs, L.; Descamps, F.; Desiati, P.; de Vries-Uiterweerd, G.; DeYoung, T.; Diaz-Velez, J. C.; Dreyer, J.; Dumm, J. P.; Duvoort, M. R.; Edwards, W. R.; Ehrlich, R.; Eisch, J.; Ellsworth, R. W.; Evenson, P. A.; Fadiran, O.; Fazely, A. R.; Filimonov, K.; Finley, C.; Foerster, M. M.; Fox, B. D.; Franckowiak, A.; Franke, R.; Gaisser, T. K.; Gallagher, J.; Ganugapati, R.; Geenen, H.; Gerhardt, L.; Goldschmidt, A.; Goodman, J. A.; Gozzini, R.; Griesel, T.; Groß, A.; Grullon, S.; Gunasingha, R. M.; Gurtner, M.; Ha, C.; Hallgren, A.; Halzen, F.; Han, K.; Hanson, K.; Hardtke, D.; Hardtke, R.; Hasegawa, Y.; Hauschildt, T.; Heise, J.; Helbing, K.; Hellwig, M.; Herquet, P.; Hill, G. C.; Hodges, J.; Hoffman, K. D.; Hommez, B.; Hoshina, K.; Hubert, D.; Hughey, B.; Hülß, J.-P.; Hulth, P. O.; Hultqvist, K.; Hundertmark, S.; Inaba, M.; Ishihara, A.; Jacobsen, J.; Japaridze, G. S.; Johansson, H.; Joseph, J. M.; Kampert, K.-H.; Kappes, A.; Karg, T.; Karle, A.; Kawai, H.; Kelley, J. L.; Kiryluk, J.; Kislat, F.; Kitamura, N.; Klein, S. R.; Klepser, S.; Kohnen, G.; Kolanoski, H.; Köpke, L.; Kowalski, M.; Kowarik, T.; Krasberg, M.; Kuehn, K.; Kuwabara, T.; Labare, M.; Laihem, K.; Landsman, H.; Lauer, R.; Leich, H.; Leier, D.; Liubarsky, I.; Lundberg, J.; Lünemann, J.; Madsen, J.; Maruyama, R.; Mase, K.; Matis, H. S.; McCauley, T.; McParland, C. P.; Meagher, K.; Meli, A.; Messarius, T.; Mészáros, P.; Miyamoto, H.; Montaruli, T.; Morey, A.; Morse, R.; Movit, S. M.; Münich, K.; Nahnhauer, R.; Nam, J. W.; Nießen, P.; Nygren, D. R.; Olivas, A.; Ono, M.; Patton, S.; Pérez de los Heros, C.; Piegsa, A.; Pieloth, D.; Pohl, A. C.; Porrata, R.; Pretz, J.; Price, P. B.; Przybylski, G. T.; Rawlins, K.; Razzaque, S.; Redl, P.; Resconi, E.; Rhode, W.; Ribordy, M.; Rizzo, A.; Robbins, S.; Robbins, W. J.; Roth, P.; Rothmaier, F.; Rott, C.; Roucelle, C.; Rutledge, D.; Ryckbosch, D.; Sander, H.-G.; Sarkar, S.; Satalecka, K.; Schlenstedt, S.; Schmidt, T.; Schneider, D.; Schultz, O.; Seckel, D.; Semburg, B.; Seo, S. H.; Sestayo, Y.; Seunarine, S.; Silvestri, A.; Smith, A. J.; Song, C.; Spiczak, G. M.; Spiering, C.; Stamatikos, M.; Stanev, T.; Stezelberger, T.; Stokstad, R. G.; Stoufer, M. C.; Stoyanov, S.; Strahler, E. A.; Straszheim, T.; Sulanke, K.-H.; Sullivan, G. W.; Sumner, T. J.; Swillens, Q.; Taboada, I.; Tarasova, O.; Tepe, A.; Thollander, L.; Tilav, S.; Tluczykont, M.; Toale, P. A.; Tosi, D.; Turčan, D.; van Eijndhoven, N.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Van Overloop, A.; Viscomi, V.; Vogt, C.; Voigt, B.; Wagner, W.; Walck, C.; Waldmann, H.; Waldenmaier, T.; Walter, M.; Wang, Y.-R.; Wendt, C.; Wiebusch, C. H.; Wiedemann, C.; Wikström, G.; Williams, D. R.; Wischnewski, R.; Wissing, H.; Woschnagg, K.; Xu, X. W.; Yodh, G.; Yoshida, S.; Zornoza, J. D.; IceCube Collaboration

2008-03-01

A search for diffuse neutrinos with energies in excess of 105 GeV is conducted with AMANDA-II data recorded between 2000 and 2002. Above 107 GeV, the Earth is essentially opaque to neutrinos. This fact, combined with the limited overburden of the AMANDA-II detector (roughly 1.5 km), concentrates these ultra-high-energy neutrinos at the horizon. The primary background for this analysis is bundles of downgoing, high-energy muons from the interaction of cosmic rays in the atmosphere. No statistically significant excess above the expected background is seen in the data, and an upper limit is set on the diffuse all-flavor neutrino flux of E2Φ90% CL < 2.7 × 10-7 GeV cm-2 s-1 sr-1 valid over the energy range of 2 × 105 to 109 GeV. A number of models that predict neutrino fluxes from active galactic nuclei are excluded at the 90% confidence level.

Progress report on the ultra heavy cosmic ray experiment (AO178)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, A.; Osullivan, D.; Bosch, J.; Keegan, R.; Wenzel, K.-P.; Jansen, F.; Domingo, C.

1993-01-01

The Ultra Heavy Cosmic Ray Experiment (UHCRE) is based on a modular array of 192 side-viewing solid state nuclear track detector stacks. These stacks were mounted in sets of four in 48 pressure vessels employing sixteen peripheral Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) trays. The extended duration of the LDEF mission has resulted in a greatly enhanced scientific yield from the UHCRE. The geometry factor for high energy cosmic ray nuclei, allowing for Earth shadowing, was 30 sq m-sr, giving a total exposure factor of 170 sq m-sr-y at an orbital inclination of 28.4 degrees. Scanning results indicate that about 3000 cosmic ray nuclei in the charge region with Z greater than 65 were collected. This sample is more than ten times the current world data in the field (taken to be the data set from the HEAO-3 mission plus that from the Ariel-6 mission) and is sufficient to provide the world's first statistically significant sample of actinide (Z greater than 88) cosmic rays. Results to date are presented including details of ultra-heavy cosmic ray nuclei, analysis of pre-flight and post-flight calibration events and details of track response in the context of detector temperature history. The integrated effect of all temperature and age related latent track variations cause a maximum charge shift of +/- 0.8 e for uranium and +/- 0.6 e for the platinum-lead group. The precision of charge assignment as a function of energy is derived and evidence for remarkably good charge resolution achieved in the UHCRE is considered. Astrophysical implications of the UHCRE charge spectrum are discussed.

Preliminary CALET Ultra Heavy Cosmic Ray Abundance Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rauch, Brian; CALET Collaboration

2017-01-01

The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) on the International Space Station (ISS) was launched August 19, 2015 and has been returning excellent data for over a year. The main calorimeter (CAL) on CALET measures the fluxes of high-energy electrons, nuclei and gamma rays. In addition to measuring the energy spectra of the more abundant cosmic-ray nuclei through 26Fe, CAL has the dynamic range to measure the abundances of the ultra-heavy (UH) cosmic-ray nuclei through 40Zr. In an anticipated 5 year mission on the ISS CALET will collect a UH data set with statistics comparable to that achieved with the first flight of the SuperTIGER balloon-borne instrument. The CALET space-based measurement has the advantage of not requiring corrections for atmospheric losses, and unlike other UH measurements the abundances of all nuclei from 1H through 40Zr are observed with the same instrument. We present preliminary CALET UH analysis results from the first year of operation. This research was supported by NASA at Washington University under Grant Number NNX11AE02G.

Large aperture and wide field of view space telescope for the detection of ultra high energy cosmic rays and neutrinos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazzinghi, Piero; Bratina, Vojko; Gambicorti, Lisa; Simonetti, Francesca; Zuccaro Marchi, Alessandro

2017-11-01

New technologies are proposed for large aperture and wide Field of View (FOV) space telescopes dedicated to detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays and Neutrinos flux, through observation of fluorescence traces in atmosphere and diffused Cerenkov signals. The presented advanced detection system is a spaceborne LEO telescope, with better performance than ground-based observatories, detecting up to 103 - 104 events/year. Different design approaches are implemented, all with very large FOV and focal surface detectors with sufficient segmentation and time resolution to allow precise reconstructions of the arrival direction. In particular, two Schmidt cameras are suggested as an appropriate solution to match most of the optical and technical requirements: large FOV, low f/#, reduction of stray light, optionally flat focal surface, already proven low-cost construction technologies. Finally, a preliminary proposal of a wideFOV retrofocus catadioptric telescope is explained.

Searching for ultra high energy neutrinos from space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santangelo, A.

2006-07-01

Observations of neutrinos at Ultra High Energies (UHE), from a few 1018 eV to beyond the decade of 1020 eV, are an extraordinary opportunity to explore this still largely unknown Universe and present us a tremendous experimental challenge. It is indeed expected that observations of UHEνs (and cosmic rays) will provide entirely new information on the sources and on the physical mechanisms able to accelerate these extreme messengers to macroscopic energies. However, as extensively debated in the last few years, UHE particles might, also, carry evidence of unknown physics or of exotic particles, relics of the early Universe. To reach these goals, high statistics, high quality observations are required. This implies innovative experiments with larger acceptances and good understanding of systematic uncertainties. The ground-based Pierre Auger Observatory, whose southern site is expected to be completed in Malargue, Argentina by the end of 2006, will surely provide, in the near future, a more solid observational scenario for UHE Cosmic Rays (UHECR). However, only space-based observatories can reach the effective area necessary to systematically explore the UHE universe. Space-based observatories are likely to be essential for neutrino observations at UHE. In fact only a few UHE neutrinos will be detected by the current planned observatories and only if the most promising estimates for fluxes applies. In the present paper, after summarizing the science rationale behind UHEν studies, we review the status of current experimental efforts, with the main emphasis on the actual generation of space-based observatories. We also briefly discuss the scientific goals, the requirements and the R&D of a “next-generation” space-based mission for UHE observations. The opening of the ESA “Cosmic Vision 2015 2025” long term plan provides, in the very near future, an unique opportunity to develop such a challenging and innovative observatory for UHE.

Cosmic ray antiprotons at high energies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Winkler, Martin Wolfgang, E-mail: martin.winkler@su.se

2017-02-01

Cosmic ray antiprotons provide a powerful tool to probe dark matter annihilations in our galaxy. The sensitivity of this important channel is, however, diluted by sizable uncertainties in the secondary antiproton background. In this work, we improve the calculation of secondary antiproton production with a particular focus on the high energy regime. We employ the most recent collider data and identify a substantial increase of antiproton cross sections with energy. This increase is driven by the violation of Feynman scaling as well as by an enhanced strange hyperon production. The updated antiproton production cross sections are made publicly available formore » independent use in cosmic ray studies. In addition, we provide the correlation matrix of cross section uncertainties for the AMS-02 experiment. At high energies, the new cross sections improve the compatibility of the AMS-02 data with a pure secondary origin of antiprotons in cosmic rays.« less

High-Energy Cosmic Rays from Supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morlino, Giovanni

Cosmic rays are charged relativistic particles that reach the Earth with extremely high energies, providing striking evidence of the existence of effective accelerators in the Universe. Below an energy around ˜ 1017 eV, cosmic rays are believed to be produced in the Milky Way, while above that energy, their origin is probably extragalactic. In the early 1930s, supernovae were already identified as possible sources for the galactic component of cosmic rays. After the 1970s this idea has gained more and more credibility, thanks to the development of the diffusive shock acceleration theory, which provides a robust theoretical framework for particle energization in astrophysical environments. Afterward, mostly in recent years, much observational evidence has been gathered in support of this framework, converting a speculative idea in a real paradigm. In this chapter the basic pillars of this paradigm will be illustrated. This includes the acceleration mechanism, the nonlinear effects produced by accelerated particles onto the shock dynamics needed to reach the highest energies, the escape process from the sources, and the transportation of cosmic rays through the Galaxy. The theoretical picture will be corroborated by discussing several observations which support the idea that supernova remnants are effective cosmic ray factories.

Determination of the proton-to-helium ratio in cosmic rays at ultra-high energies from the tail of the Xmax distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yushkov, A.; Risse, M.; Werner, M.; Krieg, J.

2016-12-01

We present a method to determine the proton-to-helium ratio in cosmic rays at ultra-high energies. It makes use of the exponential slope, Λ, of the tail of the Xmax distribution measured by an air shower experiment. The method is quite robust with respect to uncertainties from modeling hadronic interactions and to systematic errors on Xmax and energy, and to the possible presence of primary nuclei heavier than helium. Obtaining the proton-to-helium ratio with air shower experiments would be a remarkable achievement. To quantify the applicability of a particular mass-sensitive variable for mass composition analysis despite hadronic uncertainties we introduce as a metric the 'analysis indicator' and find an improved performance of the Λ method compared to other variables currently used in the literature. The fraction of events in the tail of the Xmax distribution can provide additional information on the presence of nuclei heavier than helium in the primary beam.

Energy spectrum of ultra-high energy cosmic rays observed with the Telescope Array using a hybrid technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abu-Zayyad, T.; Aida, R.; Allen, M.; Anderson, R.; Azuma, R.; Barcikowski, E.; Belz, J. W.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Cady, R.; Cheon, B. G.; Chiba, J.; Chikawa, M.; Cho, E. J.; Cho, W. R.; Fujii, H.; Fujii, T.; Fukuda, T.; Fukushima, M.; Hanlon, W.; Hayashi, K.; Hayashi, Y.; Hayashida, N.; Hibino, K.; Hiyama, K.; Honda, K.; Iguchi, T.; Ikeda, D.; Ikuta, K.; Inoue, N.; Ishii, T.; Ishimori, R.; Ito, H.; Ivanov, D.; Iwamoto, S.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kadota, K.; Kakimoto, F.; Kalashev, O.; Kanbe, T.; Kasahara, K.; Kawai, H.; Kawakami, S.; Kawana, S.; Kido, E.; Kim, H. B.; Kim, H. K.; Kim, J. H.; Kim, J. H.; Kitamoto, K.; Kitamura, S.; Kitamura, Y.; Kobayashi, K.; Kobayashi, Y.; Kondo, Y.; Kuramoto, K.; Kuzmin, V.; Kwon, Y. J.; Lan, J.; Lim, S. I.; Lundquist, J. P.; Machida, S.; Martens, K.; Matsuda, T.; Matsuura, T.; Matsuyama, T.; Matthews, J. N.; Minamino, M.; Miyata, K.; Murano, Y.; Myers, I.; Nagasawa, K.; Nagataki, S.; Nakamura, T.; Nam, S. W.; Nonaka, T.; Ogio, S.; Ohnishi, M.; Ohoka, H.; Oki, K.; Oku, D.; Okuda, T.; Ono, M.; Oshima, A.; Ozawa, S.; Park, I. H.; Pshirkov, M. S.; Rodriguez, D. C.; Roh, S. Y.; Rubtsov, G.; Ryu, D.; Sagawa, H.; Sakurai, N.; Sampson, A. L.; Scott, L. M.; Shah, P. D.; Shibata, F.; Shibata, T.; Shimodaira, H.; Shin, B. K.; Shin, J. I.; Shirahama, T.; Smith, J. D.; Sokolsky, P.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Stratton, S. R.; Stroman, T.; Suzuki, S.; Takahashi, Y.; Takeda, M.; Taketa, A.; Takita, M.; Tameda, Y.; Tanaka, H.; Tanaka, K.; Tanaka, M.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tinyakov, P.; Tkachev, I.; Tokuno, H.; Tomida, T.; Troitsky, S.; Tsunesada, Y.; Tsutsumi, K.; Tsuyuguchi, Y.; Uchihori, Y.; Udo, S.; Ukai, H.; Urban, F.; Vasiloff, G.; Wada, Y.; Wong, T.; Yamakawa, Y.; Yamane, R.; Yamaoka, H.; Yamazaki, K.; Yang, J.; Yoneda, Y.; Yoshida, S.; Yoshii, H.; Zhou, X.; Zollinger, R.; Zundel, Z.

2015-02-01

We measure the spectrum of cosmic rays with energies greater than 1018.2 eV with the fluorescence detectors (FDs) and the surface detectors (SDs) of the Telescope Array Experiment using the data taken in our first 2.3-year observation from May 27, 2008 to September 7, 2010. A hybrid air shower reconstruction technique is employed to improve accuracies in determination of arrival directions and primary energies of cosmic rays using both FD and SD data. The energy spectrum presented here is in agreement with our previously published spectra and the HiRes results.

Neutrino diagnostics of ultrahigh energy cosmic ray protons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ahlers, Markus; Sarkar, Subir; Anchordoqui, Luis A.

2009-04-15

The energy at which cosmic rays from extra-galactic sources begin to dominate over those from galactic sources is an important open question in astroparticle physics. A natural candidate is the energy at the 'ankle' in the approximately power-law energy spectrum which is indicative of a crossover from a falling galactic component to a flatter extra-galactic component. The transition can occur without such flattening but this requires some degree of conspiracy of the spectral shapes and normalizations of the two components. Nevertheless, it has been argued that extra-galactic sources of cosmic ray protons that undergo interactions on the CMB can reproducemore » the energy spectrum below the ankle if the crossover energy is as low as the 'second knee' in the spectrum. This low crossover model is constrained by direct measurements by the Pierre Auger Observatory, which indicate a heavier composition at these energies. We demonstrate that upper limits on the cosmic diffuse neutrino flux provide a complementary constraint on the proton fraction in ultra-high energy extra-galactic cosmic rays and forthcoming data from IceCube will provide a definitive test of this model.« less

Search for Ultra-High-Energy Neutrinos with AMANDA-II

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ackermann, M.; Bernardini, E.; Adams, J.

2008-03-10

A search for diffuse neutrinos with energies in excess of 10{sup 5} GeV is conducted with AMANDA-II data recorded between 2000 and 2002. Above 10{sup 7} GeV, the Earth is essentially opaque to neutrinos. This fact, combined with the limited overburden of the AMANDA-II detector (roughly 1.5 km), concentrates these ultra-high-energy neutrinos at the horizon. The primary background for this analysis is bundles of downgoing, high-energy muons from the interaction of cosmic rays in the atmosphere. No statistically significant excess above the expected background is seen in the data, and an upper limit is set on the diffuse all-flavor neutrinomore » flux of E{sup 2}{phi}{sub 90%CL} < 2.7 x 10{sup -7} GeV cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} sr{sup -1} valid over the energy range of 2 x 10{sup 5} to 10{sup 9} GeV. A number of models that predict neutrino fluxes from active galactic nuclei are excluded at the 90% confidence level.« less

Search for Ultra High-Energy Neutrinos with AMANDA-II

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

IceCube Collaboration; Klein, Spencer; Ackermann, M.

2007-11-19

A search for diffuse neutrinos with energies in excess of 10{sup 5} GeV is conducted with AMANDA-II data recorded between 2000 and 2002. Above 10{sup 7} GeV, the Earth is essentially opaque to neutrinos. This fact, combined with the limited overburden of the AMANDA-II detector (roughly 1.5 km), concentrates these ultra high-energy neutrinos at the horizon. The primary background for this analysis is bundles of downgoing, high-energy muons from the interaction of cosmic rays in the atmosphere. No statistically significant excess above the expected background is seen in the data, and an upper limit is set on the diffuse all-flavormore » neutrino flux of E{sup 2} {Phi}{sub 90%CL} < 2.7 x 10{sup -7} GeV cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} sr{sup -1} valid over the energy range of 2 x 10{sup 5} GeV to 10{sup 9} GeV. A number of models which predict neutrino fluxes from active galactic nuclei are excluded at the 90% confidence level.« less

Blazar 3C 66A: Another extragalactic source of ultra-high-energy gamma-ray photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neshpor, Yu. I.; Stepanyan, A. A.; Kalekin, O. P.; Fomin, V. P.; Chalenko, N. N.; Shitov, V. G.

1998-03-01

he observations of the object 3C 66A which were carried out with the GT-48 gamma-ray telescope at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in November-December 1996 revealed a flux of ultra-high-energy (>10^12 eV) gamma-ray photons from this blazar. According to preliminary estimates, the photon flux is (31) 10^11 photons cm^-2 s^-1. The blazar 3C 66A is the third extragalactic object from which a flux of ultra- high-energy gamma-ray photons was detected. Fluxes of gamma-ray photons were previously detected from the galaxies Mk 421 and Mk 501 at the Whipple observatory. This result provides further evidence that active processes proceed in blazars which are accompanied by the generation of cosmic rays responsible for the emission of gamma-ray photons.

The Need for Direct High-Energy Cosmic-Ray Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Frank C.; Streitmatter, Robert

2004-01-01

Measuring the chemical composition of the cosmic rays in the energy region of greater than or equal to 10(exp 12)eV would be highly useful in settling several nagging questions concerning the propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy. In particular an accurate measurement of secondary to primary ratios such as Boron to Carbon would gibe clear evidence as to whether the propagation of cosmic rays is determined by a diffusion coefficient that varies with the particle's energy as E(sup 0.5) or E(sup 0.3). This would go a long ways in helping us to understand the anistropy (or lack thereof) of the highest energy cosmic rays and the power requirements for producing those particles at approximately equal to 10(exp 18) eV which are believed to be highest energy particles produced in the Galaxy. This would be only one of the benefits of a mission such as ACCESS to perform direct particle measurements on very high energy cosmic rays.

Space-atmospheric interactions of energetic cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isar, Paula Gina

2015-02-01

Ultra-high energy cosmic rays are the most energetic particles in the Universe of which origin still remain a mystery since a century from their descovery. They are unique messengers coming from far beyond our Milky Way Galaxy, which provides insights into the fundamental matter, energy, space and time. As subatomic particles flying through space to nearly light speed, the ultra-high energy cosmic rays are so rare that they strike the Earth's atmosphere at a rate of up to only one particle per square kilometer per year or century. While the atmosphere is used as a giant calorimeter where cosmic rays induced air showers are initiated and the medium through which Cherenkov or fluorescence light or radio waves propagate, all cosmic ray measurements (performed either from space or ground) rely on an accurate atmospheric monitoring and understanding of atmospheric effects. The interdisciplinary link between Astroparticle Physics and Atmospheric Environment through the ultra-high energy comic rays space - atmospheric interactions, based on the present ground- and future space-based cosmic ray observatories, will be presented.

Experimental Summary: Very High Energy Cosmic Rays and their Interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kampert, Karl-Heinz

2013-06-01

The XVII International Symposium on Very High Energy Cosmic Ray Interactions, held in August of 2012 in Berlin, was the first one in the history of the Symposium,where a plethora of high precision LHC data with relevance for cosmic ray physics was presented. This report aims at giving a brief summary of those measurements andit discusses their relevance for observations of high energy cosmic rays. Enormous progress has been made also in air shower observations and in direct measurements of cosmic rays, exhibiting many more structure in the cosmic ray energy spectrum than just a simple power law with a knee and an ankle. At the highest energy, the flux suppression may not be dominated by the GZK-effect but by the limiting energy of a nearby source or source population. New projects and application of new technologies promise further advances also in the near future. We shall discuss the experimental and theoretical progress in the field and its prospects for coming years.

The dawn of the particle astronomy era in ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.

PubMed

Bauleo, Pablo M; Martino, Julio Rodríguez

2009-04-16

Cosmic rays are charged particles arriving at the Earth from space. Those at the highest energies are particularly interesting because the physical processes that could create or accelerate them are at the limit of our present knowledge. They also open the window to particle astronomy, as the magnetic fields along their paths are not strong enough to deflect their trajectories much from a straight line. The Pierre Auger Observatory is the largest cosmic-ray detector on Earth, and as such is beginning to resolve past observational disagreements regarding the origin and propagation of these particles.

Progress in high-energy cosmic ray physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mollerach, S.; Roulet, E.

2018-01-01

We review some of the recent progress in our knowledge about high-energy cosmic rays, with an emphasis on the interpretation of the different observational results. We discuss the effects that are relevant to shape the cosmic ray spectrum and the explanations proposed to account for its features and for the observed changes in composition. The physics of air-showers is summarized and we also present the results obtained on the proton-air cross section and on the muon content of the showers. We discuss the cosmic ray propagation through magnetic fields, the effects of diffusion and of magnetic lensing, the cosmic ray interactions with background radiation fields and the production of secondary neutrinos and photons. We also consider the cosmic ray anisotropies, both at large and small angular scales, presenting the results obtained from the TeV up to the highest energies and discuss the models proposed to explain their origin.

High Energy Cosmic Electrons: Messengers from Nearby Cosmic Ray Sources or Dark Matter?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moiseev, Alexander

2011-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the recent discoveries by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) and the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope in reference to high energy cosmic electrons, and whether their source is cosmic rays or dark matter. Specific interest is devoted to Cosmic Ray electrons anisotropy,

High energy interactions of cosmic ray particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, L. W.

1986-01-01

The highlights of seven sessions of the Conference dealing with high energy interactions of cosmic rays are discussed. High energy cross section measurements; particle production-models of experiments; nuclei and nuclear matter; nucleus-nucleus collision; searches for magnetic monopoles; and studies of nucleon decay are covered.

Layered water Cherenkov detector for the study of ultra high energy cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Letessier-Selvon, Antoine; Billoir, Pierre; Blanco, Miguel; Mariş, Ioana C.; Settimo, Mariangela

2014-12-01

We present a new design for the water Cherenkov detectors that are in use in various cosmic ray observatories. This novel design can provide a significant improvement in the independent measurement of the muonic and electromagnetic component of extensive air showers. From such multi-component data an event by event classification of the primary cosmic ray mass becomes possible. According to popular hadronic interaction models, such as EPOS-LHC or QGSJetII-04, the discriminating power between iron and hydrogen primaries reaches Fisher values of 2 or above for energies in excess of 1019 eV with a detector array layout similar to that of the Pierre Auger Observatory.

CRPropa 3—a public astrophysical simulation framework for propagating extraterrestrial ultra-high energy particles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Batista, Rafael Alves; Dundovic, Andrej; Sigl, Guenter

2016-05-01

We present the simulation framework CRPropa version 3 designed for efficient development of astrophysical predictions for ultra-high energy particles. Users can assemble modules of the most relevant propagation effects in galactic and extragalactic space, include their own physics modules with new features, and receive on output primary and secondary cosmic messengers including nuclei, neutrinos and photons. In extension to the propagation physics contained in a previous CRPropa version, the new version facilitates high-performance computing and comprises new physical features such as an interface for galactic propagation using lensing techniques, an improved photonuclear interaction calculation, and propagation in time dependent environmentsmore » to take into account cosmic evolution effects in anisotropy studies and variable sources. First applications using highlighted features are presented as well.« less

Correlation of γ-ray and high-energy cosmic ray fluxes from the giant lobes of Centaurus A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fraija, N., E-mail: nifraija@astro.unam.mx

2014-03-01

The spectral energy distribution of giant lobes shows one main peak detected by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe at the low energy of 10{sup –5} eV and a faint γ-ray flux imaged by the Fermi Large Area Telescope at an energy of ≥100 MeV. On the other hand, the Pierre Auger Observatory associated some ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with the direction of Centaurus A and IceCube reported 28 neutrino-induced events in a TeV-PeV energy range, although none of them related with this direction. In this work, we describe the spectra for each of the lobes, the main peak with synchrotron radiation,more » and the high-energy emission with p-p interactions. After obtaining a good description of the main peak, we deduce the magnetic fields, electron densities, and the age of the lobes. Successfully describing the γ-ray emission by p-p interactions and considering thermal particles in the lobes with density in the range 10{sup –10}-10{sup –4} cm{sup –3} as targets, we calculate the number of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. Although the γ-spectrum is well described with any density in the range, only when 10{sup –4} cm{sup –3} is considered are the expected number of events very similar to that observed by the Pierre Auger Observatory, otherwise we obtain an excessive luminosity. In addition, correlating the γ-ray and neutrino fluxes through p-p interactions, we calculate the number of high-energy neutrinos expected in IceCube. Our analysis indicates that neutrinos above 1 TeV cannot be produced in the lobes of Centaurus A, which is consistent with the results recently published by the IceCube Collaboration.« less

The sensitivity of past and near-future lunar radio experiments to ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bray, J. D.

2016-04-01

Various experiments have been conducted to search for the radio emission from ultra-high-energy (UHE) particles interacting in the lunar regolith. Although they have not yielded any detections, they have been successful in establishing upper limits on the flux of these particles. I present a review of these experiments in which I re-evaluate their sensitivity to radio pulses, accounting for effects which were neglected in the original reports, and compare them with prospective near-future experiments. In several cases, I find that past experiments were substantially less sensitive than previously believed. I apply existing analytic models to determine the resulting limits on the fluxes of UHE neutrinos and cosmic rays (CRs). In the latter case, I amend the model to accurately reflect the fraction of the primary particle energy which manifests in the resulting particle cascade, resulting in a substantial improvement in the estimated sensitivity to CRs. Although these models are in need of further refinement, in particular to incorporate the effects of small-scale lunar surface roughness, their application here indicates that a proposed experiment with the LOFAR telescope would test predictions of the neutrino flux from exotic-physics models, and an experiment with a phased-array feed on a large single-dish telescope such as the Parkes radio telescope would allow the first detection of CRs with this technique, with an expected rate of one detection per 140 h.

Studies of Muons in Extensive Air Showers from Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays Observed with the Telescope Array Surface Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeishi, R.; Sagawa, H.; Fukushima, M.; Takeda, M.; Nonaka, T.; Kawata, K.; Kido, E.; Sakurai, N.; Okuda, T.; Ogio, S.; Matthews, J. N.; Stokes, B.

The number of muons in the air shower induced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) has been measured with surface detector (SD) arrays of various experiments. Monte Carlo (MC) prediction of the number of muons in air showers depends on hadronic interaction models and the primary cosmic ray composition. By comparing the measured number of muons with the MC prediction, hadronic interaction models can be tested. The Pierre Auger Observatory reported that the number of muons measured by water Cherenkov type SD is about 1.8 times larger than the MC prediction for proton with QGSJET II-03 model. The number of muons in the Auger data is also larger than the MC prediction for iron. The Telescope Array experiment adopts plastic scintillator type SD, which is sensitive to the electromagnetic component that is the major part of secondary particles in the air shower. To search for the high muon purity condition in air showers observed by the TA, we divided air shower events into subsets by the zenith angle θ, the azimuth angle ϕ relative to the shower arrival direction projected onto the ground, and the distance R from shower axis. As a result, we found subsets with the high muon purity 65%, and compared the charge density between observed data and MC. The typical ratios of the charge density of the data to that of the MC are 1.71 ± 0.10 at 1870 m < R < 2150 m and 3.24 ± 0.40 at 2850 m < R < 3280 m. The difference in the charge density between the data and the MC is larger at the higher muon purity. These results imply that the excess of the charge density in the data is partly explained by the muon excess.

An Indication of Anisotropy in Arrival Directions of Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Rays through Comparison to the Flux Pattern of Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Allekotte, I.; Almela, A.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Anastasi, G. A.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andrada, B.; Andringa, S.; Aramo, C.; Arsene, N.; Asorey, H.; Assis, P.; Avila, G.; Badescu, A. M.; Balaceanu, A.; Barbato, F.; Barreira Luz, R. J.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, K. H.; Bellido, J. A.; Berat, C.; Bertaina, M. E.; Bertou, X.; Biermann, P. L.; Biteau, J.; Blaess, S. G.; Blanco, A.; Blazek, J.; Bleve, C.; Boháčová, M.; Bonifazi, C.; Borodai, N.; Botti, A. M.; Brack, J.; Brancus, I.; Bretz, T.; Bridgeman, A.; Briechle, F. L.; Buchholz, P.; Bueno, A.; Buitink, S.; Buscemi, M.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Caccianiga, L.; Cancio, A.; Canfora, F.; Caruso, R.; Castellina, A.; Catalani, F.; Cataldi, G.; Cazon, L.; Chavez, A. G.; Chinellato, J. A.; Chudoba, J.; Clay, R. W.; Cobos Cerutti, A. C.; Colalillo, R.; Coleman, A.; Collica, L.; Coluccia, M. R.; Conceição, R.; Consolati, G.; Contreras, F.; Cooper, M. J.; Coutu, S.; Covault, C. E.; Cronin, J.; D’Amico, S.; Daniel, B.; Dasso, S.; Daumiller, K.; Dawson, B. R.; de Almeida, R. M.; de Jong, S. J.; De Mauro, G.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; De Mitri, I.; de Oliveira, J.; de Souza, V.; Debatin, J.; Deligny, O.; Díaz Castro, M. L.; Diogo, F.; Dobrigkeit, C.; D’Olivo, J. C.; Dorosti, Q.; dos Anjos, R. C.; Dova, M. T.; Dundovic, A.; Ebr, J.; Engel, R.; Erdmann, M.; Erfani, M.; Escobar, C. O.; Espadanal, J.; Etchegoyen, A.; Falcke, H.; Farmer, J.; Farrar, G.; Fauth, A. C.; Fazzini, N.; Fenu, F.; Fick, B.; Figueira, J. M.; Filipčič, A.; Freire, M. M.; Fujii, T.; Fuster, A.; Gaïor, R.; García, B.; Gaté, F.; Gemmeke, H.; Gherghel-Lascu, A.; Ghia, P. L.; Giaccari, U.; Giammarchi, M.; Giller, M.; Głas, D.; Glaser, C.; Golup, G.; Gómez Berisso, M.; Gómez Vitale, P. F.; González, N.; Gorgi, A.; Grillo, A. F.; Grubb, T. D.; Guarino, F.; Guedes, G. P.; Halliday, R.; Hampel, M. R.; Hansen, P.; Harari, D.; Harrison, T. A.; Haungs, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heck, D.; Heimann, P.; Herve, A. E.; Hill, G. C.; Hojvat, C.; Holt, E.; Homola, P.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horvath, P.; Hrabovský, M.; Huege, T.; Hulsman, J.; Insolia, A.; Isar, P. G.; Jandt, I.; Johnsen, J. A.; Josebachuili, M.; Jurysek, J.; Kääpä, A.; Kambeitz, O.; Kampert, K. H.; Keilhauer, B.; Kemmerich, N.; Kemp, E.; Kemp, J.; Kieckhafer, R. M.; Klages, H. O.; Kleifges, M.; Kleinfeller, J.; Krause, R.; Krohm, N.; Kuempel, D.; Kukec Mezek, G.; Kunka, N.; Kuotb Awad, A.; Lago, B. L.; LaHurd, D.; Lang, R. G.; Lauscher, M.; Legumina, R.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Letessier-Selvon, A.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Link, K.; Lo Presti, D.; Lopes, L.; López, R.; López Casado, A.; Lorek, R.; Luce, Q.; Lucero, A.; Malacari, M.; Mallamaci, M.; Mandat, D.; Mantsch, P.; Mariazzi, A. G.; Mariş, I. C.; Marsella, G.; Martello, D.; Martinez, H.; Martínez Bravo, O.; Masías Meza, J. J.; Mathes, H. J.; Mathys, S.; Matthews, J.; Matthiae, G.; Mayotte, E.; Mazur, P. O.; Medina, C.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Melo, D.; Menshikov, A.; Merenda, K.-D.; Michal, S.; Micheletti, M. I.; Middendorf, L.; Miramonti, L.; Mitrica, B.; Mockler, D.; Mollerach, S.; Montanet, F.; Morello, C.; Morlino, G.; Mostafá, M.; Müller, A. L.; Müller, G.; Muller, M. A.; Müller, S.; Mussa, R.; Naranjo, I.; Nellen, L.; Nguyen, P. H.; Niculescu-Oglinzanu, M.; Niechciol, M.; Niemietz, L.; Niggemann, T.; Nitz, D.; Nosek, D.; Novotny, V.; Nožka, L.; Núñez, L. A.; Oikonomou, F.; Olinto, A.; Palatka, M.; Pallotta, J.; Papenbreer, P.; Parente, G.; Parra, A.; Paul, T.; Pech, M.; Pedreira, F.; Pȩkala, J.; Pelayo, R.; Peña-Rodriguez, J.; Pereira, L. A. S.; Perlin, M.; Perrone, L.; Peters, C.; Petrera, S.; Phuntsok, J.; Pierog, T.; Pimenta, M.; Pirronello, V.; Platino, M.; Plum, M.; Poh, J.; Porowski, C.; Prado, R. R.; Privitera, P.; Prouza, M.; Quel, E. J.; Querchfeld, S.; Quinn, S.; Ramos-Pollan, R.; Rautenberg, J.; Ravignani, D.; Ridky, J.; Riehn, F.; Risse, M.; Ristori, P.; Rizi, V.; Rodrigues de Carvalho, W.; Rodriguez Fernandez, G.; Rodriguez Rojo, J.; Roncoroni, M. J.; Roth, M.; Roulet, E.; Rovero, A. C.; Ruehl, P.; Saffi, S. J.; Saftoiu, A.; Salamida, F.; Salazar, H.; Saleh, A.; Salina, G.; Sánchez, F.; Sanchez-Lucas, P.; Santos, E. M.; Santos, E.; Sarazin, F.; Sarmento, R.; Sarmiento-Cano, C.; Sato, R.; Schauer, M.; Scherini, V.; Schieler, H.; Schimp, M.; Schmidt, D.; Scholten, O.; Schovánek, P.; Schröder, F. G.; Schröder, S.; Schulz, A.; Schumacher, J.; Sciutto, S. J.; Segreto, A.; Shadkam, A.; Shellard, R. C.; Sigl, G.; Silli, G.; Šmída, R.; Snow, G. R.; Sommers, P.; Sonntag, S.; Soriano, J. F.; Squartini, R.; Stanca, D.; Stanič, S.; Stasielak, J.; Stassi, P.; Stolpovskiy, M.; Strafella, F.; Streich, A.; Suarez, F.; Suarez Durán, M.; Sudholz, T.; Suomijärvi, T.; Supanitsky, A. D.; Šupík, J.; Swain, J.; Szadkowski, Z.; Taboada, A.; Taborda, O. A.; Theodoro, V. M.; Timmermans, C.; Todero Peixoto, C. J.; Tomankova, L.; Tomé, B.; Torralba Elipe, G.; Travnicek, P.; Trini, M.; Ulrich, R.; Unger, M.; Urban, M.; Valdés Galicia, J. F.; Valiño, I.; Valore, L.; van Aar, G.; van Bodegom, P.; van den Berg, A. M.; van Vliet, A.; Varela, E.; Vargas Cárdenas, B.; Vázquez, R. A.; Veberič, D.; Ventura, C.; Vergara Quispe, I. D.; Verzi, V.; Vicha, J.; Villaseñor, L.; Vorobiov, S.; Wahlberg, H.; Wainberg, O.; Walz, D.; Watson, A. A.; Weber, M.; Weindl, A.; Wiedeński, M.; Wiencke, L.; Wilczyński, H.; Wirtz, M.; Wittkowski, D.; Wundheiler, B.; Yang, L.; Yushkov, A.; Zas, E.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zepeda, A.; Zimmermann, B.; Ziolkowski, M.; Zong, Z.; Zuccarello, F.; The Pierre Auger Collaboration

2018-02-01

A new analysis of the data set from the Pierre Auger Observatory provides evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays on an intermediate angular scale, which is indicative of excess arrivals from strong, nearby sources. The data consist of 5514 events above 20 {EeV} with zenith angles up to 80° recorded before 2017 April 30. Sky models have been created for two distinct populations of extragalactic gamma-ray emitters: active galactic nuclei from the second catalog of hard Fermi-LAT sources (2FHL) and starburst galaxies from a sample that was examined with Fermi-LAT. Flux-limited samples, which include all types of galaxies from the Swift-BAT and 2MASS surveys, have been investigated for comparison. The sky model of cosmic-ray density constructed using each catalog has two free parameters, the fraction of events correlating with astrophysical objects, and an angular scale characterizing the clustering of cosmic rays around extragalactic sources. A maximum-likelihood ratio test is used to evaluate the best values of these parameters and to quantify the strength of each model by contrast with isotropy. It is found that the starburst model fits the data better than the hypothesis of isotropy with a statistical significance of 4.0σ, the highest value of the test statistic being for energies above 39 {EeV}. The three alternative models are favored against isotropy with 2.7σ–3.2σ significance. The origin of the indicated deviation from isotropy is examined and prospects for more sensitive future studies are discussed. Any correspondence should be addressed to .

An Indication of Anisotropy in Arrival Directions of Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Rays through Comparison to the Flux Pattern of Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Sources

DOE PAGES

Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; ...

2018-02-02

A new analysis of the dataset from the Pierre Auger Observatory provides evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays on an intermediate angular scale, which is indicative of excess arrivals from strong, nearby sources. The data consist of 5514 events above 20 EeV with zenith angles up to 80 deg recorded before 2017 April 30. Sky models have been created for two distinct populations of extragalactic gamma-ray emitters: active galactic nuclei from the second catalog of hard Fermi-LAT sources (2FHL) and starburst galaxies from a sample that was examined with Fermi-LAT. Flux-limited samples, which include allmore » types of galaxies from the Swift-BAT and 2MASS surveys, have been investigated for comparison. The sky model of cosmic-ray density constructed using each catalog has two free parameters, the fraction of events correlating with astrophysical objects and an angular scale characterizing the clustering of cosmic rays around extragalactic sources. A maximum-likelihood ratio test is used to evaluate the best values of these parameters and to quantify the strength of each model by contrast with isotropy. It is found that the starburst model fits the data better than the hypothesis of isotropy with a statistical significance of 4.0 sigma, the highest value of the test statistic being for energies above 39 EeV. The three alternative models are favored against isotropy with 2.7-3.2 sigma significance. The origin of the indicated deviation from isotropy is examined and prospects for more sensitive future studies are discussed.« less

An Indication of Anisotropy in Arrival Directions of Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Rays through Comparison to the Flux Pattern of Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.

A new analysis of the dataset from the Pierre Auger Observatory provides evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays on an intermediate angular scale, which is indicative of excess arrivals from strong, nearby sources. The data consist of 5514 events above 20 EeV with zenith angles up to 80 deg recorded before 2017 April 30. Sky models have been created for two distinct populations of extragalactic gamma-ray emitters: active galactic nuclei from the second catalog of hard Fermi-LAT sources (2FHL) and starburst galaxies from a sample that was examined with Fermi-LAT. Flux-limited samples, which include allmore » types of galaxies from the Swift-BAT and 2MASS surveys, have been investigated for comparison. The sky model of cosmic-ray density constructed using each catalog has two free parameters, the fraction of events correlating with astrophysical objects and an angular scale characterizing the clustering of cosmic rays around extragalactic sources. A maximum-likelihood ratio test is used to evaluate the best values of these parameters and to quantify the strength of each model by contrast with isotropy. It is found that the starburst model fits the data better than the hypothesis of isotropy with a statistical significance of 4.0 sigma, the highest value of the test statistic being for energies above 39 EeV. The three alternative models are favored against isotropy with 2.7-3.2 sigma significance. The origin of the indicated deviation from isotropy is examined and prospects for more sensitive future studies are discussed.« less

Ultra-heavy cosmic rays: Theoretical implications of recent observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blake, J. B.; Hainebach, K. L.; Schramm, D. N.; Anglin, J. D.

1977-01-01

Extreme ultraheavy cosmic ray observations (Z greater or equal 70) are compared with r-process models. A detailed cosmic ray propagation calculation is used to transform the calculated source distributions to those observed at the earth. The r-process production abundances are calculated using different mass formulae and beta-rate formulae; an empirical estimate based on the observed solar system abundances is used also. There is the continued strong indication of an r-process dominance in the extreme ultra-heavy cosmic rays. However it is shown that the observed high actinide/Pt ratio in the cosmic rays cannot be fit with the same r-process calculation which also fits the solar system material. This result suggests that the cosmic rays probably undergo some preferential acceleration in addition to the apparent general enrichment in heavy (r-process) material. As estimate also is made of the expected relative abundance of superheavy elements in the cosmic rays if the anomalous heavy xenon in carbonaceous chondrites is due to a fissioning superheavy element.

Exploring Ultra-Heavy Cosmic Rays with the Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (TIGER)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Link, Jason; Supertiger Collaboration

2017-01-01

Elements heavier than iron are primarily synthesized by neutron capture. These elements can be accelerated as cosmic-rays and measuring their abundances at Earth can yield information about galactic cosmic-rays' sources, the acceleration processes and the composition of the universe beyond the boundaries of our solar system. The Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (TIGER) and its larger successor SuperTIGER was designed to measure the abundance of these ultra-heavy cosmic rays between Z=10 and Z=60. These detectors utilize scintillators with a wavelength shifter bar and PMT readout system as well as aerogel and acrylic Cherenkov detectors to identify the charge and energy of a particle and utilize a scintillating fiber hodoscope to provide trajectory information. In this talk I will review the results from this highly successful program, give the status for the next SuperTIGER flight planned for a December 2017 launch from Antarctica, and discuss the future direction of the program.

The Calibration of an Ultra-High Energy Muon Hodoscope and Search for Cosmic Gamma Ray Anisotropies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCarthy, Thomas K.

1996-01-01

The Homestake Deep Underground Hodoscope is a liquid scintillation detector that lies at a depth of 4200 mwe within a cavernous chamber of granite within the Homestake Gold Mine. At this depth, it is shielded from all but the most energetic elementary particles, in particular, muons with an energy of less than 27 TeV. Consequently, primaries with energies greater than 1 PeV are indirectly detected. The detector has two tiers of detectors each comprised of 40 scintillation modules of dimension.305 m x.305 m x 7.925 m, separated by a distance of 8.047 m. With this geometrical arrangement and the use of fast timing triggers (2.5 ns resolution), a directional study of ultra -high energy particles was conducted. By exploiting the fact that these particles enter the detector at very nearly the speed of light and that the trigger window has a fixed timing limit, a methodology was developed to fine tune the detector using these constraints. Once calibration was established, noisy events are easily eliminated and the resulting data is used to compute the flux of muons entering the detector, to plot the number of muons entering the detector as a function of angle and to compare this with theoretical profiles and, finally, to extrapolate the muon's velocity vector back onto the celestial sphere to search for anisotropies. The results of this study indicate a flux that is constant in time and is consistent with other, independent measurements. The angular profile is consistent with theoretical models, although a different scale factor was required to make a precise agreement. This may be due to the particular nature of the Homestake stratum. There was no indication for discrete gamma ray sources of cosmic origin, supporting earlier work using the same detector. Lastly, the methodology developed can be applied to similar detection facilities that are in operation on a long term basis. With its use of a personal computer, on site, a large facility could be monitored quite

High energy physics in cosmic rays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, Lawrence W.

2013-02-07

In the first half-century of cosmic ray physics, the primary research focus was on elementary particles; the positron, pi-mesons, mu-mesons, and hyperons were discovered in cosmic rays. Much of this research was carried out at mountain elevations; Pic du Midi in the Pyrenees, Mt. Chacaltaya in Bolivia, and Mt. Evans/Echo Lake in Colorado, among other sites. In the 1960s, claims of the observation of free quarks, and satellite measurements of a significant rise in p-p cross sections, plus the delay in initiating accelerator construction programs for energies above 100 GeV, motivated the Michigan-Wisconsin group to undertake a serious cosmic raymore » program at Echo Lake. Subsequently, with the succession of higher energy accelerators and colliders at CERN and Fermilab, cosmic ray research has increasingly focused on cosmology and astrophysics, although some groups continue to study cosmic ray particle interactions in emulsion chambers.« less

A Method to Search for Correlations of Ultra-high Energy Cosmic-Ray Masses with the Large-scale Structures in the Local Galaxy Density Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, A. A.

2013-02-01

One of the main goals of investigations using present and future giant extensive air shower (EAS) arrays is the mass composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). A new approach to the problem is presented, combining the analysis of arrival directions with the statistical test of the paired EAS samples. One of the ideas of the method is to search for possible correlations between UHECR masses and their separate sources; for instance, if there are two sources in different areas of the celestial sphere injecting different nuclei, but the fluxes are comparable so that arrival directions are isotropic, then the aim is to reveal a difference in the mass composition of cosmic-ray fluxes. The method is based on a non-parametric statistical test—the Wilcoxon signed-rank routine—which does not depend on the populations fitting any parameterized distributions. Two particular algorithms are proposed: first, using measurements of the depth of the EAS maximum position in the atmosphere; and second, relying on the age variance of air showers initiated by different primary particles. The formulated method is applied to the Yakutsk array data, in order to demonstrate the possibility of searching for a difference in average mass composition between the two UHECR sets, arriving particularly from the supergalactic plane and a complementary region.

Nuclear Physics Meets the Sources of the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays.

PubMed

Boncioli, Denise; Fedynitch, Anatoli; Winter, Walter

2017-07-07

The determination of the injection composition of cosmic ray nuclei within astrophysical sources requires sufficiently accurate descriptions of the source physics and the propagation - apart from controlling astrophysical uncertainties. We therefore study the implications of nuclear data and models for cosmic ray astrophysics, which involves the photo-disintegration of nuclei up to iron in astrophysical environments. We demonstrate that the impact of nuclear model uncertainties is potentially larger in environments with non-thermal radiation fields than in the cosmic microwave background. We also study the impact of nuclear models on the nuclear cascade in a gamma-ray burst radiation field, simulated at a level of complexity comparable to the most precise cosmic ray propagation code. We conclude with an isotope chart describing which information is in principle necessary to describe nuclear interactions in cosmic ray sources and propagation.

Mass entrainment and turbulence-driven acceleration of ultra-high energy cosmic rays in Centaurus A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wykes, Sarka; Croston, Judith H.; Hardcastle, Martin J.; Eilek, Jean A.; Biermann, Peter L.; Achterberg, Abraham; Bray, Justin D.; Lazarian, Alex; Haverkorn, Marijke; Protheroe, Ray J.; Bromberg, Omer

2013-10-01

Observations of the FR I radio galaxy Centaurus A in radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray bands provide evidence for lepton acceleration up to several TeV and clues about hadron acceleration to tens of EeV. Synthesising the available observational constraints on the physical conditions and particle content in the jets, inner lobes and giant lobes of Centaurus A, we aim to evaluate its feasibility as an ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray source. We apply several methods of determining jet power and affirm the consistency of various power estimates of ~1 × 1043 erg s-1. Employing scaling relations based on previous results for 3C 31, we estimate particle number densities in the jets, encompassing available radio through X-ray observations. Our model is compatible with the jets ingesting ~3 × 1021 g s-1 of matter via external entrainment from hot gas and ~7 × 1022 g s-1 via internal entrainment from jet-contained stars. This leads to an imbalance between the internal lobe pressure available from radiating particles and magnetic field, and our derived external pressure. Based on knowledge of the external environments of other FR I sources, we estimate the thermal pressure in the giant lobes as 1.5 × 10-12 dyn cm-2, from which we deduce a lower limit to the temperature of ~1.6 × 108 K. Using dynamical and buoyancy arguments, we infer ~440-645 Myr and ~560 Myr as the sound-crossing and buoyancy ages of the giant lobes respectively, inconsistent with their spectral ages. We re-investigate the feasibility of particle acceleration via stochastic processes in the lobes, placing new constraints on the energetics and on turbulent input to the lobes. The same "very hot" temperatures that allow self-consistency between the entrainment calculations and the missing pressure also allow stochastic UHECR acceleration models to work.

A Simplified Model for the Acceleration of Cosmic Ray Particles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gron, Oyvind

2010-01-01

Two important questions concerning cosmic rays are: Why are electrons in the cosmic rays less efficiently accelerated than nuclei? How are particles accelerated to great energies in ultra-high energy cosmic rays? In order to answer these questions we construct a simple model of the acceleration of a charged particle in the cosmic ray. It is not…

Terrestrial effects of high energy cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atri, Dimitra

On geological timescales, the Earth is likely to be exposed to higher than the usual flux of high energy cosmic rays (HECRs) from astrophysical sources such as nearby supernovae, gamma ray bursts or by galactic shocks. These high-energy particles strike the Earth's atmosphere, initiating an extensive air shower. As the air shower propagates deeper, it ionizes the atmosphere by producing charged secondary particles and photons. Increased ionization leads to changes in atmospheric chemistry, resulting in ozone depletion. This increases the flux of solar UVB radiation at the surface, which is potentially harmful to living organisms. Increased ionization affects the global electrical circuit, which could enhance the low-altitude cloud formation rate. Secondary particles such as muons and thermal neutrons produced as a result of hadronic interactions of the primary cosmic rays with the atmosphere are able to reach the ground, enhancing the biological radiation dose. The muon flux dominates the radiation dose from cosmic rays causing damage to DNA and an increase in mutation rates and cancer, which can have serious biological implications for surface and sub-surface life. Using CORSIKA, we perform massive computer simulations and construct lookup tables for 10 GeV - 1 PeV primaries, which can be used to quantify these effects from enhanced cosmic ray exposure to any astrophysical source. These tables are freely available to the community and can be used for other studies. We use these tables to study the terrestrial implications of galactic shock generated by the infall of our galaxy toward the Virgo cluster. Increased radiation dose from muons could be a possible mechanism explaining the observed periodicity in biodiversity in paleobiology databases.

Expectations for high energy diffuse galactic neutrinos for different cosmic ray distributions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pagliaroli, Giulia; Evoli, Carmelo; Villante, Francesco Lorenzo, E-mail: giulia.pagliaroli@gssi.infn.it, E-mail: carmelo.evoli@gssi.infn.it, E-mail: francesco.villante@lngs.infn.it

2016-11-01

The interaction of cosmic rays with the gas contained in our Galaxy is a guaranteed source of diffuse high energy neutrinos. We provide expectations for this component by considering different assumptions for the cosmic ray distribution in the Galaxy which are intended to cover the large uncertainty in cosmic ray propagation models. We calculate the angular dependence of the diffuse galactic neutrino flux and the corresponding rate of High Energy Starting Events in IceCube by including the effect of detector angular resolution. Moreover we discuss the possibility to discriminate the galactic component from an isotropic astrophysical flux. We show thatmore » a statistically significant excess of events from the galactic plane in present IceCube data would disfavour models in which the cosmic ray density is uniform , thus bringing relevant information on the cosmic ray radial distribution.« less

High-energy multiple muons and heavy primary cosmic-rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mizutani, K.; Sato, T.; Takahashi, T.; Higashi, S.

1985-01-01

Three-dimensional simulations were carried out on high-energy multiple muons. On the lateral spread, the comparison with the deep underground observations indicates that the primary cosmic rays include heavy nuclei of high content. A method to determine the average mass number of primary particles in the energy around 10 to the 15th power eV is suggested.

Indications of negative evolution for the sources of the highest energy cosmic rays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taylor, Andrew M.; Ahlers, Markus; Hooper, Dan

2015-09-14

Using recent measurements of the spectrum and chemical composition of the highest energy cosmic rays, we consider the sources of these particles. We find that these data strongly prefer models in which the sources of the ultra-high-energy cosmic rays inject predominantly intermediate mass nuclei, with comparatively few protons or heavy nuclei, such as iron or silicon. If the number density of sources per comoving volume does not evolve with redshift, the injected spectrum must be very hard (α≃1) in order to fit the spectrum observed from Earth. Such a hard spectral index would be surprising and difficult to accommodate theoretically.more » In contrast, much softer spectral indices, consistent with the predictions of Fermi acceleration (α≃2), are favored in models with negative source evolution. Furthermore with this theoretical bias, these observations thus favor models in which the sources of the highest energy cosmic rays are preferentially located within the low-redshift universe.« less

Observations of High Energy Cosmic Ray Electrons by the ATIC Balloon Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guzik, T. G.; Chang, J.; Adams, J. H., Jr.; Ahn, H. S.; Bashindzhagyan, G. L.; Christl, M.; Isbert, J.; Kim, K. C.; Kuznetsov, E. N.; Panasyuk, M. I.;

Depth of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray Induced Air Shower Maxima Measured by the Telescope Array Black Rock and Long Ridge FADC Fluorescence Detectors and Surface Array in Hybrid Mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R. U.; Abe, M.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Allen, M.; Azuma, R.; Barcikowski, E.; Belz, J. W.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Cady, R.; Cheon, B. G.; Chiba, J.; Chikawa, M.; di Matteo, A.; Fujii, T.; Fujita, K.; Fukushima, M.; Furlich, G.; Goto, T.; Hanlon, W.; Hayashi, M.; Hayashi, Y.; Hayashida, N.; Hibino, K.; Honda, K.; Ikeda, D.; Inoue, N.; Ishii, T.; Ishimori, R.; Ito, H.; Ivanov, D.; Jeong, H. M.; Jeong, S. M.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kadota, K.; Kakimoto, F.; Kalashev, O.; Kasahara, K.; Kawai, H.; Kawakami, S.; Kawana, S.; Kawata, K.; Kido, E.; Kim, H. B.; Kim, J. H.; Kim, J. H.; Kishigami, S.; Kitamura, S.; Kitamura, Y.; Kuzmin, V.; Kuznetsov, M.; Kwon, Y. J.; Lee, K. H.; Lubsandorzhiev, B.; Lundquist, J. P.; Machida, K.; Martens, K.; Matsuyama, T.; Matthews, J. N.; Mayta, R.; Minamino, M.; Mukai, K.; Myers, I.; Nagasawa, K.; Nagataki, S.; Nakamura, R.; Nakamura, T.; Nonaka, T.; Oda, H.; Ogio, S.; Ogura, J.; Ohnishi, M.; Ohoka, H.; Okuda, T.; Omura, Y.; Ono, M.; Onogi, R.; Oshima, A.; Ozawa, S.; Park, I. H.; Pshirkov, M. S.; Rodriguez, D. C.; Rubtsov, G.; Ryu, D.; Sagawa, H.; Sahara, R.; Saito, K.; Saito, Y.; Sakaki, N.; Sakurai, N.; Scott, L. M.; Seki, T.; Sekino, K.; Shah, P. D.; Shibata, F.; Shibata, T.; Shimodaira, H.; Shin, B. K.; Shin, H. S.; Smith, J. D.; Sokolsky, P.; Stokes, B. T.; Stratton, S. R.; Stroman, T. A.; Suzawa, T.; Takagi, Y.; Takahashi, Y.; Takamura, M.; Takeda, M.; Takeishi, R.; Taketa, A.; Takita, M.; Tameda, Y.; Tanaka, H.; Tanaka, K.; Tanaka, M.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tinyakov, P.; Tkachev, I.; Tokuno, H.; Tomida, T.; Troitsky, S.; Tsunesada, Y.; Tsutsumi, K.; Uchihori, Y.; Udo, S.; Urban, F.; Wong, T.; Yamamoto, M.; Yamane, R.; Yamaoka, H.; Yamazaki, K.; Yang, J.; Yashiro, K.; Yoneda, Y.; Yoshida, S.; Yoshii, H.; Zhezher, Y.; Zundel, Z.; Telescope Array Collaboration

2018-05-01

The Telescope Array (TA) observatory utilizes fluorescence detectors and surface detectors (SDs) to observe air showers produced by ultra high energy cosmic rays in Earth’s atmosphere. Cosmic-ray events observed in this way are termed hybrid data. The depth of air shower maximum is related to the mass of the primary particle that generates the shower. This paper reports on shower maxima data collected over 8.5 yr using the Black Rock Mesa and Long Ridge fluorescence detectors in conjunction with the array of SDs. We compare the means and standard deviations of the observed {X}\\max distributions with Monte Carlo {X}\\max distributions of unmixed protons, helium, nitrogen, and iron, all generated using the QGSJet II-04 hadronic model. We also perform an unbinned maximum likelihood test of the observed data, which is subjected to variable systematic shifting of the data {X}\\max distributions to allow us to test the full distributions, and compare them to the Monte Carlo to see which elements are not compatible with the observed data. For all energy bins, QGSJet II-04 protons are found to be compatible with TA hybrid data at the 95% confidence level after some systematic {X}\\max shifting of the data. Three other QGSJet II-04 elements are found to be compatible using the same test procedure in an energy range limited to the highest energies where data statistics are sparse.

Analysis of Large-scale Anisotropy of Ultra-high Energy Cosmic Rays in HiRes Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R. U.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Allen, M.; Amann, J. F.; Archbold, G.; Belov, K.; Belz, J. W.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Brusova, O. A.; Burt, G. W.; Cannon, C.; Cao, Z.; Deng, W.; Fedorova, Y.; Findlay, J.; Finley, C. B.; Gray, R. C.; Hanlon, W. F.; Hoffman, C. M.; Holzscheiter, M. H.; Hughes, G.; Hüntemeyer, P.; Ivanov, D.; Jones, B. F.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kim, K.; Kirn, M. A.; Koers, H.; Loh, E. C.; Maestas, M. M.; Manago, N.; Marek, L. J.; Martens, K.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthews, J. N.; Moore, S. A.; O'Neill, A.; Painter, C. A.; Perera, L.; Reil, K.; Riehle, R.; Roberts, M. D.; Rodriguez, D.; Sasaki, M.; Schnetzer, S. R.; Scott, L. M.; Sinnis, G.; Smith, J. D.; Sokolsky, P.; Song, C.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Stratton, S. R.; Thomas, J. R.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tinyakov, P.; Tupa, D.; Wiencke, L. R.; Zech, A.; Zhang, X.; High Resolution Fly's Eye Collaboration

2010-04-01

Stereo data collected by the HiRes experiment over a six-year period are examined for large-scale anisotropy related to the inhomogeneous distribution of matter in the nearby universe. We consider the generic case of small cosmic-ray deflections and a large number of sources tracing the matter distribution. In this matter tracer model the expected cosmic-ray flux depends essentially on a single free parameter, the typical deflection angle θ s . We find that the HiRes data with threshold energies of 40 EeV and 57 EeV are incompatible with the matter tracer model at a 95% confidence level unless θ s > 10° and are compatible with an isotropic flux. The data set above 10 EeV is compatible with both the matter tracer model and an isotropic flux.

Implications of the pseudo-Dirac scenario for ultra high energy neutrinos from GRBs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Esmaili, Arman; Farzan, Yasaman, E-mail: aesmaili@ifi.unicamp.br, E-mail: yasaman@theory.ipm.ac.ir

2012-12-01

The source of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) is still an unresolved mystery. Up until recently, sources of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) had been considered as a suitable source for UHECR. Within the fireball model, the UHECR produced at GRBs should be accompanied with a neutrino flux detectable at the neutrino telescope such as IceCube. Recently, IceCube has set an upper bound on the neutrino flux accompanied by GRBs about 3.7 times below the prediction. We investigate whether this deficit can be explained by the oscillation of the active neutrinos to sterile neutrinos en route from the source tomore » the detectors within the pseudo-Dirac scenario. We then discuss the implication of this scenario for diffuse supernova relic neutrinos.« less

ANALYSIS OF LARGE-SCALE ANISOTROPY OF ULTRA-HIGH ENERGY COSMIC RAYS IN HiRes DATA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abbasi, R. U.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Allen, M.

2010-04-10

Stereo data collected by the HiRes experiment over a six-year period are examined for large-scale anisotropy related to the inhomogeneous distribution of matter in the nearby universe. We consider the generic case of small cosmic-ray deflections and a large number of sources tracing the matter distribution. In this matter tracer model the expected cosmic-ray flux depends essentially on a single free parameter, the typical deflection angle {theta} {sub s}. We find that the HiRes data with threshold energies of 40 EeV and 57 EeV are incompatible with the matter tracer model at a 95% confidence level unless {theta} {sub s}more » > 10 deg. and are compatible with an isotropic flux. The data set above 10 EeV is compatible with both the matter tracer model and an isotropic flux.« less

Contribution from individual nearby sources to the spectrum of high-energy cosmic-ray electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sedrati, R.; Attallah, R.

2014-04-01

In the last few years, very important data on high-energy cosmic-ray electrons and positrons from high-precision space-born and ground-based experiments have attracted a great deal of interest. These particles represent a unique probe for studying local comic-ray accelerators because they lose energy very rapidly. These energy losses reduce the lifetime so drastically that high-energy cosmic-ray electrons can attain the Earth only from rather local astrophysical sources. This work aims at calculating, by means of Monte Carlo simulation, the contribution from some known nearby astrophysical sources to the cosmic-ray electron/positron spectra at high energy (≥ 10 GeV). The background to the electron energy spectrum from distant sources is determined with the help of the GALPROP code. The obtained numerical results are compared with a set of experimental data.

Astrophysical Sources of Cosmic Rays and Related Measurements with the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abraham, : J.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.

2009-06-01

These are presentations to be presented at the 31st International Cosmic Ray Conference, in Lodz, Poland during July 2009. It consists of the following presentations: (1) Correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic objects in Pierre Auger Observatory data; (2) Discriminating potential astrophysical sources of the highest energy cosmic rays with the Pierre Auger Observatory; (3) Intrinsic anisotropy of the UHECR from the Pierre Auger Observatory; (4) Ultra-high energy photon studies with the Pierre Auger Observatory; (5) Limits on the flux of diffuse ultra high energy neutrinos set using the Pierre Auger Observatory; (6) Search for siderealmore » modulation of the arrival directions of events recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory; (7) Cosmic Ray Solar Modulation Studies in the Pierre Auger Observatory; (8) Investigation of the Displacement Angle of the Highest Energy Cosmic Rays Caused by the Galactic Magnetic Field; (9) Search for coincidences with astrophysical transients in Pierre Auger Observatory data; and (10) An alternative method for determining the energy of hybrid events at the Pierre Auger Observatory.« less

High-energy green supercapacitor driven by ionic liquid electrolytes as an ultra-high stable next-generation energy storage device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thangavel, Ranjith; Kannan, Aravindaraj G.; Ponraj, Rubha; Thangavel, Vigneysh; Kim, Dong-Won; Lee, Yun-Sung

2018-04-01

Development of supercapacitors with high energy density and long cycle life using sustainable materials for next-generation applications is of paramount importance. The ongoing challenge is to elevate the energy density of supercapacitors on par with batteries, while upholding the power and cyclability. In addition, attaining such superior performance with green and sustainable bio-mass derived compounds is very crucial to address the rising environmental concerns. Herein, we demonstrate the use of watermelon rind, a bio-waste from watermelons, towards high energy, and ultra-stable high temperature green supercapacitors with a high-voltage ionic liquid electrolyte. Supercapacitors assembled with ultra-high surface area, hierarchically porous carbon exhibits a remarkable performance both at room temperature and at high temperature (60 °C) with maximum energy densities of ∼174 Wh kg-1 (25 °C), and 177 Wh kg-1 (60 °C) - based on active mass of both electrodes. Furthermore, an ultra-high specific power of ∼20 kW kg-1 along with an ultra-stable cycling performance with 90% retention over 150,000 cycles has been achieved even at 60 °C, outperforming supercapacitors assembled with other carbon based materials. These results demonstrate the potential to develop high-performing, green energy storage devices using eco-friendly materials for next generation electric vehicles and other advanced energy storage systems.

Energy spectrum and arrival direction of primary cosmic rays of energy above 10 to the 18th power eV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teshima, M.; Nagano, M.; Hayashida, N.; He, C. X.; Honda, M.; Ishikawa, F.; Kamata, K.; Matsubara, Y.; Mori, M.; Ohoka, H.

1985-01-01

The observation of ultra high energy cosmic rays with 20 sq km array has started at Akeno. The preliminary results on energy spectrum and arrival direction of energies above 10 to the 18th eV are prsented with data accumulated for four years with the 1 sq km array, for two years with the 4 sq km array and for a half year with the new array. The energy spectrum is consistent with the previous experiments showing the flattening above 10 to the 18.5 eV.

The Large Scale Structure of the Galactic Magnetic Field and High Energy Cosmic Ray Anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvarez-Muñiz, Jaime; Stanev, Todor

2006-10-01

Measurements of the magnetic field in our Galaxy are complex and usually difficult to interpret. A spiral regular field in the disk is favored by observations, however the number of field reversals is still under debate. Measurements of the parity of the field across the Galactic plane are also very difficult due to the presence of the disk field itself. In this work we demonstrate that cosmic ray protons in the energy range 1018 to 1019eV, if accelerated near the center of the Galaxy, are sensitive to the large scale structure of the Galactic Magnetic Field (GMF). In particular if the field is of even parity, and the spiral field is bi-symmetric (BSS), ultra high energy protons will predominantly come from the Southern Galactic hemisphere, and predominantly from the Northern Galactic hemisphere if the field is of even parity and axi-symmetric (ASS). There is no sensitivity to the BSS or ASS configurations if the field is of odd parity.

Cosmic ray strangelets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madsen, Jes

2005-06-01

Searching for strangelets in cosmic rays may be the best way to test the possible stability of strange quark matter. I review calculations of the astrophysical strangelet flux in the GV TV rigidity range, which will be investigated from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) on the International Space Station, and discuss the merits of strangelets as ultra-high energy cosmic rays at EeV ZeV energies, beyond the Greisen Zatsepin Kuzmin cutoff. I also address some 'counter-arguments' sometimes raised against the possibility of stable strangelets. It will be argued that stability of strange quark matter remains a viable possibility, which must be tested by experiments.

Very high-energy gamma-ray signature of ultrahigh-energy cosmic ray acceleration in Centaurus A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joshi, Jagdish C.; Miranda, Luis Salvador; Razzaque, Soebur; Yang, Lili

2018-07-01

The association of at least a dozen ultrahigh-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) events with energy ≳ 55 EeV detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory from the direction of Centaurus-A, the nearest radio galaxy, supports the scenario of UHECR acceleration in the jets of radio galaxies. In this work, we model radio to very high energy (VHE,≳ 100 GeV) γ-ray emission from Cen A, including GeV hardness detected by Fermi-LAT and TeV emission detected by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS). We consider two scenarios: (i) two-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) and external-Compton (EC) models, (ii) two-zone SSC, EC, and photohadronic emission from cosmic ray interactions. The GeV hardness observed by Fermi-LAT can be explained using these two scenarios, where zone 2 EC emission is very important. Hadronic emission in scenario (ii) can explain VHE data with the same spectral slope as obtained through fitting UHECRs from Cen A. The peak luminosity in cosmic ray proton at 1 TeV, to explain the VHE γ-ray data is ≈2.5 × 1046 erg s-1. The bolometric luminosity in cosmic ray protons is consistent with the luminosity required to explain the origin of 13 UHECR signal events that are correlated with Cen A.

Cubic Calorimeter for High-Energy Electrons in Ultra-Long Ballooning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moiseev, Alexander A.; Mitchell, John W.; Ormes, Jonathan F.; Streitmatter, Robert E.

2003-01-01

The concept and optimization study of a balloon-borne instrument to study high-energy (from 100 GeV to 5 TeV) cosmic ray electrons will be presented. This energy range of electrons is very interesting for the study of cosmic ray propagation and the search for the nearby sources of high-energy electrons. The instrument is based on a cubic design that allows the detection from all sides. Proton rejection is provided by stringent track analysis, which allows defining when an electron shower is exhausted while the hadron shower continues development. The collecting power of a nominal balloon-borne instrument using this concept will be over 2 square meters sr. This will provide approximately 3,000 electron events above 500 GeV for 3-month long ULDB flight. This instrument will also be capable of detecting sharp features in the high energy gamma-ray spectrum such as gamma-ray lines originating from the dark matter annihilation.

A simulation of high energy cosmic ray propagation 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Honda, M.; Kifune, T.; Matsubara, Y.; Mori, M.; Nishijima, K.; Teshima, M.

1985-01-01

High energy cosmic ray propagation of the energy region 10 to the 14.5 power - 10 to the 18th power eV is simulated in the inter steller circumstances. In conclusion, the diffusion process by turbulent magnetic fields is classified into several regions by ratio of the gyro-radius and the scale of turbulence. When the ratio becomes larger then 10 to the minus 0.5 power, the analysis with the assumption of point scattering can be applied with the mean free path E sup 2. However, when the ratio is smaller than 10 to the minus 0.5 power, we need a more complicated analysis or simulation. Assuming the turbulence scale of magnetic fields of the Galaxy is 10-30pc and the mean magnetic field strength is 3 micro gauss, the energy of cosmic ray with that gyro-radius is about 10 to the 16.5 power eV.

The energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 1017.2 eV measured by the fluorescence detectors of the Telescope Array experiment in seven years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R. U.; Abe, M.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Allen, M.; Azuma, R.; Barcikowski, E.; Belz, J. W.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Cady, R.; Cheon, B. G.; Chiba, J.; Chikawa, M.; Cho, W. R.; Fujii, T.; Fukushima, M.; Goto, T.; Hanlon, W.; Hayashi, Y.; Hayashida, N.; Hibino, K.; Honda, K.; Ikeda, D.; Inoue, N.; Ishii, T.; Ishimori, R.; Ito, H.; Ivanov, D.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kadota, K.; Kakimoto, F.; Kalashev, O.; Kasahara, K.; Kawai, H.; Kawakami, S.; Kawana, S.; Kawata, K.; Kido, E.; Kim, H. B.; Kim, J. H.; Kim, J. H.; Kitamura, S.; Kitamura, Y.; Kuzmin, V.; Kwon, Y. J.; Lan, J.; Lundquist, J. P.; Machida, K.; Martens, K.; Matsuda, T.; Matsuyama, T.; Matthews, J. N.; Minamino, M.; Mukai, Y.; Myers, I.; Nagasawa, K.; Nagataki, S.; Nakamura, T.; Nonaka, T.; Nozato, A.; Ogio, S.; Ogura, J.; Ohnishi, M.; Ohoka, H.; Oki, K.; Okuda, T.; Ono, M.; Oshima, A.; Ozawa, S.; Park, I. H.; Pshirkov, M. S.; Rodriguez, D. C.; Rubtsov, G.; Ryu, D.; Sagawa, H.; Sakurai, N.; Scott, L. M.; Shah, P. D.; Shibata, F.; Shibata, T.; Shimodaira, H.; Shin, B. K.; Shin, H. S.; Smith, J. D.; Sokolsky, P.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Stratton, S. R.; Stroman, T. A.; Suzawa, T.; Takamura, M.; Takeda, M.; Takeishi, R.; Taketa, A.; Takita, M.; Tameda, Y.; Tanaka, H.; Tanaka, K.; Tanaka, M.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tinyakov, P.; Tkachev, I.; Tokuno, H.; Tomida, T.; Troitsky, S.; Tsunesada, Y.; Tsutsumi, K.; Uchihori, Y.; Udo, S.; Urban, F.; Vasiloff, G.; Wong, T.; Yamane, R.; Yamaoka, H.; Yamazaki, K.; Yang, J.; Yashiro, K.; Yoneda, Y.; Yoshida, S.; Yoshii, H.; Zollinger, R.; Zundel, Z.

2016-07-01

The Telescope Array (TA) experiment is the largest detector to observe ultra-high-energy cosmic rays in the northern hemisphere. The fluorescence detectors at two stations of TA are newly constructed and have now completed seven years of steady operation. One advantage of monocular analysis of the fluorescence detectors is a lower energy threshold for cosmic rays than that of other techniques like stereoscopic observations or coincidences with the surface detector array, allowing the measurement of an energy spectrum covering three orders of magnitude in energy. Analyzing data collected during those seven years, we report the energy spectrum of cosmic rays covering a broad range of energies above 1017.2eV measured by the fluorescence detectors and a comparison with previously published results.

Early results from the ultra heavy cosmic ray experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Osullivan, D.; Thompson, A.; Bosch, J.; Keegan, R.; Wenzel, K.-P.; Jansen, F.; Domingo, C.

1995-01-01

Data extraction and analysis of the LDEF Ultra Heavy Cosmic Ray Experiment is continuing. Almost twice the pre LDEF world sample has been investigated and some details of the charge spectrum in the region from Z approximately 70 up to and including the actinides are presented. The early results indicate r process enhancement over solar system source abundances.

The high energy cosmic-radiation detection (HERD) facility onboard China's Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, S. N.; Adriani, O.; Albergo, S.; Ambrosi, G.; An, Q.; Bao, T. W.; Battiston, R.; Bi, X. J.; Cao, Z.; Chai, J. Y.; Chang, J.; Chen, G. M.; Chen, Y.; Cui, X. H.; Dai, Z. G.; D'Alessandro, R.; Dong, Y. W.; Fan, Y. Z.; Feng, C. Q.; Feng, H.; Feng, Z. Y.; Gao, X. H.; Gargano, F.; Giglietto, N.; Gou, Q. B.; Guo, Y. Q.; Hu, B. L.; Hu, H. B.; He, H. H.; Huang, G. S.; Huang, J.; Huang, Y. F.; Li, H.; Li, L.; Li, Y. G.; Li, Z.; Liang, E. W.; Liu, H.; Liu, J. B.; Liu, J. T.; Liu, S. B.; Liu, S. M.; Liu, X.; Lu, J. G.; Mazziotta, M. N.; Mori, N.; Orsi, S.; Pearce, M.; Pohl, M.; Quan, Z.; Ryde, F.; Shi, H. L.; Spillantini, P.; Su, M.; Sun, J. C.; Sun, X. L.; Tang, Z. C.; Walter, R.; Wang, J. C.; Wang, J. M.; Wang, L.; Wang, R. J.; Wang, X. L.; Wang, X. Y.; Wang, Z. G.; Wei, D. M.; Wu, B. B.; Wu, J.; Wu, X.; Wu, X. F.; Xia, J. Q.; Xiao, H. L.; Xu, H. H.; Xu, M.; Xu, Z. Z.; Yan, H. R.; Yin, P. F.; Yu, Y. W.; Yuan, Q.; Zha, M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, L. Y.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, Y. J.; Zhang, Y. L.; Zhao, Z. G.

2014-07-01

The High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection (HERD) facility is one of several space astronomy payloads of the cosmic lighthouse program onboard China's Space Station, which is planned for operation starting around 2020 for about 10 years. The main scientific objectives of HERD are indirect dark matter search, precise cosmic ray spectrum and composition measurements up to the knee energy, and high energy gamma-ray monitoring and survey. HERD is composed of a 3-D cubic calorimeter (CALO) surrounded by microstrip silicon trackers (STKs) from five sides except the bottom. CALO is made of about 104 cubes of LYSO crystals, corresponding to about 55 radiation lengths and 3 nuclear interaction lengths, respectively. The top STK microstrips of seven X-Y layers are sandwiched with tungsten converters to make precise directional measurements of incoming electrons and gamma-rays. In the baseline design, each of the four side SKTs is made of only three layers microstrips. All STKs will also be used for measuring the charge and incoming directions of cosmic rays, as well as identifying back scattered tracks. With this design, HERD can achieve the following performance: energy resolution of 1% for electrons and gamma-rays beyond 100 GeV, 20% for protons from 100 GeV to 1 PeV; electron/proton separation power better than 10-5; effective geometrical factors of >3 m2sr for electron and diffuse gamma-rays, >2 m2sr for cosmic ray nuclei. R and D is under way for reading out the LYSO signals with optical fiber coupled to image intensified CCD and the prototype of one layer of CALO.

Search for point-like sources of cosmic rays with energies above 1018.5 eV in the HiRes-I monocular data set

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

High-Resolution Fly'S Eye Collaboration; Abbai, R. U.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Amann, J. F.; Archbold, G.; Belov, K.; Belz, J. W.; Benzvi, S.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Cao, Z.; Connolly, B. M.; Deng, W.; Fedorova, Y.; Findlay, J.; Finley, C. B.; Gray, R. C.; Hanlon, W. F.; Hoffman, C. M.; Holzscheiter, M. H.; Hughes, G. A.; Hüntemeyer, P.; Jones, B. F.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kim, K.; Kirn, M. A.; Loh, E. C.; Maestas, M. M.; Manago, N.; Marek, L. J.; Martens, K.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthews, J. N.; Moore, S. A.; O'Neill, A.; Painter, C. A.; Perera, L.; Reil, K.; Riehle, R.; Rodriguez, D.; Roberts, M. D.; Sasaki, M.; Schnetzer, S. R.; Scott, L. M.; Sinnis, G.; Smith, J. D.; Sokolsky, P.; Song, C.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Thomas, J. R.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tupa, D.; Westerhoff, S.; Wiencke, L. R.; Zech, A.; Zhang, X.

2007-07-01

We report the results of a search for point-like deviations from isotropy in the arrival directions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays in the northern hemisphere. In the monocular data set collected by the High-Resolution Fly’s Eye, consisting of 1525 events with energy exceeding 1018.5 eV, we find no evidence for point-like excesses. We place a 90% c.l. upper limit of 0.8 hadronic cosmic rays/km2 yr on the flux from such sources for the northern hemisphere and place tighter limits as a function of position in the sky.

Anomalous Transport of High Energy Cosmic Rays in Galactic Superbubbles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barghouty, Nasser F.

2014-01-01

High-energy cosmic rays may exhibit anomalous transport as they traverse and are accelerated by a collection of supernovae explosions in a galactic superbubble. Signatures of this anomalous transport can show up in the particles' evolution and their spectra. In a continuous-time-random- walk (CTRW) model assuming standard diffusive shock acceleration theory (DSA) for each shock encounter, and where the superbubble (an OB stars association) is idealized as a heterogeneous region of particle sources and sinks, acceleration and transport in the superbubble can be shown to be sub-diffusive. While the sub-diffusive transport can be attributed to the stochastic nature of the acceleration time according to DSA theory, the spectral break appears to be an artifact of transport in a finite medium. These CTRW simulations point to a new and intriguing phenomenon associated with the statistical nature of collective acceleration of high energy cosmic rays in galactic superbubbles.

The High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection (HERD) Facility onboard China's Future Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Bobing

2015-08-01

The High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection (HERD) facility is one of several space astronomy payloads of the cosmic lighthouse program onboard China's Space Station, which is planned for operation starting around 2020 for about 10 years. The main scientific objectives of HERD are indirect dark matter search, precise cosmic ray spectrum and composition measurements up to the knee energy, and high energy gamma-ray monitoring and survey. HERD is composed of a 3-D cubic calorimeter (CALO) surrounded by microstrip silicon trackers (STKs)from five sides except the bottom. CALO is made of about 10^4 cubes of LYSO crystals, corresponding to about 55 radiation lengths and 3 nuclear interaction lengths, respectively. HERD can achieve the following performance: energy resolution of 1% for electrons and gamma-rays beyond 100 GeV, 20% for protons from 100 GeV to 1 PeV; 2) electron/proton separation power better than 10^5 ; effective geometrical factors of > 3 m^2 sr for electron and diffuse gamma-rays, > 2 m^2 sr for cosmic ray nuclei. The prototype of about 1/40 of HERD calorimeter is under construction. A beam test in CERN with the prototype is approved and will be carried out in Nov. 2015.

pp interaction at very high energies in cosmic ray experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kendi Kohara, A.; Ferreira, Erasmo; Kodama, Takeshi

2014-11-01

An analysis of p-air cross section data from extensive air shower measurements is presented, based on an analytical representation of the pp scattering amplitudes that describes with high precision all available accelerator data at ISR, SPS and LHC energies. The theoretical basis of the representation, together with the very smooth energy dependence of parameters controlled by unitarity and dispersion relations, permits reliable extrapolation to high energy cosmic ray (CR) and asymptotic energy ranges. Calculations of σ p-airprod based on Glauber formalism are made using the input values of the quantities σ , ρ , BI and BR at high energies, with attention given to the independence of the slope parameters, with {{B}R}\

Acceleration of High Energy Cosmic Rays in the Nonlinear Shock Precursor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derzhinsky, F.; Diamond, P. H.; Malkov, M. A.

2006-10-01

The problem of understanding acceleration of very energetic cosmic rays to energies above the 'knee' in the spectrum at 10^15-10^16eV remains one of the great challenges in modern physics. Recently, we have proposed a new approach to understanding high energy acceleration, based on exploiting scattering of cosmic rays by inhomogenities in the compressive nonlinear shock precursor, rather than by scattering across the main shock, as is conventionally assumed. We extend that theory by proposing a mechanism for the generation of mesoscale magnetic fields (krg<1, where rg is the cosmic ray gyroradius). The mechanism is the decay or modulational instability of resonantly generated Alfven waves scattering off ambient density perturbations in the precursors. Such perturbations can be produced by Drury instability. This mechanism leads to the generation of longer wavelength Alfven waves, thus enabling the confinement of higher energy particles. A simplified version of the theory, cast in the form of a Fokker-Planck equation for the Alfven population, will also be presented. This process also limits field generation on rg scales.

Very high-energy gamma-ray signature of ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray acceleration in Centaurus A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joshi, Jagdish C.; Miranda, Luis Salvador; Razzaque, Soebur; Yang, Lili

2018-04-01

The association of at least a dozen ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray (UHECR) events with energy ≳ 55 EeV detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) from the direction of Centaurus-A, the nearest radio galaxy, supports the scenario of UHECR acceleration in the jets of radio galaxies. In this work, we model radio to very high energy (VHE,≳ 100 GeV) γ-ray emission from Cen A, including GeV hardness detected by Fermi-LAT and TeV emission detected by HESS. We consider two scenarios: (i) Two zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) and external-Compton (EC) models, (ii) Two zone SSC, EC and photo-hadronic emission from cosmic ray interactions. The GeV hardness observed by Fermi-LAT can be explained using these two scenarios, where zone 2 EC emission is very important. Hadronic emission in scenario (ii) can explain VHE data with the same spectral slope as obtained through fitting UHECRs from Cen A. The peak luminosity in cosmic ray proton at 1 TeV, to explain the VHE γ-ray data is ≈2.5 × 1046 erg/s. The bolometric luminosity in cosmic ray protons is consistent with the luminosity required to explain the origin of 13 UHECR signal events that are correlated with Cen A.

Disentangling Hadronic and Leptonic Cascade Scenarios from the Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission of Distant Hard-Spectrum Blazars

DOE PAGES

Takami, Hajime; Murase, Kohta; Dermer, Charles D.

2013-06-26

We show that recent data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope have revealed about a dozen distant hard-spectrum blazars that have very-high-energy (VHE; ≳ 100 eV) photons associated with them, but most of them have not yet been detected by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. Most of these high-energy gamma-ray spectra, like those of other extreme high-frequency peaked BL Lac objects, can be well explained either by gamma rays emitted at the source or by cascades induced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, as we show specifically for KUV 00311–1938. We consider the prospects for detection of the VHE sources by the plannedmore » Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) and show how it can distinguish the two scenarios by measuring the integrated flux above ~500 GeV (depending on source redshift) for several luminous sources with z ≲ 1 in the sample. Strong evidence for the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays could be obtained from VHE observations with CTA. Depending on redshift, if the often quoted redshift of KUV 00311–1938 (z = 0.61) is believed, then preliminary H.E.S.S. data favor cascades induced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. Lastly, accurate redshift measurements of hard-spectrum blazars are essential for this study.« less

Detection of High Energy Cosmic Ray with the Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fazely, Ali R.

2003-01-01

ATIC is a balloon-borne investigation of cosmic ray spectra, from below 50 GeV to near 100 TeV total energy, using a fully active Bismuth Gemmate (BGO) calorimeter. It is equipped with the first large area mosaic of small fully depleted silicon detector pixels capable of charge identification in cosmic rays from H to Fe. As a redundancy check for the charge identification and a coarse particle tracking system, three projective layers of x-y scintillator hodoscopes were employed, above, in the center and below a Carbon interaction 'target'. Very high energy gamma-rays and their energy spectrum may provide insight to the flux of extremely high energy neutrinos which will be investigated in detail with several proposed cubic kilometer scale neutrino observatories in the next decade.

The KLEM High-Energy Cosmic Ray Collector for the Nucleon Satellite Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bashindzhagyan, G.; Adams, J. H., Jr.; Bashindzhagyan, P.; Chilingarian, A.; Donnelly, J.; Drury, L.; Egorov, N.; Golubkov, S.; Grebenyuk, V.; Kalinin, A.;

A swimming pool array for ultra high energy showers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yodh, Gaurang B.; Shoup, Anthony; Barwick, Steve; Goodman, Jordan A.

1992-11-01

A very preliminary design concept for an array using water Cherenkov counters, built out of commercially available backyard swimming pools, to sample the electromagnetic and muonic components of ultra high energy showers at large lateral distances is presented. The expected performance of the pools is estimated using the observed lateral distributions by scintillator and water Cherenkov arrays at energies above 1019 eV and simulations.

Is the ultra-high energy cosmic-ray excess observed by the telescope array correlated with IceCube neutrinos?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fang, Ke; Fujii, Toshihiro; Linden, Tim

2014-10-20

The Telescope Array (TA) has observed a statistically significant excess in cosmic rays with energies above 57 EeV in a region of approximately 1150 deg{sup 2} centered on coordinates R.A. = 146.7, decl. = 43.2. We note that the location of this excess correlates with 2 of the 28 extraterrestrial neutrinos recently observed by IceCube. The overlap between the two IceCube neutrinos and the TA excess is statistically significant at the 2σ level. Furthermore, the spectrum and intensity of the IceCube neutrinos is consistent with a single source which would also produce the TA excess. Finally, we discuss possible sourcemore » classes with the correct characteristics to explain the cosmic-ray and neutrino fluxes with a single source.« less

Terrestrial Effects of High Energy Cosmic Rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atri, Dimitra

2011-01-01

On geological timescales, the Earth is likely to be exposed to an increased flux of high energy cosmic rays (HECRs) from astrophysical sources such as nearby supernovae, gamma ray bursts or by galactic shocks. These high-energy particles strike the Earth's atmosphere initiating an extensive air shower. As the air shower propagates deeper, it ionizes the atmosphere by producing charged secondary particles. Increased ionization could lead to changes in atmospheric chemistry, resulting in ozone depletion. This could increase the flux of solar UVB radiation at the surface, which is potentially harmful to living organisms. Increased ionization affects the global electrical circuit can could possibly enhance the low-altitude cloud formation rate. Secondary particles such as muons and thermal neutrons produced as a result of nuclear interactions are able to reach the ground, enhancing the biological radiation dose. The muon flux dominates radiation dose from cosmic rays causing DNA damage and increase in the mutation rates, which can have serious biological implications for terrestrial and sub-terrestrial life. This radiation dose is an important constraint on the habitability of a planet. Using CORSIKA, we perform massive computer simulations and construct lookup tables from 10 GeV - 1 PeV primaries (1 PeV - 0.1 ZeV in progress), which can be used to quantify these effects. These tables are freely available to the community and can be used for other studies, not necessarily relevant to Astrobiology. We use these tables to study the terrestrial implications of galactic shock generated by the infall of our galaxy toward the Virgo cluster. This could be a possible mechanism explaining the observed periodicity in biodiversity in paleobiology databases.

Measurement Over Large Solid Angle of Low Energy Cosmic Ray Muon Flux

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schreiner, H. F., III; Schwitters, R. F.

2015-12-01

Recent advancements in portable muon detectors have made cosmic ray imaging practical for many diverse applications. Working muon attenuation detectors have been built at the University of Texas and are already successfully being used to image tunnels, structures, and Mayan pyramids. Most previous studies have focused on energy measurements of the cosmic ray spectrum from of 1 GeV or higher. We have performed an accurate measurement of the ultra-low energy (<2 GeV in E cos θ) muon spectrum down to the acceptance level of our detector, around one hundred MeV. Measurements include angular dependence, with acceptance approaching horizontal. Measurements were made underwater using a custom enclosure in Lake Travis, Austin, TX. This measurement will allow more accurate predictions and simulations of attenuation for small (<5 m) targets for muon tomography.

A lower bound on the number of cosmic ray events required to measure source catalogue correlations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dolci, Marco; Romero-Wolf, Andrew; Wissel, Stephanie, E-mail: marco.dolci@polito.it, E-mail: Andrew.Romero-Wolf@jpl.nasa.gov, E-mail: swissel@calpoly.edu

2016-10-01

Recent analyses of cosmic ray arrival directions have resulted in evidence for a positive correlation with active galactic nuclei positions that has weak significance against an isotropic source distribution. In this paper, we explore the sample size needed to measure a highly statistically significant correlation to a parent source catalogue. We compare several scenarios for the directional scattering of ultra-high energy cosmic rays given our current knowledge of the galactic and intergalactic magnetic fields. We find significant correlations are possible for a sample of >1000 cosmic ray protons with energies above 60 EeV.

High-energy cosmic rays and the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min effect.

PubMed

Watson, A A

2014-03-01

Although cosmic rays were discovered over 100 years ago their origin remains uncertain. They have an energy spectrum that extends from ∼1 GeV to beyond 10(20) eV, where the rate is less than 1 particle per km(2) per century. Shortly after the discovery of the cosmic microwave background in 1965, it was pointed out that the spectrum of cosmic rays should steepen fairly abruptly above about 4 × 10(19) eV, provided the sources are distributed uniformly throughout the Universe. This prediction, by Greisen and by Zatsepin and Kuz'min, has become known as the GZK effect and in this article I discuss the current position with regard to experimental data on the energy spectrum of the highest cosmic-ray energies that have been accumulated in a search that has lasted nearly 50 years. Although there is now little doubt that a suppression of the spectrum exists near the energy predicted, it is by no means certain that this is a manifestation of the GZK effect as it might be that this energy is also close to the maximum to which sources can accelerate particles, with the highest energy beam containing a large fraction of nuclei heavier than protons. The way forward is briefly mentioned.

Study of Volumetrically Heated Ultra-High Energy Density Plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rocca, Jorge J.

2016-10-27

Heating dense matter to millions of degrees is important for applications, but requires complex and expensive methods. The major goal of the project was to demonstrate using a compact laser the creation of a new ultra-high energy density plasma regime characterized by simultaneous extremely high temperature and high density, and to study it combining experimental measurements and advanced simulations. We have demonstrated that trapping of intense femtosecond laser pulses deep within ordered nanowire arrays can heat near solid density matter into a new ultra hot plasma regime. Extreme electron densities, and temperatures of several tens of million degrees were achievedmore » using laser pulses of only 0.5 J energy from a compact laser. Our x-ray spectra and simulations showed that extremely highly ionized plasma volumes several micrometers in depth are generated by irradiation of gold and Nickel nanowire arrays with femtosecond laser pulses of relativistic intensities. We obtained extraordinarily high degrees of ionization (e.g. we peeled 52 electrons from gold atoms, and up to 26 electrons from nickel atoms). In the process we generated Gigabar pressures only exceeded in the central hot spot of highly compressed thermonuclear fusion plasmas.. The plasma created after the dissolved wires expand, collide, and thermalize, is computed to have a thermal energy density of 0.3 GJ cm -3 and a pressure of 1-2 Gigabar. These are pressures only exceeded in highly compressed thermonuclear fusion plasmas. Scaling these results to higher laser intensities promises to create plasmas with temperatures and pressures exceeding those in the center of the sun.« less

New Results on High Energy Cosmic Ray Electrons Observed with Fermi LAT and Their Implications on the Origin of Cosmic Rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moiseev, Alexander

2010-01-01

The Large Area Telescope on-board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has collected more than 10 million cosmic ray electrons with energy above 7 GeV since its science operation on orbit. High energy electrons rapidly lose their energy by synchrotron radiation on Galactic magnetic fields and by inverse Compton scattering on the interstellar radiation field. The typical distance over which a 1 TeV electron loses half its total energy is estimated to be 300-400 pc.This makes them a unique tool for probing nearby Galactic space. Observed spectrum has a harder spectral index than was previously reported and suggests the presence of nearby sources of high energy electrons. One of viable candidates are nearby pulsars, possibly some of recently discovered by Fermi. At the same time the dark matter origin of such sources cannot be ruled out. I will also report our current upper limits on cosmic ray electrons anisotropy which helps to set constraints on their local sources.

Connecting blazars with ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays and astrophysical neutrinos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Resconi, E.; Coenders, S.; Padovani, P.; Giommi, P.; Caccianiga, L.

2017-06-01

We present a strong hint of a connection between high-energy γ-ray emitting blazars, very high energy neutrinos, and ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays. We first identify potential hadronic sources by filtering γ-ray emitters in spatial coincidence with the high-energy neutrinos detected by IceCube. The neutrino filtered γ-ray emitters are then correlated with the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays from the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array by scanning in γ-ray flux (Fγ) and angular separation (θ) between sources and cosmic rays. A maximal excess of 80 cosmic rays (42.5 expected) is found at θ ≤ 10° from the neutrino-filtered γ-ray emitters selected from the second hard Fermi-LAT catalogue (2FHL) and for Fγ(>50 GeV) ≥ 1.8 × 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1. The probability for this to happen is 2.4 × 10-5, which translates to ˜2.4 × 10-3 after compensation for all the considered trials. No excess of cosmic rays is instead observed for the complement sample of γ-ray emitters (I.e. not in spatial connection with IceCube neutrinos). A likelihood ratio test comparing the connection between the neutrino-filtered and the complement source samples with the cosmic rays favours a connection between neutrino-filtered emitters and cosmic rays with a probability of ˜1.8 × 10-3 (2.9σ) after compensation for all the considered trials. The neutrino-filtered γ-ray sources that make up the cosmic rays excess are blazars of the high synchrotron peak type. More statistics is needed to further investigate these sources as candidate cosmic ray and neutrino emitters.

High-Energy Cosmic Ray Self-Confinement Close to Extra-Galactic Sources.

PubMed

Blasi, Pasquale; Amato, Elena; D'Angelo, Marta

2015-09-18

The ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays observed on the Earth are most likely accelerated in extra-Galactic sources. For the typical luminosities invoked for such sources, the electric current associated to the flux of cosmic rays that leave them is large. The associated plasma instabilities create magnetic fluctuations that can efficiently scatter particles. We argue that this phenomenon forces cosmic rays to be self-confined in the source proximity for energies Ecosmic rays are confined close to their sources for energies E

Laboratory laser acceleration and high energy astrophysics: {gamma}-ray bursts and cosmic rays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tajima, T.; Takahashi, Y.

1998-08-20

Recent experimental progress in laser acceleration of charged particles (electrons) and its associated processes has shown that intense electromagnetic pulses can promptly accelerate charged particles to high energies and that their energy spectrum is quite hard. On the other hand some of the high energy astrophysical phenomena such as extremely high energy cosmic rays and energetic components of {gamma}-ray bursts cry for new physical mechanisms for promptly accelerating particles to high energies. The authors suggest that the basic physics involved in laser acceleration experiments sheds light on some of the underlying mechanisms and their energy spectral characteristics of the promptlymore » accelerated particles in these high energy astrophysical phenomena.« less

Measurement of Relative Abundances of Ultra-Heavy Cosmic Rays with CALET on the ISS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rauch, Brian; Calet Collaboration

2016-03-01

The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) is a Japanese-Italian-US astroparticle observatory that was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No.5 (H-IIB F5) aboard the KOUNOTORI5 (HTV5 cargo transfer vehicle) to the International Space Station (ISS) on August 19, 2015. The HTV5 arrived at the ISS on August 24, and CALET was installed on port 9 of the Japanese Experiment Module ``Kibo'' Exposed Facility (JEM-EF), where CALET underwent the planned turn on and checkout procedures. CALET has completed its commissioning phase and its main calorimeter (CAL) is observing the highest energy cosmic electrons from 1 GeV to 20 TeV, along with cosmic ray nuclei through iron up to 1,000 TeV and gamma-rays above 10 GeV. In a five-year mission CALET will also have the exposure to measure the relative abundances of the ultra-heavy (UH) cosmic rays with ~4 × the statistics of the TIGER instrument for the full CAL acceptance. Rigidity cutoffs based on the earth's geomagnetic field in the 51.6° inclination ISS orbit can provide an energy independent UH measurement with expanded acceptance with ~10 × the TIGER statistics. An overview of the anticipated performance and preliminary CALET UH analysis data will be presented. This research was supported by NASA at Washington University under Grant Number NNX11AE02G.

A model for the origin of high-energy cosmic rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jokipii, J. R.; Morfill, G. E.

1985-01-01

It is suggested that cosmic rays, up to the highest energies observed, originate in the Galaxy and are accelerated in astrophysical shock waves. If there is a galactic wind, in analogy with the solar wind, a hierarchy of shocks ranging from supernova shocks to the galactic wind termination shock is expected. This leads to a consistent model in which most cosmic rays, up to perhaps 10 to the 14th eV energy, are accelerated by supernova shocks, but that particles with energies of 10 to the 15th eV and higher are accelerated at the termination shock of the galactic wind. Intermediate energies may be accelerated by intermediate-scale shocks, and there may be larger scale shocks associated with the Local Group of galaxies.

Spaced-based Cosmic Ray Astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Eun-Suk

2016-03-01

The bulk of cosmic ray data has been obtained with great success by balloon-borne instruments, particularly with NASA's long duration flights over Antarctica. More recently, PAMELA on a Russian Satellite and AMS-02 on the International Space Station (ISS) started providing exciting measurements of particles and anti-particles with unprecedented precision upto TeV energies. In order to address open questions in cosmic ray astrophysics, future missions require spaceflight exposures for rare species, such as isotopes, ultra-heavy elements, and high (the ``knee'' and above) energies. Isotopic composition measurements up to about 10 GeV/nucleon that are critical for understanding interstellar propagation and origin of the elements are still to be accomplished. The cosmic ray composition in the knee (PeV) region holds a key to understanding the origin of cosmic rays. Just last year, the JAXA-led CALET ISS mission, and the DAMPE Chinese Satellite were launched. NASA's ISS-CREAM completed its final verification at GSFC, and was delivered to KSC to await launch on SpaceX. In addition, a EUSO-like mission for ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and an HNX-like mission for ultraheavy nuclei could accomplish a vision for a cosmic ray observatory in space. Strong support of NASA's Explorer Program category of payloads would be needed for completion of these missions over the next decade.

JUPITER AS A GIANT COSMIC RAY DETECTOR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rimmer, P. B.; Stark, C. R.; Helling, Ch., E-mail: pr33@st-andrews.ac.uk

We explore the feasibility of using the atmosphere of Jupiter to detect ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). The large surface area of Jupiter allows us to probe cosmic rays of higher energies than previously accessible. Cosmic ray extensive air showers in Jupiter's atmosphere could in principle be detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi observatory. In order to be observed, these air showers would need to be oriented toward the Earth, and would need to occur sufficiently high in the atmosphere that the gamma rays can penetrate. We demonstrate that, under these assumptions, Jupiter provides an effective cosmicmore » ray ''detector'' area of 3.3 × 10{sup 7} km{sup 2}. We predict that Fermi-LAT should be able to detect events of energy >10{sup 21} eV with fluence 10{sup –7} erg cm{sup –2} at a rate of about one per month. The observed number of air showers may provide an indirect measure of the flux of cosmic rays ≳ 10{sup 20} eV. Extensive air showers also produce a synchrotron signature that may be measurable by Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Simultaneous observations of Jupiter with ALMA and Fermi-LAT could be used to provide broad constraints on the energies of the initiating cosmic rays.« less

High Energy Cosmic Ray Electron Spectra measured from the ATIC Balloon Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, J.; Schmidt, W. K. H.; Adams, J. H.; Ahn, H. S.; Bashindzhagyan, G.; Batkov, K. E.; Christl, M.; Fazely, A. R.; Ganel, O.; Gunasingha, R. M.

2003-01-01

The Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter Balloon Experiment (ATIC) is specifically designed for high energy cosmic ray ion detection. From simulation and a CERN beam test exposure we find that the design consisting of a graphite target and an energy detection device, a totally active calorimeter of BGO scintillator, gives us sufficient information to distinguish electrons from protons up to the TeV energy range. Balloon observations were successfully carried out over Antarctica in both 2000/2001 and 2002/2003 for a total of more than 35 days. This paper presents preliminary results on the spectrum of high energy electrons observed in the first ATIC flight.

The KASCADE-Grande observatory and the composition of very high-energy cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C.; Apel, W. D.; Bekk, K.; Bertaina, M.; Blümer, J.; Bozdog, H.; Brancus, I. M.; Cantoni, E.; Chiavassa, A.; Cossavella, F.; Daumiller, K.; de Souza, V.; Di Pierro, F.; Doll, P.; Engel, R.; Engler, J.; Fuchs, B.; Fuhrmann, D.; Gils, H. J.; Glasstetter, R.; Grupen, C.; Haungs, A.; Heck, D.; Hörandel, J. R.; Huber, D.; Huege, T.; Kampert, K.-H.; Kang, D.; Klages, H. O.; Link, K.; Łuczak, P.; Ludwig, M.; Mathes, H. J.; Mayer, H. J.; Melissas, M.; Milke, J.; Mitrica, B.; Morello, C.; Oehlschläger, J.; Ostapchenko, S.; Palmieri, N.; Petcu, M.; Pierog, T.; Rebel, H.; Roth, M.; Schieler, H.; Schröder, F. G.; Sima, O.; Toma, G.; Trinchero, G. C.; Ulrich, H.; Weindl, A.; Wochele, J.; Zabierowski, J.

2015-11-01

KASCADE-Grande is an air-shower observatory devoted to the detection of cosmic rays with energies in the range of 1016 to 1018 eV. This energy region is of particular interest for the cosmic ray astrophysics, since it is the place where some models predict the existence of a transition from galactic to extragalactic origin of cosmic rays and the presence of a break in the flux of its heavy component. The detection of these features requires detailed and simultaneous measurements of the energy and composition of cosmic rays with sufficient statistics. These kinds of studies are possible for the first time in KASCADE-Grande due to the accurate measurements of several air-shower observables, i.e., the number of charged particles, electrons and muons in the shower, using the different detector systems of the observatory. In this contribution, a detailed look into the composition of 1016 — 1018 eV cosmic rays with KASCADE-Grande is presented.

The Origin of Cosmic Rays

ScienceCinema

Blasi, Pasquale

2017-12-22

Cosmic Rays reach the Earth from space with energies of up to more than 1020 eV, carrying information on the most powerful particle accelerators that Nature has been able to assemble. Understanding where and how cosmic rays originate has required almost one century of investigations, and, although the last word is not written yet, recent observations and theory seem now to fit together to provide us with a global picture of the origin of cosmic rays of unprecedented clarity. Here we will describe what we learned from recent observations of astrophysical sources (such as supernova remnants and active galaxies) and we will illustrate what these observations tell us about the physics of particle acceleration and transport. We will also discuss the “end” of the Galactic cosmic ray spectrum, which bridges out attention towards the so called ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). At ~1020 eV the gyration scale of cosmic rays in cosmic magnetic fields becomes large enough to allow us to point back to their sources, thereby allowing us to perform “cosmic ray astronomy”, as confirmed by the recent results obtained with the Pierre Auger Observatory. We will discuss the implications of these observations for the understanding of UHECRs, as well as some questions which will likely remain unanswered and will be the target of the next generation of cosmic ray experiments.

Test of high-energy hadronic interaction models with high-altitude cosmic-ray data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haungs, A.; Kempa, J.

2003-09-01

Emulsion experiments placed at high mountain altitudes register hadrons and high-energy γ-rays with an energy threshold in the TeV region. These secondary shower particles are produced in the forward direction of interactions of mainly primary protons and alpha-particles in the Earth's atmosphere. Single γ's and hadrons are mainly produced by the interactions of the primary cosmic-ray nuclei of primary energy below 1015eV. Therefore the measurements are sensitive to the physics of high-energy hadronic interaction models, e.g., as implemented in the Monte Carlo air shower simulation program CORSIKA. By use of detailed simulations invoking various different models for the hadronic interactions we compare the predictions for the single-particle spectra with data of the Pamir experiment. For higher primary energies characteristics of so-called gamma-ray families are used for the comparisons. Including detailed simulations for the Pamir detector we found that the data are incompatible with the HDPM and SIBYLL 1.6 models, but are in agreement with QGSJET, NEXUS, and VENUS.

Search for Point Sources of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays above 4.0 × 1019 eV Using a Maximum Likelihood Ratio Test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R. U.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Amann, J. F.; Archbold, G.; Atkins, R.; Bellido, J. A.; Belov, K.; Belz, J. W.; Ben-Zvi, S. Y.; Bergman, D. R.; Boyer, J. H.; Burt, G. W.; Cao, Z.; Clay, R. W.; Connolly, B. M.; Dawson, B. R.; Deng, W.; Farrar, G. R.; Fedorova, Y.; Findlay, J.; Finley, C. B.; Hanlon, W. F.; Hoffman, C. M.; Holzscheiter, M. H.; Hughes, G. A.; Hüntemeyer, P.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kim, K.; Kirn, M. A.; Knapp, B. C.; Loh, E. C.; Maestas, M. M.; Manago, N.; Mannel, E. J.; Marek, L. J.; Martens, K.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthews, J. N.; O'Neill, A.; Painter, C. A.; Perera, L.; Reil, K.; Riehle, R.; Roberts, M. D.; Sasaki, M.; Schnetzer, S. R.; Seman, M.; Simpson, K. M.; Sinnis, G.; Smith, J. D.; Snow, R.; Sokolsky, P.; Song, C.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Thomas, J. R.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tupa, D.; Westerhoff, S.; Wiencke, L. R.; Zech, A.

2005-04-01

We present the results of a search for cosmic-ray point sources at energies in excess of 4.0×1019 eV in the combined data sets recorded by the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array and High Resolution Fly's Eye 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.

Evaluation of the cosmic-ray induced background in coded aperture high energy gamma-ray telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Owens, Alan; Barbier, Loius M.; Frye, Glenn M.; Jenkins, Thomas L.

1991-01-01

While the application of coded-aperture techniques to high-energy gamma-ray astronomy offers potential arc-second angular resolution, concerns were raised about the level of secondary radiation produced in a thick high-z mask. A series of Monte-Carlo calculations are conducted to evaluate and quantify the cosmic-ray induced neutral particle background produced in a coded-aperture mask. It is shown that this component may be neglected, being at least a factor of 50 lower in intensity than the cosmic diffuse gamma-rays.

Imaging Galactic Dark Matter with High-Energy Cosmic Neutrinos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Argüelles, Carlos A.; Kheirandish, Ali; Vincent, Aaron C.

2017-11-01

We show that the high-energy cosmic neutrinos seen by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory can be used to probe interactions between neutrinos and the dark sector that cannot be reached by current cosmological methods. The origin of the observed neutrinos is still unknown, and their arrival directions are compatible with an isotropic distribution. This observation, together with dedicated studies of Galactic plane correlations, suggests a predominantly extragalactic origin. Interactions between this isotropic extragalactic flux and the dense dark matter (DM) bulge of the Milky Way would thus lead to an observable imprint on the distribution, which would be seen by IceCube as (i) slightly suppressed fluxes at energies below a PeV and (ii) a deficit of events in the direction of the Galactic center. We perform an extended unbinned likelihood analysis using the four-year high-energy starting event data set to constrain the strength of DM-neutrino interactions for two model classes. We find that, in spite of low statistics, IceCube can probe regions of the parameter space inaccessible to current cosmological methods.

Imaging Galactic Dark Matter with High-Energy Cosmic Neutrinos.

PubMed

Argüelles, Carlos A; Kheirandish, Ali; Vincent, Aaron C

2017-11-17

We show that the high-energy cosmic neutrinos seen by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory can be used to probe interactions between neutrinos and the dark sector that cannot be reached by current cosmological methods. The origin of the observed neutrinos is still unknown, and their arrival directions are compatible with an isotropic distribution. This observation, together with dedicated studies of Galactic plane correlations, suggests a predominantly extragalactic origin. Interactions between this isotropic extragalactic flux and the dense dark matter (DM) bulge of the Milky Way would thus lead to an observable imprint on the distribution, which would be seen by IceCube as (i) slightly suppressed fluxes at energies below a PeV and (ii) a deficit of events in the direction of the Galactic center. We perform an extended unbinned likelihood analysis using the four-year high-energy starting event data set to constrain the strength of DM-neutrino interactions for two model classes. We find that, in spite of low statistics, IceCube can probe regions of the parameter space inaccessible to current cosmological methods.

Anisotropy and chemical composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using arrival directions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierre Auger Collaboration; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Ahn, E. J.; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Allard, D.; Allekotte, I.; Allen, J.; Allison, P.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Ambrosio, M.; Aminaei, A.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andringa, S.; Antičić, T.; Anzalone, A.; Aramo, C.; Arganda, E.; Arqueros, F.; Asorey, H.; Assis, P.; Aublin, J.; Ave, M.; Avenier, M.; Avila, G.; Bäcker, T.; Balzer, M.; Barber, K. B.; Barbosa, A. F.; Bardenet, R.; Barroso, S. L. C.; Baughman, B.; Bäuml, J.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, B. R.; Becker, K. H.; Bellétoile, A.; Bellido, J. A.; BenZvi, S.; Berat, C.; Bertou, X.; Biermann, P. L.; Billoir, P.; Blanco, F.; Blanco, M.; Bleve, C.; Blümer, H.; Boháčová, M.; Boncioli, D.; Bonifazi, C.; Bonino, R.; Borodai, N.; Brack, J.; Brogueira, P.; Brown, W. C.; Bruijn, R.; Buchholz, P.; Bueno, A.; Burton, R. E.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Caramete, L.; Caruso, R.; Castellina, A.; Catalano, O.; Cataldi, G.; Cazon, L.; Cester, R.; Chauvin, J.; Cheng, S. H.; Chiavassa, A.; Chinellato, J. A.; Chou, A.; Chudoba, J.; Clay, R. W.; Coluccia, M. R.; Conceição, R.; Contreras, F.; Cook, H.; Cooper, M. J.; Coppens, J.; Cordier, A.; Cotti, U.; Coutu, S.; Covault, C. E.; Creusot, A.; Criss, A.; Cronin, J.; Curutiu, A.; Dagoret-Campagne, S.; Dallier, R.; Dasso, S.; Daumiller, K.; Dawson, B. R.; de Almeida, R. M.; De Domenico, M.; De Donato, C.; de Jong, S. J.; De La Vega, G.; de Mello Junior, W. J. M.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; De Mitri, I.; de Souza, V.; de Vries, K. D.; Decerprit, G.; del Peral, L.; Deligny, O.; Dembinski, H.; Dhital, N.; Di Giulio, C.; Diaz, J. C.; Díaz Castro, M. L.; Diep, P. N.; Dobrigkeit, C.; Docters, W.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dong, P. N.; Dorofeev, A.; dos Anjos, J. C.; Dova, M. T.; D'Urso, D.; Dutan, I.; Ebr, J.; Engel, R.; Erdmann, M.; Escobar, C. O.; Etchegoyen, A.; Facal San Luis, P.; Fajardo Tapia, I.; Falcke, H.; Farrar, G.; Fauth, A. C.; Fazzini, N.; Ferguson, A. P.; Ferrero, A.; Fick, B.; Filevich, A.; Filipčič, A.; Fliescher, S.; Fracchiolla, C. E.; Fraenkel, E. D.; Fröhlich, U.; Fuchs, B.; Gaior, R.; Gamarra, R. F.; Gambetta, S.; García, B.; García Gámez, D.; Garcia-Pinto, D.; Gascon, A.; Gemmeke, H.; Gesterling, K.; Ghia, P. L.; Giaccari, U.; Giller, M.; Glass, H.; Gold, M. S.; Golup, G.; Gomez Albarracin, F.; Gómez Berisso, M.; Gonçalves, P.; Gonzalez, D.; Gonzalez, J. G.; Gookin, B.; Góra, D.; Gorgi, A.; Gouffon, P.; Gozzini, S. R.; Grashorn, E.; Grebe, S.; Griffith, N.; Grigat, M.; Grillo, A. F.; Guardincerri, Y.; Guarino, F.; Guedes, G. P.; Guzman, A.; Hague, J. D.; Hansen, P.; Harari, D.; Harmsma, S.; Harton, J. L.; Haungs, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heck, D.; Herve, A. E.; Hojvat, C.; Hollon, N.; Holmes, V. C.; Homola, P.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horneffer, A.; Hrabovský, M.; Huege, T.; Insolia, A.; Ionita, F.; Italiano, A.; Jarne, C.; Jiraskova, S.; Kadija, K.; Kampert, K. H.; Karhan, P.; Kasper, P.; Kégl, B.; Keilhauer, B.; Keivani, A.; Kelley, J. L.; Kemp, E.; Kieckhafer, R. M.; Klages, H. O.; Kleifges, M.; Kleinfeller, J.; Knapp, J.; Koang, D.-H.; Kotera, K.; Krohm, N.; Krömer, O.; Kruppke-Hansen, D.; Kuehn, F.; Kuempel, D.; Kulbartz, J. K.; Kunka, N.; La Rosa, G.; Lachaud, C.; Lautridou, P.; Leão, M. S. A. B.; Lebrun, D.; Lebrun, P.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Lemiere, A.; Letessier-Selvon, A.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Link, K.; López, R.; Lopez Aüera, A.; Louedec, K.; Lozano Bahilo, J.; Lucero, A.; Ludwig, M.; Lyberis, H.; Maccarone, M. C.; Macolino, C.; Maldera, S.; Mandat, D.; Mantsch, P.; Mariazzi, A. G.; Marin, J.; Marin, V.; Maris, I. C.; Marquez Falcon, H. R.; Marsella, G.; Martello, D.; Martin, L.; Martinez, H.; Martínez Bravo, O.; Mathes, H. J.; Matthews, J.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthiae, G.; Maurizio, D.; Mazur, P. O.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Melissas, M.; Melo, D.; Menichetti, E.; Menshikov, A.; Mertsch, P.; Meurer, C.; Mićanović, S.; Micheletti, M. I.; Miller, W.; Miramonti, L.; Mollerach, S.; Monasor, M.; Monnier Ragaigne, D.; Montanet, F.; Morales, B.; Morello, C.; Moreno, E.; Moreno, J. C.; Morris, C.; Mostafá, M.; Moura, C. A.; Mueller, S.; Muller, M. A.; Müller, G.; Münchmeyer, M.; Mussa, R.; Navarra, G.; Navarro, J. L.; Navas, S.; Necesal, P.; Nellen, L.; Nelles, A.; Nhung, P. T.; Niemietz, L.; Nierstenhoefer, N.; Nitz, D.; Nosek, D.; Nožka, L.; Nyklicek, M.; Oehlschläger, J.; Olinto, A.; Oliva, P.; Olmos-Gilbaja, V. M.; Ortiz, M.; Pacheco, N.; Pakk Selmi-Dei, D.; Palatka, M.; Pallotta, J.; Palmieri, N.; Parente, G.; Parizot, E.; Parra, A.; Parsons, R. D.; Pastor, S.; Paul, T.; Pech, M.; Pȩkala, J.; Pelayo, R.; Pepe, I. M.; Perrone, L.; Pesce, R.; Petermann, E.; Petrera, S.; Petrinca, P.; Petrolini, A.; Petrov, Y.; Petrovic, J.; Pfendner, C.; Phan, N.; Piegaia, R.; Pierog, T.; Pieroni, P.; Pimenta, M.; Pirronello, V.; Platino, M.; Ponce, V. H.; Pontz, M.; Privitera, P.; Prouza, M.; Quel, E. J.; Querchfeld, S.; Rautenberg, J.; Ravel, O.; Ravignani, D.; Revenu, B.; Ridky, J.; Riggi, S.; Risse, M.; Ristori, P.; Rivera, H.; Rizi, V.; Roberts, J.; Robledo, C.; Rodrigues de Carvalho, W.; Rodriguez, G.; Rodriguez Martino, J.; Rodriguez Rojo, J.; Rodriguez-Cabo, I.; Rodríguez-Frías, M. D.; Ros, G.; Rosado, J.; Rossler, T.; Roth, M.; Rouillé-d'Orfeuil, B.; Roulet, E.; Rovero, A. C.; Rühle, C.; Salamida, F.; Salazar, H.; Salina, G.; Sánchez, F.; Santander, M.; Santo, C. E.; Santos, E.; Santos, E. M.; Sarazin, F.; Sarkar, B.; Sarkar, S.; Sato, R.; Scharf, N.; Scherini, V.; Schieler, H.; Schiffer, P.; Schmidt, A.; Schmidt, F.; Schmidt, T.; Scholten, O.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Schovancova, J.; Schovánek, P.; Schöder, F.; Schulte, S.; Schuster, D.; Sciutto, S. J.; Scuderi, M.; Segreto, A.; Settimo, M.; Shadkam, A.; Shellard, R. C.; Sidelnik, I.; Sigl, G.; Silva Lopez, H. H.; Śmiałkowski, A.; Šmída, R.; Snow, G. R.; Sommers, P.; Sorokin, J.; Spinka, H.; Squartini, R.; Stapleton, J.; Stasielak, J.; Stephan, M.; Strazzeri, E.; Stutz, A.; Suarez, F.; Suomijärvi, T.; Supanitsky, A. D.; Šuša, T.; Sutherland, M. S.; Swain, J.; Szadkowski, Z.; Szuba, M.; Tamashiro, A.; Tapia, A.; Tartare, M.; Taşcąu, O.; Tavera Ruiz, C. G.; Tcaciuc, R.; Tegolo, D.; Thao, N. T.; Thomas, D.; Tiffenberg, J.; Timmermans, C.; Tiwari, D. K.; Tkaczyk, W.; Todero Peixoto, C. J.; Tomé, B.; Tonachini, A.; Travnicek, P.; Tridapalli, D. B.; Tristram, G.; Trovato, E.; Tueros, M.; Ulrich, R.; Unger, M.; Urban, M.; Valdés Galicia, J. F.; Valiño, I.; Valore, L.; van den Berg, A. M.; Varela, E.; Vargas Cáardenas, B.; Vázquez, J. R.; Vázquez, R. A.; Veberič, D.; Verzi, V.; Vicha, J.; Videla, M.; Villaseñor, L.; Wahlberg, H.; Wahrlich, P.; Wainberg, O.; Warner, D.; Watson, A. A.; Weber, M.; Weidenhaupt, K.; Weindl, A.; Westerhoff, S.; Whelan, B. J.; Wieczorek, G.; Wiencke, L.; Wilczyńska, B.; Wilczyński, H.; Will, M.; Williams, C.; Winchen, T.; Winders, L.; Winnick, M. G.; Wommer, M.; Wundheiler, B.; Yamamoto, T.; Yapici, T.; Younk, P.; Yuan, G.; Yushkov, A.; Zamorano, B.; Zas, E.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zaw, I.; Zepeda, A.; Ziolkowski, M.

2011-06-01

The Pierre Auger Collaboration has reported evidence for anisotropy in the distribution of arrival directions of the cosmic rays with energies E > Eth = 5.5 × 1019 eV. These show a correlation with the distribution of nearby extragalactic objects, including an apparent excess around the direction of Centaurus A. If the particles responsible for these excesses at E > Eth are heavy nuclei with charge Z, the proton component of the sources should lead to excesses in the same regions at energies E/Z. We here report the lack of anisotropies in these directions at energies above Eth/Z (for illustrative values of Z = 6,13,26). If the anisotropies above Eth are due to nuclei with charge Z, and under reasonable assumptions about the acceleration process, these observations imply stringent constraints on the allowed proton fraction at the lower energies.

Uncertainties in energy reconstruction of cosmic rays for ANITA III caused by differences in models of radio emission in atmospheric showers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bugaev, Viatcheslav; Rauch, Brian; Schoorlemmer, Harm; Lam, Joe; Urdaneta, David; Wissel, Stephanie; Belov, Konstantin; Romero-Wolf, Andrew; Anita Collaboration

2015-04-01

The third flight of the high-altitude balloon-borne Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA III) was launched on a high-altitude balloon from McMurdo, Antarctica on December 17th, 2014 and flew for 22 days. It was optimized for the measurement of impulsive radio signals from the charged component of extensive air showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays in the frequency range ~ 180 - 1200 MHz. In addition it is designed to detect radio impulses initiated by high-energy neutrinos interacting in the Antarctic ice, which was the primary objective of the first two ANITA flights. Based on an extensive set of Monte Carlo simulations of radio emissions from cosmic rays (CR) with the ZHAireS and CoREAS simulation packages, we estimate uncertainties in the electric fields at the payload due to different models used in the two packages. The uncertainties in the emission are then propagated through an algorithm for energy reconstruction of individual CR showers to assess uncertainties in the energy reconstruction. We also discuss optimization of this algorithm. This research is supported by NASA under Grant # NNX11AC49G.

Linking high-energy cosmic particles by black-hole jets embedded in large-scale structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Ke; Murase, Kohta

2018-04-01

The origin of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) is a half-century-old enigma1. The mystery has been deepened by an intriguing coincidence: over ten orders of magnitude in energy, the energy generation rates of UHECRs, PeV neutrinos and isotropic sub-TeV γ-rays are comparable, which hints at a grand unified picture2. Here we report that powerful black hole jets in aggregates of galaxies can supply the common origin for all of these phenomena. Once accelerated by a jet, low-energy cosmic rays confined in the radio lobe are adiabatically cooled; higher-energy cosmic rays leaving the source interact with the magnetized cluster environment and produce neutrinos and γ-rays; the highest-energy particles escape from the host cluster and contribute to the observed cosmic rays above 100 PeV. The model is consistent with the spectrum, composition and isotropy of the observed UHECRs, and also explains the IceCube neutrinos and the non-blazar component of the Fermi γ-ray background, assuming a reasonable energy output from black hole jets in clusters.

Anisotropy and chemical composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using arrival directions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE PAGES

Abreu, P

2011-06-17

The Pierre Auger Collaboration has reported evidence for anisotropy in the distribution of arrival directions of the cosmic rays with energies E > E th = 5.5 x 10 19 eV. These show a correlation with the distribution of nearby extragalactic objects, including an apparent excess around the direction of Centaurus A. If the particles responsible for these excesses at E > E th are heavy nuclei with charge Z, the proton component of the sources should lead to excesses in the same regions at energies E/Z. We here report the lack of anisotropies in these directions at energies abovemore » E th/Z (for illustrative values of Z = 6,13,26). If the anisotropies above E th are due to nuclei with charge Z, and under reasonable assumptions about the acceleration process, these observations imply stringent constraints on the allowed proton fraction at the lower energies.« less

A composition dependent energy scale and the determination of the cosmic ray primary mass in the ankle region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Supanitsky, A. D.; Etchegoyen, A.; Melo, D.; Sanchez, F.

2015-08-01

At present there are still several open questions about the origin of the ultra high energy cosmic rays. However, great progress in this area has been made in recent years due to the data collected by the present generation of ground based detectors like the Pierre Auger Observatory and Telescope Array. In particular, it is believed that the study of the composition of the cosmic rays as a function of energy can play a fundamental role for the understanding of the origin of the cosmic rays. The observatories belonging to this generation are composed of arrays of surface detectors and fluorescence telescopes. The duty cycle of the fluorescence telescopes is ∼10% in contrast with the ∼100% of the surface detectors. Therefore, the energy calibration of the events observed by the surface detectors is performed by using a calibration curve obtained from a set of high quality events observed in coincidence by both types of detectors. The advantage of this method is that the reconstructed energy of the events observed by the surface detectors becomes almost independent of simulations of the showers because just a small part of the reconstructed energy (the missing energy), obtained from the fluorescence telescopes, comes from simulations. However, the calibration curve obtained in this way depends on the composition of the cosmic rays, which can introduce biases in composition analyses when parameters with a strong dependence on primary energy are considered. In this work we develop an analytical method to study these effects. We consider AMIGA (Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array), the low energy extension of the Pierre Auger Observatory corresponding to the surface detectors, to illustrate the use of the method. In particular, we study the biases introduced by an energy calibration dependent on composition on the determination of the mean value of the number of muons, at a given distance to the showers axis, which is one of the parameters most sensitive to

Development of High Frequency Transition-Edge-Sensor Polarimeters for Next Generation Cosmic Microwave Background Experiments and Galactic Foreground Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Samantha; Sierra, Carlos E.; Austermann, Jason Edward; Beall, James; Becker, Dan; Dober, Bradley; Duff, Shannon; Hilton, Gene; Hubmayr, Johannes; Van Lanen, Jeffrey L.; McMahon, Jeff; Simon, Sara M.; Ullom, Joel; Vissers, Michael R.; NIST Quantum Sensors Group

2018-06-01

Observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) provide a powerful tool for probing the earliest moments of the universe and therefore have the potential to transform our understanding of cosmology. In particular, precision measurements of its polarization can reveal the existence of gravitational waves produced during cosmic inflation. However, these observations are complicated by the presence of astrophysical foregrounds, which may be separated by using broad frequency coverage, as the spectral energy distribution between foregrounds and the CMB is distinct. For this purpose, we are developing large-bandwidth, feedhorn-coupled transition-edge-sensor (TES) arrays that couple polarized light from waveguide to superconducting microstrip by use of a symmetric, planar orthomode transducer (OMT). In this work, we describe two types of pixels, an ultra-high frequency (UHF) design, which operates from 195 GHz-315 GHz, and an extended ultra-high frequency (UHF++) design, which operates from 195 GHz-420 GHz, being developed for next generation CMB experiments that will come online in the next decade, such as CCAT-prime and the Simons Observatory. We present the designs, simulation results, fabrication, and preliminary measurements of these prototype pixels.

Japanese-American Cooperative Emulsion Experiment /JACEE/. [high energy cosmic ray studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huggett, R. W.; Hunter, S. D.; Jones, W. V.; Takahashi, Y.; Ogata, T.; Saito, T.; Holynski, R.; Jurak, A.; Wolter, W.; Parnell, T. A.

1981-01-01

The instrumentation and results of long duration balloon flights carried out jointly by U.S. and Japan researchers to examine high energy cosmic rays are reported. Basic detector geometries are 2.5 sq m sr with operation at altitudes with 3-4 g/sq cm pressure, with observations thus far of over 100 hr. Energies from 2-100 TeV are recorded for nucleus-nucleus and hadron-nucleus interactions, and searches are made for new particle or interactions. The detector is an emulsion chamber which comprises doubly-coated nuclear emulsions on 800 micron thick methacryl substrates, X-ray films, etchable detectors, low density spacers, and lead sheets. Segmentation of the instrument into a primary charge module, a target section, a spacer section, and a lead-emulsion calorimeter allows accurate charge measurement for primary nuclei, reliable energy resolution, and a large geometrical factor for collecting high energy events. A primary Ca nucleus of 300 TeV has been observed.

Cosmic ray anisotropies at high energies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martinic, N. J.; Alarcon, A.; Teran, F.

1986-01-01

The directional anisotropies of the energetic cosmic ray gas due to the relative motion between the observers frame and the one where the relativistic gas can be assumed isotropic is analyzed. The radiation fluxes formula in the former frame must follow as the Lorentz invariance of dp/E, where p, E are the 4-vector momentum-energy components; dp is the 3-volume element in the momentum space. The anisotropic flux shows in such a case an amplitude, in a rotating earth, smaller than the experimental measurements from say, EAS-arrays for primary particle energies larger than 1.E(14) eV. Further, it is shown that two consecutive Lorentz transformations among three inertial frames exhibit the violation of dp/E invariance between the first and the third systems of reference, due to the Wigner rotation. A discussion of this result in the context of the experimental anisotropic fluxes and its current interpretation is given.

Probing the origin of cosmic rays with extremely high energy neutrinos using the IceCube Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aartsen, M. G.; Abbasi, R.; Ackermann, M.; Adams, J.; Aguilar, J. A.; Ahlers, M.; Altmann, D.; Arguelles, C.; Auffenberg, J.; Bai, X.; Baker, M.; Barwick, S. W.; Baum, V.; Bay, R.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker Tjus, J.; Becker, K.-H.; BenZvi, S.; Berghaus, P.; Berley, D.; Bernardini, E.; Bernhard, A.; Besson, D. Z.; Binder, G.; Bindig, D.; Bissok, M.; Blaufuss, E.; Blumenthal, J.; Boersma, D. J.; Bohm, C.; Bose, D.; Böser, S.; Botner, O.; Brayeur, L.; Bretz, H.-P.; Brown, A. M.; Bruijn, R.; Casey, J.; Casier, M.; Chirkin, D.; Christov, A.; Christy, B.; Clark, K.; Clevermann, F.; Coenders, S.; Cohen, S.; Cowen, D. F.; Cruz Silva, A. H.; Danninger, M.; Daughhetee, J.; Davis, J. C.; Day, M.; De Clercq, C.; De Ridder, S.; Desiati, P.; de Vries, K. D.; de With, M.; DeYoung, T.; Díaz-Vélez, J. C.; Dunkman, M.; Eagan, R.; Eberhardt, B.; Eisch, J.; Euler, S.; Evenson, P. A.; Fadiran, O.; Fazely, A. R.; Fedynitch, A.; Feintzeig, J.; Feusels, T.; Filimonov, K.; Finley, C.; Fischer-Wasels, T.; Flis, S.; Franckowiak, A.; Frantzen, K.; Fuchs, T.; Gaisser, T. K.; Gallagher, J.; Gerhardt, L.; Gladstone, L.; Glüsenkamp, T.; Goldschmidt, A.; Golup, G.; Gonzalez, J. G.; Goodman, J. A.; Góra, D.; Grandmont, D. T.; Grant, D.; Gretskov, P.; Groh, J. C.; Groß, A.; Ha, C.; Haj Ismail, A.; Hallen, P.; Hallgren, A.; Halzen, F.; Hanson, K.; Heereman, D.; Heinen, D.; Helbing, K.; Hellauer, R.; Hickford, S.; Hill, G. C.; Hoffman, K. D.; Hoffmann, R.; Homeier, A.; Hoshina, K.; Huelsnitz, W.; Hulth, P. O.; Hultqvist, K.; Hussain, S.; Ishihara, A.; Jacobi, E.; Jacobsen, J.; Jagielski, K.; Japaridze, G. S.; Jero, K.; Jlelati, O.; Kaminsky, B.; Kappes, A.; Karg, T.; Karle, A.; Kauer, M.; Kelley, J. L.; Kiryluk, J.; Kläs, J.; Klein, S. R.; Köhne, J.-H.; Kohnen, G.; Kolanoski, H.; Köpke, L.; Kopper, C.; Kopper, S.; Koskinen, D. J.; Kowalski, M.; Krasberg, M.; Kriesten, A.; Krings, K.; Kroll, G.; Kunnen, J.; Kurahashi, N.; Kuwabara, T.; Labare, M.; Landsman, H.; Larson, M. J.; Lesiak-Bzdak, M.; Leuermann, M.; Leute, J.; Lünemann, J.; Macías, O.; Madsen, J.; Maggi, G.; Maruyama, R.; Mase, K.; Matis, H. S.; McNally, F.; Meagher, K.; Merck, M.; Meures, T.; Miarecki, S.; Middell, E.; Milke, N.; Miller, J.; Mohrmann, L.; Montaruli, T.; Morse, R.; Nahnhauer, R.; Naumann, U.; Niederhausen, H.; Nowicki, S. C.; Nygren, D. R.; Obertacke, A.; Odrowski, S.; Olivas, A.; Omairat, A.; O'Murchadha, A.; Paul, L.; Pepper, J. A.; Pérez de los Heros, C.; Pfendner, C.; Pieloth, D.; Pinat, E.; Posselt, J.; Price, P. B.; Przybylski, G. T.; Rädel, L.; Rameez, M.; Rawlins, K.; Redl, P.; Reimann, R.; Resconi, E.; Rhode, W.; Ribordy, M.; Richman, M.; Riedel, B.; Rodrigues, J. P.; Rott, C.; Ruhe, T.; Ruzybayev, B.; Ryckbosch, D.; Saba, S. M.; Sander, H.-G.; Santander, M.; Sarkar, S.; Schatto, K.; Scheriau, F.; Schmidt, T.; Schmitz, M.; Schoenen, S.; Schöneberg, S.; Schönwald, A.; Schukraft, A.; Schulte, L.; Schulz, O.; Seckel, D.; Sestayo, Y.; Seunarine, S.; Shanidze, R.; Sheremata, C.; Smith, M. W. E.; Soldin, D.; Spiczak, G. M.; Spiering, C.; Stamatikos, M.; Stanev, T.; Stanisha, N. A.; Stasik, A.; Stezelberger, T.; Stokstad, R. G.; Stößl, A.; Strahler, E. A.; Ström, R.; Sullivan, G. W.; Taavola, H.; Taboada, I.; Tamburro, A.; Tepe, A.; Ter-Antonyan, S.; Tešić, G.; Tilav, S.; Toale, P. A.; Tobin, M. N.; Toscano, S.; Unger, E.; Usner, M.; Vallecorsa, S.; van Eijndhoven, N.; Van Overloop, A.; van Santen, J.; Vehring, M.; Voge, M.; Vraeghe, M.; Walck, C.; Waldenmaier, T.; Wallraff, M.; Weaver, Ch.; Wellons, M.; Wendt, C.; Westerhoff, S.; Whitehorn, N.; Wiebe, K.; Wiebusch, C. H.; Williams, D. R.; Wissing, H.; Wolf, M.; Wood, T. R.; Woschnagg, K.; Xu, D. L.; Xu, X. W.; Yanez, J. P.; Yodh, G.; Yoshida, S.; Zarzhitsky, P.; Ziemann, J.; Zierke, S.; Zoll, M.

2013-12-01

We have searched for extremely high energy neutrinos using data taken with the IceCube detector between May 2010 and May 2012. Two neutrino-induced particle shower events with energies around 1 PeV were observed, as reported previously. In this work, we investigate whether these events could originate from cosmogenic neutrinos produced in the interactions of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays with ambient photons while propagating through intergalactic space. Exploiting IceCube’s large exposure for extremely high energy neutrinos and the lack of observed events above 100 PeV, we can rule out the corresponding models at more than 90% confidence level. The model-independent quasidifferential 90% C.L. upper limit, which amounts to E2ϕνe+νμ+ντ=1.2×10-7GeVcm-2s-1sr-1 at 1 EeV, provides the most stringent constraint in the energy range from 10 PeV to 10 EeV. Our observation disfavors strong cosmological evolution of the highest energy cosmic-ray sources such as the Fanaroff-Riley type II class of radio galaxies.

High-energy cosmic-ray electrons - A new measurement using transition-radiation detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, G.; Mueller, D.; Prince, T.

1977-01-01

A new detector for cosmic-ray electrons, consisting of a combination of a transition-radiation detector and a shower detector, has been constructed, calibrated at accelerator beams, and exposed in a balloon flight under 5 g/sq cm of atmosphere. The design of this instrument and the methods of data analysis are described. Preliminary results in the energy range 9-300 GeV are presented. The energy spectrum of electrons is found to be significantly steeper than that of protons, consistent with a long escape lifetime of cosmic rays in the galaxy.

The shape of the extragalactic cosmic ray spectrum from galaxy clusters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harari, Diego; Mollerach, Silvia; Roulet, Esteban, E-mail: harari@cab.cnea.gov.ar, E-mail: mollerach@cab.cnea.gov.ar, E-mail: roulet@cab.cnea.gov.ar

2016-08-01

We study the diffusive escape of cosmic rays from a central source inside a galaxy cluster to obtain the suppression in the outgoing flux appearing when the confinement times get comparable or larger than the age of the sources. We also discuss the attenuation of the flux due to the interactions of the cosmic rays with the cluster medium, which can be sizeable for heavy nuclei. The overall suppression in the total cosmic ray flux expected on Earth is important to understand the shape of the extragalactic contribution to the cosmic ray spectrum for E / Z < 1 EeVmore » . This suppression can also be relevant to interpret the results of fits to composition-sensitive observables measured at ultra-high energies.« less

The spectrum of high-energy cosmic rays measured with KASCADE-Grande

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apel, W. D.; Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C.; Bekk, K.; Bertaina, M.; Blümer, J.; Bozdog, H.; Brancus, I. M.; Buchholz, P.; Cantoni, E.; Chiavassa, A.; Cossavella, F.; Daumiller, K.; de Souza, V.; Di Pierro, F.; Doll, P.; Engel, R.; Engler, J.; Finger, M.; Fuhrmann, D.; Ghia, P. L.; Gils, H. J.; Glasstetter, R.; Grupen, C.; Haungs, A.; Heck, D.; Hörandel, J. R.; Huber, D.; Huege, T.; Kampert, K.-H.; Kang, D.; Kickelbick, D.; Klages, H. O.; Link, K.; Łuczak, P.; Ludwig, M.; Mathes, H. J.; Mayer, H. J.; Melissas, M.; Milke, J.; Mitrica, B.; Morello, C.; Navarra, G.; Oehlschläger, J.; Ostapchenko, S.; Over, S.; Palmieri, N.; Petcu, M.; Pierog, T.; Rebel, H.; Roth, M.; Schieler, H.; Schröder, F. G.; Sima, O.; Toma, G.; Trinchero, G. C.; Ulrich, H.; Weindl, A.; Wochele, J.; Wommer, M.; Zabierowski, J.

2012-08-01

The energy spectrum of cosmic rays between 1016 eV and 1018 eV, derived from measurements of the shower size (total number of charged particles) and the total muon number of extensive air showers by the KASCADE-Grande experiment, is described. The resulting all-particle energy spectrum exhibits strong hints for a hardening of the spectrum at approximately 2 · 1016 eV and a significant steepening at ≈8 · 1016 eV. These observations challenge the view that the spectrum is a single power law between knee and ankle. Possible scenarios generating such features are discussed in terms of astrophysical processes that may explain the transition region from galactic to extragalactic origin of cosmic rays.

A new measurement of the flux of the light cosmic-ray nuclei at high energies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckley, J.; Dwyer, J.; Mueller, D.; Swordy, S.; Tang, K. K.

1994-01-01

A new cosmic-ray detector utilizing a ring-imaging Cerenkov counter to determine the energy of light cosmic-ray nuclei was flown on high-altitude balloon from Fort Sumner, NM, in 1991 September. We describe the design and performance of this instrument and discuss the data analysis procedures. The measurement provides a new determination of the absolute flux and differential energy spectrum of the primary cosmic-ray species helium between 40 and 320 GeV/nucleon. The experiment also yields the spectra of carbon and oxygen and some information on the intensities of the secondary nuclei Li, Be, and B. A comparison between our results and previous measurements of heavier nuclei (Z greater than or equal to 4) from HEAO 3 and Spacelab 2 indicates good consistency between these measurements. The data set is compared with the results of a leaky box propagation model. We find good agreement with this model if the abundance of helium relative to oxygen at the source is taken to be 25 +/- 6 and if the source spectrum is given by a power law in energy proportional to E(exp -2.15).

A high-resolution study of ultra-heavy cosmic-ray nuclei (A0178)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Osullivan, D.; Thompson, A.; Oceallaigh, C.; Domingo, V.; Wenzel, K. P.

1984-01-01

The main objective of the experiment is a detailed study of the charge spectra of ultraheavy cosmic-ray nuclei from zinc (Z = 30) to uranium (Z = 92) and beyond using solid-state track detectors. Special emphasis will be placed on the relative abundances in the region Z or - 65, which is thought to be dominated by r-process nucleosynthesis. Subsidiary objectives include the study of the cosmic-ray transiron spectrum a search for the postulated long-lived superheavy (SH) nuclei (Z or = 110), such as (110) SH294, in the contemporary cosmic radiation. The motivation behind the search for super-heavy nuclei is based on predicted half-lives that are short compared to the age of the Earth but long compared to the age of cosmic rays. The detection of such nuclei would have far-reaching consequences for nuclear structure theory. The sample of ultraheavy nuclei obtained in this experiment will provide unique opportunities for many tests concerning element nucleosynthesis, cosmic-ray acceleration, and cosmic-ray propagation.

Galactic cosmic ray composition and energy spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mewaldt, R. A.

1994-01-01

Galactic cosmic ray nuclei represent a significant risk to long-duration spaceflight outside the magnetosphere. We review briefly existing measurements of the composition and energy spectra of heavy cosmic ray nuclei, pointing out which species and energy ranges are most critical to assessing cosmic ray risks for spaceflight. Key data sets are identified and a table of cosmic ray abundances is presented for elements from H to Ni (Z = 1 to 28). Because of the 22-year nature of the solar modulation cycle, data from the approaching 1998 solar minimum is especially important to reducing uncertainties in the cosmic ray radiation hazard. It is recommended that efforts to model this hazard take advantage of approaches that have been developed to model the astrophysical aspects of cosmic rays.

XII Multifrequency Behaviour of High Energy Cosmic Sources Workshop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2017-06-01

This is the twelfth edition of the series of Frascati Workshops on "Multifrequency Behaviour of High Energy Cosmic Sources" which is undoubtedly a largely accepted biennial meeting in which an updated experimental and theoretical panorama will be depicted. This edition comes at the 33rd anniversary of the first historical "multifrequency" workshop about "Multifrequency Behaviour of GalacticAccreting Sources", held in Vulcano in September 1984. This surely renders the Frascati Workshop Series the oldest among the many devoted to "Multifrequency Studies of Cosmic Sources". The study of the physics governing the cosmic sources will be the main goal of the workshop. A session devoted to the ongoing and next generation ground- and space-based experiments will give the actual prospects for the first decades of this millennium. The following items will be reviewed: Cosmology: Cosmic Background, Clusters of Galaxies Extragalactic Sources: Active Galaxies, Normal Galaxies Gamma-Rays Burst: Experiments versus Theories Galactic Sources: Pre-Main-Sequence and Main-Sequence Stars, Cataclysmic Variables and Novae, Supernovae and SNRs, X-Ray Binary Systems, Pulsars, Black Holes, Gamma-Ray Sources,Nucleosynthesis. The Astrophysics with the Ongoing and Future Experiments: Space-Based Experiments,Ground-Based Experiments. The workshop will include few 30-minute general review talks to introduce the current problems, and typically 20-minute talks discussing new experimental and theoretical results. A series of 20-minute talks will discuss the ongoing and planned ground- and space- based experiments. The cadence of the workshop is biennial. The participation will be only by invitation. All participants are kindly invited to attend the whole workshop. However, to keep alive the workshop it was decided that all presentations should be compulsorily given to the LOC, so that they can be inserted into the web page of the workshop. These presentations will form the basis for writing the

Development of an Interferometric Phased Array Trigger for Balloon-Borne Detection of the Highest Energy Cosmic Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vieregg, Abigail

Through high energy neutrino astrophysics, we explore the structure and evolution of the universe in a unique way and learn about the physics inside of astrophysical sources that drives the acceleration of the highest energy particles. Neutrinos travel virtually unimpeded through the universe, making them unique messenger particles for cosmic sources and carrying information about very distant sources that would otherwise be unavailable. The highest energy neutrinos (E>10^{18} eV), created as a by-product of the interaction of the highest energy cosmic rays with the cosmic microwave background, are an important tool for determining the origin of the highest energy cosmic rays and still await discovery. Balloon-borne and ground-based experiments are poised to discover these ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmogenic neutrinos by looking for radio emission from two different types of neutrino interactions: particle cascades induced by neutrinos in glacial ice, and extensive air showers in the atmosphere induced by the charged-particle by-product of tau neutrinos interacting in the earth. These impulsive radio detectors are also sensitive to radio emission from extensive air showers induced directly by UHE cosmic rays. Balloon-borne experiments are especially well-suited for discovering the highest energy neutrinos, and are the only way to probe the high energy cutoff of the sources themselves to reveal the astrophysics that drives the central engines inside the most energetic accelerators in the universe. Balloon platforms offer the chance to monitor extremely large volumes of ice and atmosphere, but with a higher energy threshold compared to ground-based observatories, since the neutrino interaction happens farther from the detector. This tradeoff means that the sensitivity of balloon-borne experiments, such as the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) or the ExaVolt Antenna, is optimized for discovery of the highest energy neutrinos. We are developing an

Weibull thermodynamics: Subexponential decay in the energy spectrum of cosmic-ray nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomaschitz, Roman

2017-10-01

The spectral number density of cosmic-ray nuclei is shown to be a multiply broken power law with subexponential spectral cutoff. To this end, a spectral fit is performed to data sets covering the 1GeV - 1011GeV interval of the all-particle cosmic-ray spectrum. The flux points of the ultra-high energy spectral tail measured with the Telescope Array indicate a Weibull cutoff exp(-(E /(kB T)) σ) and permit a precise determination of the cutoff temperature kB T =(2 . 5 ± 0 . 1) × 1010 GeV and the spectral index σ = 0 . 66 ± 0 . 02. Based on the spectral number density inferred from the least-squares fit, the thermodynamics of this stationary non-equilibrium system, a multi-component mixture of relativistic nuclei, is developed. The derivative of entropy with respect to internal energy defines the effective temperature of the nuclei, S,U = 1 /Teff ,kBTeff ≈ 16 . 1 GeV, and the functional dependence between the cutoff temperature in the Weibull exponential and the effective gas temperature is determined. The equipartition ratio is found to be U /(NkBTeff) ≈ 0 . 30. The isochoric and isobaric heat capacities of the nuclear gas are calculated, as well as the isothermal and adiabatic compressibilities and the isobaric expansion coefficient, and it is shown that this non-equilibrated relativistic gas mixture satisfies the thermodynamic inequalities 0

Cosmic Visions Dark Energy: Small Projects Portfolio

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dawson, Kyle; Frieman, Josh; Heitmann, Katrin

Understanding cosmic acceleration is one of the key science drivers for astrophysics and high-energy physics in the coming decade (2014 P5 Report). With the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) and other new facilities beginning operations soon, we are entering an exciting phase during which we expect an order of magnitude improvement in constraints on dark energy and the physics of the accelerating Universe. This is a key moment for a matching Small Projects portfolio that can (1) greatly enhance the science reach of these flagship projects, (2) have immediate scientific impact, and (3)more » lay the groundwork for the next stages of the Cosmic Frontier Dark Energy program. In this White Paper, we outline a balanced portfolio that can accomplish these goals through a combination of observational, experimental, and theory and simulation efforts.« less

High Energy Physics

Science.gov Websites

Collider Physics Cosmic Frontier Cosmic Frontier Theory & Computing Detector R&D Electronic Design Theory Seminar Argonne >High Energy Physics Cosmic Frontier Theory & Computing Homepage General Cosmic Frontier Theory & Computing Group led the analysis to begin mapping dark matter. There have

Cosmic vacuum energy decay and creation of cosmic matter.

PubMed

Fahr, Hans-Jörg; Heyl, Michael

2007-09-01

In the more recent literature on cosmological evolutions of the universe, the cosmic vacuum energy has become a nonrenouncable ingredient. The cosmological constant Lambda, first invented by Einstein, but later also rejected by him, presently experiences an astonishing revival. Interestingly enough, it acts like a constant vacuum energy density would also do. Namely, it has an accelerating action on cosmic dynamics, without which, as it appears, presently obtained cosmological data cannot be conciliated with theory. As we are going to show in this review, however, the concept of a constant vacuum energy density is unsatisfactory for very basic reasons because it would claim for a physical reality that acts upon spacetime and matter dynamics without itself being acted upon by spacetime or matter.

The Energetic Trans-Iron Cosmic-ray Experiment (ENTICE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Binns, W. R.; Adams. J. H.; Barghouty, A. F.; Christian, E. R.; Cummings, A. C.; Hams, T.; Israel, M. H.; Labrador, A. W.; Leske, R. A.; Link, J. T.;

AMANDA Observations Constrain the Ultrahigh Energy Neutrino Flux

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halzen, Francis; /Wisconsin U., Madison; Hooper, Dan

2006-05-01

A number of experimental techniques are currently being deployed in an effort to make the first detection of ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos. To accomplish this goal, techniques using radio and acoustic detectors are being developed, which are optimally designed for studying neutrinos with energies in the PeV-EeV range and above. Data from the AMANDA experiment, in contrast, has been used to place limits on the cosmic neutrino flux at less extreme energies (up to {approx}10 PeV). In this letter, we show that by adopting a different analysis strategy, optimized for much higher energy neutrinos, the same AMANDA data can bemore » used to place a limit competitive with radio techniques at EeV energies. We also discuss the sensitivity of the IceCube experiment, in various stages of deployment, to ultra-high energy neutrinos.« less

University of Arizona High Energy Physics Program at the Cosmic Frontier 2014-2016

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

abate, alex; cheu, elliott

This is the final technical report from the University of Arizona High Energy Physics program at the Cosmic Frontier covering the period 2014-2016. The work aims to advance the understanding of dark energy using the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). Progress on the engineering design of the power supplies for the LSST camera is discussed. A variety of contributions to photometric redshift measurement uncertainties were studied. The effect of the intergalactic medium on the photometric redshift of very distant galaxies was evaluated. Computer code was developed realizing the full chain of calculations needed to accurately and efficiently run large-scale simulations.

Final Report for Research in High Energy Physics (University of Hawaii)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Browder, Thomas E.

2013-08-31

Here we present a final report for the DOE award for the University of Hawaii High Energy Physics Group (UHHEPG) for the period from December 1, 2009 to May 31, 2013 (including a period of no-cost extension). The high energy physics (HEP) group at the University of Hawaii (UH) has been engaged in experiments at the intensity frontier studying flavor physics (Task A: Belle, Belle-II and Task B: BES) and neutrinos (Task C: SuperK, LBNE, Double Chooz, DarkSide, and neutrino R\\&D). On the energy frontier, new types of pixel detectors were developed for upgrades of the ATLAS experiment at themore » LHC (Task D). On the cosmic frontier, there were investigations of ultra high-energy neutrino astrophysics and the highest energy cosmic rays using special radio detection techniques (Task E: AMBER, ANITA R\\&D) and results of the analysis of ANITA data. In addition, we have developed new types of sophisticated and cutting edge instrumentation based on novel ``oscilloscope on a chip'' electronics (Task F). Theoretical physics research (Task G) is phenomenologically oriented and has studied experimental consequences of existing and proposed new theories relevant to the energy, cosmic and intensity frontiers. The senior investigators for proposal were T. E. Browder (Task A), F. A. Harris (Task B), P. Gorham (Task E), J. Kumar (Task G), J. Maricic (Task C), J. G. Learned (Task C), S. Pakvasa (Task G), S. Parker (Task D), S. Matsuno (Task C), X. Tata (Task G) and G. S. Varner (Tasks F, A, E).« less

Direct observations of galactic cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Dietrich

2012-08-01

The mysterious " radiation ... entering our atmosphere from above" discovered by Hess in 1912 is now known to be dominated by relativistic charged particles, mostly with energies in the GeV-range, but extending to energies higher by many orders of magnitude. As none of these particles can penetrate the earth's atmosphere without interaction, detailed studies of their composition and energy spectra require observations with high-altitude balloons or spacecraft. This became possible only towards the middle of the 20th century. The direct measurements have now revealed much detail about the Galactic cosmic rays below 1015eV, but do not yet provide much overlap with the air-shower region of energies. A historic overview of the measurements is given, beginning with the realization that the majority of the cosmic rays are protons. The discovery and astrophysical significance of the heavier nuclei, and of the ultra-heavy nuclei beyond iron and up to the actinides, are then described, and measurements of the isotopic composition are discussed. Observations of the individual energy spectra are reviewed, and finally, the detection of electrons, positrons, and anti-protons in the cosmic rays, and the searches for exotic or unusual phenomena are summarized. Emphasis is given to the fact that all of these discoveries have become possible through the evolution of increasingly sophisticated detection techniques, a process that is continuing through the present time. The precise knowledge of the abundance distributions of the elements in the cosmic rays and of their isotopic composition permits a comparison with the "universal abundance scale" and provides strong constraints on the origin of the cosmic-ray material in the interstellar medium. "Clock-isotopes" reveal the time history of the particles. The shapes of the energy spectra of the individual cosmic-ray components are related to evolving ideas about particle acceleration and propagation in the Galaxy. In conclusion

High-energy cosmic ray nuclei from tidal disruption events: Origin, survival, and implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, B. Theodore; Murase, Kohta; Oikonomou, Foteini; Li, Zhuo

2017-09-01

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) by supermassive or intermediate mass black holes have been suggested as candidate sources of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and high-energy neutrinos. Motivated by the recent measurements from the Pierre Auger Observatory, which indicates a metal-rich cosmic-ray composition at ultrahigh energies, we investigate the fate of UHECR nuclei loaded in TDE jets. First, we consider the production and survival of UHECR nuclei at internal shocks, external forward and reverse shocks, and nonrelativistic winds. Based on the observations of Swift J 1644 +57 , we show that the UHECRs can survive for external reverse and forward shocks, and disk winds. On the other hand, UHECR nuclei are significantly disintegrated in internal shocks, although they could survive for low-luminosity TDE jets. Assuming that UHECR nuclei can survive, we consider implications of different composition models of TDEs. We find that the tidal disruption of main sequence stars or carbon-oxygen white dwarfs does not successfully reproduce UHECR observations, namely the observed composition or spectrum. The observed mean depth of the shower maximum and its deviation could be explained by oxygen-neon-magnesium white dwarfs, although they may be too rare to be the sources of UHECRs.

The Nucleon-Mission: A New Approach to Cosmic Rays Investigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, James H., Jr.; Bashindzhagyan, G.; Bashindzhagyan, P.; Chilingarian, A.; Donnelly, J.; Drury, L.; Egorov, N.; Golubkov, S.; Grebenyuk, V.; Hasebe, N.;

Electron calibration of a high energy cosmic ray detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simnett, G. M.; Silverberg, R. F.; Crannell, C. J.; Gearhart, R. A.; Hagen, F. A.; Jones, W. V.; Kurz, R. J.; Ormes, J. F.; Price, R. D.

1972-01-01

The spectrum of cosmic ray electrons above 10 GeV was studied extensively. The spectrum is predicted to steepen at an energy which is related to the lifetime of electrons in the interstellar medium against losses due to inverse Compton collisions with photons and to synchrotron radiation in galactic magnetic fields. The experimental results diverge widely; the lack of agreement between the various measurements is due to a variety of experimental problems.

Contribution of HI-bearing ultra-diffuse galaxies to the cosmic number density of galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, M. G.; Papastergis, E.; Pandya, V.; Leisman, L.; Romanowsky, A. J.; Yung, L. Y. A.; Somerville, R. S.; Adams, E. A. K.

2018-06-01

We estimate the cosmic number density of the recently identified class of HI-bearing ultra-diffuse sources (HUDs) based on the completeness limits of the ALFALFA survey. These objects have HI masses approximately in the range 8.5 < logMHI/M⊙ < 9.5, average r-band surface brightnesses fainter than 24 mag arcsec-2, half-light radii greater than 1.5 kpc, and are separated from neighbours by at least 350 kpc. In this work we demonstrate that they contribute at most 6% of the population of HI-bearing dwarfs detected by ALFALFA (with similar HI masses), have a total cosmic number density of (1.5 ± 0.6) × 10-3 Mpc-3, and an HI mass density of (6.0 ± 0.8) × 105 M⊙ Mpc-3. We estimate that this is similar to the total cosmic number density of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in groups and clusters, and conclude that the relation between the number of UDGs hosted in a halo and the halo mass must have a break below M200 1012 M⊙ in order to account for the abundance of HUDs in the field. The distribution of the velocity widths of HUDs rises steeply towards low values, indicating a preference for slow rotation rates compared to the global HI-rich dwarf population. These objects were already included in previous measurements of the HI mass function, but have been absent from measurements of the galaxy stellar mass function owing to their low surface brightness. However, we estimate that due to their low number density the inclusion of HUDs would constitute a correction of less than 1%. Comparison with the Santa Cruz semi-analytic model shows that it produces HI-rich central UDGs that have similar colours to HUDs, but that these UDGs are currently produced in a much greater number. While previous results from this sample have favoured formation scenarios where HUDs form in high spin-parameter halos, comparisons with recent results which invoke that formation mechanism reveal that this model produces an order of magnitude more field UDGs than we observe in the HUD population

Energy spectrum of cosmic-ray electrons at TeV energies.

PubMed

Aharonian, F; Akhperjanian, A G; Barres de Almeida, U; Bazer-Bachi, A R; Becherini, Y; Behera, B; Benbow, W; Bernlöhr, K; Boisson, C; Bochow, A; Borrel, V; Braun, I; Brion, E; Brucker, J; Brun, P; Brucker, R; Bulik, T; Büsching, I; Boutelier, T; Carrigan, S; Chadwick, P M; Charbonnier, A; Chaves, R C G; Cheesebrough, A; Chounet, L M; Clapson, A C; Coignet, G; Costamante, L; Dalton, M; Degrange, B; Deil, C; Dickinson, H J; Djannati-Ataï, A; Domainko, W; Drury, L O'C; Dubois, F; Dubus, G; Dyks, J; Dyrda, M; Egberts, K; Emmanoulopoulos, D; Espigat, P; Farnier, C; Feinstein, F; Fiasson, A; Fontaine, G; Füsling, M; Gabici, S; Gallant, Y A; Gérard, L; Giebels, B; Glicenstein, J F; Glück, B; Goret, P; Hadjichristidis, C; Hauser, D; Hauser, M; Heinz, S; Heinzelmann, G; Henri, G; Hermann, G; Hinton, J A; Hoffmann, A; Hofmann, W; Holleran, M; Hoppe, S; Horns, D; Jacholkowska, A; de Jager, O C; Jung, I; Katarzyński, K; Kaufmann, S; Kendziorra, E; Kerschhaggl, M; Khangulyan, D; Khélifi, B; Keogh, D; Komin, Nu; Kosack, K; Lamanna, G; Lenain, J P; Lohse, T; Marandon, V; Martin, J M; Martineau-Huynh, O; Marcowith, A; Maurin, D; McComb, T J L; Medina, C; Moderski, R; Moulin, E; Naumann-Godo, M; de Naurois, M; Nedbal, D; Nekrassov, D; Niemiec, J; Nolan, S J; Ohm, S; Olive, J F; de Oña Wilhelmi, E; Orford, K J; Osborne, J L; Ostrowski, M; Panter, M; Pedaletti, G; Pelletier, G; Petrucci, P O; Pita, S; Pühlhofer, G; Punch, M; Quirrenbach, A; Raubenheimer, B C; Raue, M; Rayner, S M; Renaud, M; Rieger, F; Ripken, J; Rob, L; Rosier-Lees, S; Rowell, G; Rudak, B; Rulten, C B; Ruppel, J; Sahakian, V; Santangelo, A; Schlickeiser, R; Schöck, F M; Schröder, R; Schwanke, U; Schwarzburg, S; Schwemmer, S; Shalchi, A; Skilton, J L; Sol, H; Spangler, D; Stawarz, Ł; Steenkamp, R; Stegmann, C; Superina, G; Tam, P H; Tavernet, J P; Terrier, R; Tibolla, O; van Eldik, C; Vasileiadis, G; Venter, C; Vialle, J P; Vincent, P; Vivier, M; Völk, H J; Volpe, F; Wagner, S J; Ward, M; Zdziarski, A A; Zech, A

2008-12-31

The very large collection area of ground-based gamma-ray telescopes gives them a substantial advantage over balloon or satellite based instruments in the detection of very-high-energy (>600 GeV) cosmic-ray electrons. Here we present the electron spectrum derived from data taken with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. In this measurement, the first of this type, we are able to extend the measurement of the electron spectrum beyond the range accessible to direct measurements. We find evidence for a substantial steepening in the energy spectrum above 600 GeV compared to lower energies.

Ashra Neutrino Telescope Array (NTA): Combined Imaging Observation of Astroparticles — For Clear Identification of Cosmic Accelerators and Fundamental Physics Using Cosmic Beams —

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasaki, Makoto; Kifune, Tadashi

In VHEPA (very high energy particle astronomy) 2014 workshop, focused on the next generation explorers for the origin of cosmic rays, held in Kashiwa, Japan, reviewing and discussions were presented on the status of the observation of GeV-TeV photons, TeV-PeV neutrinos, EeV-ZeV hadrons, test of interaction models with Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and theoretical aspects of astrophysics. The acceleration sites of hadrons, i.e., sources of PeV-EeV cosmic rays, should exist in the universe within the GZK-horizon even in the remotest case. We also affirmed that the hadron acceleration mechanism correlates with cosmic ray composition so that it is important to investigate the acceleration mechanism in relevance to the composition survey at PeV-EeV energy. We regard that LHC and astrophysics theories are ready to be used to probe into hadron acceleration mechanism in the universe. Recently, IceCube has reported detection of three events of neutrinos with energies around 1 PeV and additional events at lower energies, which significantly deviate from the expected level of background events. It is necessary to observe GeV-TeV photon, EeV-ZeV hadron and TeV-PeV neutrino all together, in order to understand hadronic interactions of cosmic rays in the PeV-EeV energy region. It is required to make a step further toward exploring the PeV-EeV universe with high accuracy and high statistics observations for both neutrinos and gamma rays simultaneously, by using the instrument such as Ashra Neutrino Telescope Array (NTA). Wide and fine survey of gamma-rays and neutrinos with simultaneously detecting Cherenkov and fluorescence light with NTA will guide us to a new intriguing stage of recognizing astronomical objects and non-thermal phenomena in ultra-high energy region, in addition, new aspect about the fundamental concepts of physics beyond our presently limited understanding; the longstanding problem of cosmic ray origin, the radiation mechanism of gamma-rays, neutrino and

Cosmic Acceleration, Dark Energy, and Fundamental Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Michael S.; Huterer, Dragan

2007-11-01

A web of interlocking observations has established that the expansion of the Universe is speeding up and not slowing, revealing the presence of some form of repulsive gravity. Within the context of general relativity the cause of cosmic acceleration is a highly elastic ( p˜-ρ), very smooth form of energy called “dark energy” accounting for about 75% of the Universe. The “simplest” explanation for dark energy is the zero-point energy density associated with the quantum vacuum; however, all estimates for its value are many orders-of-magnitude too large. Other ideas for dark energy include a very light scalar field or a tangled network of topological defects. An alternate explanation invokes gravitational physics beyond general relativity. Observations and experiments underway and more precise cosmological measurements and laboratory experiments planned for the next decade will test whether or not dark energy is the quantum energy of the vacuum or something more exotic, and whether or not general relativity can self consistently explain cosmic acceleration. Dark energy is the most conspicuous example of physics beyond the standard model and perhaps the most profound mystery in all of science.

Exploring the Galactic Cosmic Rays at the lowest energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shapiro, M. M.

2001-08-01

The solar wind prevents the lowest-energy Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) from entering the Heliosphere. Consequently, space probes have thus far been unable to sample them. We suggest that astrochemistry may provide a handle on these particles. Clouds in the interstellar medium (ISM) are sites of chemical-reaction networks that produce various molecular species detectable by their radioastronomical signatures. Highly ionizing low-energy cosmic rays are thought to be the principal agents of molecule production in clouds. Some anomalous abundances, e.g., of deuterium molecules, have been detected. Could studies of the foregoing networks of reactions and their products yield clues to the fluxes and energy spectra of the lowest-energy GCR in the ISM? Other approaches to this problem are also cited.

Advanced intermediate temperature sodium-nickel chloride batteries with ultra-high energy density

DOE PAGES

Li, Guosheng; Lu, Xiaochuan; Kim, Jin Yong; ...

2016-02-11

Here we demonstrate for the first time that planar Na-NiCl 2 batteries can be operated at an intermediate temperature of 190°C with ultra-high energy density. A specific energy density of 350 Wh/kg, which is 3 times higher than that of conventional tubular Na-NiCl 2 batteries operated at 280°C, was obtained for planar Na-NiCl 2 batteries operated at 190°C over a long-term cell test (1000 cycles). The high energy density and superior cycle stability are attributed to the slower particle growth of the cathode materials (NaCl and Ni) at 190°C. The results reported in this work demonstrate that planar Na-NiCl 2more » batteries operated at an intermediate temperature could greatly benefit this traditional energy storage technology by improving battery energy density, cycle life and reducing material costs.« less

Telescope Array Results on UHE Cosmic Rays and the Plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sagawa, Hiroyuki

The Telescope Array (TA) is the largest experiment in the Northern Hemisphere studying the origin and nature of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. The TA detector consists of a surface array of 507 scintillation counters covering approximately 700 km2, and 38 fluorescence telescopes located at three sites looking over the surface array. Here, recent TA results using the first five years of data and our ongoing and near-future plans are presented.

Significance of medium energy gamma ray astronomy in the study of cosmic rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, C. E.; Kniffen, D. A.; Thompson, D. J.; Bignami, G. F.; Cheung, C. Y.

1975-01-01

Medium energy (about 10 to 30 MeV) gamma ray astronomy provides information on the product of the galactic electron cosmic ray intensity and the galactic matter to which the electrons are dynamically coupled by the magnetic field. Because high energy (greater than 100 MeV) gamma ray astronomy provides analogous information for the nucleonic cosmic rays and the relevant matter, a comparison between high energy and medium energy gamma ray intensities provides a direct ratio of the cosmic ray electrons and nucleons throughout the galaxy. A calculation of gamma ray production by electron bremsstrahlung shows that: bremsstrahlung energy loss is probably not negligible over the lifetime of the electrons in the galaxy; and the approximate bremsstrahlung calculation often used previously overestimates the gamma ray intensity by about a factor of two. As a specific example, expected medium energy gamma ray intensities are calculated for the speral arm model.

Cosmic PeV neutrinos and the sources of ultrahigh energy protons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kistler, Matthew D.; Stanev, Todor; Yüksel, Hasan

2014-12-01

The IceCube experiment recently detected the first flux of high-energy neutrinos in excess of atmospheric backgrounds. We examine whether these neutrinos originate from within the same extragalactic sources as ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. Starting from rather general assumptions about spectra and flavors, we find that producing a neutrino flux at the requisite level through pion photoproduction leads to a flux of protons well below the cosmic-ray data at ˜1 018 eV , where the composition is light, unless pions/muons cool before decaying. This suggests a dominant class of accelerator that allows for cosmic rays to escape without significant neutrino yields.

The High Energy Universe: Ultra-High Energy Events in Astrophysics and Cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mészáros, Péter

2010-09-01

1. Introduction; 2. The nuts and bolts of the Universe; 3. Cosmology; 4. Cosmic structure formation; 5. Active galaxies; 6. Stellar cataclysms; 7. Gamma ray bursts; 8. GeV and TeV gamma rays; 9. Gravitational waves; 10. Cosmic rays; 11. Neutrinos; 12. Dark dreams, Higgs and beyond.

Testing Lorentz Invariance with Neutrinos from Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Ray Interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scully, Sean T.; Stecker, Floyd W.

2010-01-01

We have previously shown that a very small amount of Lorentz invariance violation (UV), which suppresses photomeson interactions of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with cosmic background radiation (CBR) photons, can produce a spectrum of cosmic rays that is consistent with that currently observed by the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) and HiRes experiments. Here, we calculate the corresponding flux of high energy neutrinos generated by the propagation of UHECR protons through the CBR in the presence of UV. We find that UV produces a reduction in the flux of the highest energy neutrinos and a reduction in the energy of the peak of the neutrino energy flux spectrum, both depending on the strength of the UV. Thus, observations of the UHE neutrino spectrum provide a clear test for the existence and amount of UV at the highest energies. We further discuss the ability of current and future proposed detectors make such observations.

Identifying Galactic Cosmic Ray Origins With Super-TIGER

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

deNolfo, Georgia; Binns, W. R.; Israel, M. H.; Christian, E. R.; Mitchell, J. W.; Hams, T.; Link, J. T.; Sasaki, M.; Labrador, A. W.; Mewaldt, R. A.;

Advanced intermediate temperature sodium-nickel chloride batteries with ultra-high energy density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guosheng; Lu, Xiaochuan; Kim, Jin Y.; Meinhardt, Kerry D.; Chang, Hee Jung; Canfield, Nathan L.; Sprenkle, Vincent L.

2016-02-01

Sodium-metal halide batteries have been considered as one of the more attractive technologies for stationary electrical energy storage, however, they are not used for broader applications despite their relatively well-known redox system. One of the roadblocks hindering market penetration is the high-operating temperature. Here we demonstrate that planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries can be operated at an intermediate temperature of 190 °C with ultra-high energy density. A specific energy density of 350 Wh kg-1, higher than that of conventional tubular sodium-nickel chloride batteries (280 °C), is obtained for planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries operated at 190 °C over a long-term cell test (1,000 cycles), and it attributed to the slower particle growth of the cathode materials at the lower operating temperature. Results reported here demonstrate that planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries operated at an intermediate temperature could greatly benefit this traditional energy storage technology by improving battery energy density, cycle life and reducing material costs.

Review of total cross sections and forward scattering parameters at ultra-high energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Block, M. M.; White, A. R.

1991-10-01

We review the field of the elastic scattering of pp and (bar p)p at the ultra-high energies. The recent total cross section, sigma (sub tot), and rho-value results from the Fermilab Tevatron Collider experiments presented at the 4th 'Blois' Workshop on Elastic and Diffractive Scattering (Elba, Italy, in May, 1991), allow us a comprehensive overview of the field.

Blazar Jet Physics in the Age of Fermi

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-23

in colliding shells, and whether blazars are sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays . Keywords. galaxies: jets, gamma rays : observations, gamma rays ...colliding shells ejected from the central supermassive black hole are made. The likelihood that blazars accelerate ultra-high energy cosmic rays is...colliding shells, and whether blazars are sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays . 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF

High-Energy Cosmic-Ray Antiprotons with the CAPRICE98 experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boezio, M.; Ambriola, M.; Bartalucci, S.; Bellotti, R.; Bergström, D.; Bonvicini, V.; Bravar, U.; Cafagna, F.; Carlson, P.; Casolino, M.; Ciacio, F.; Circella, M.; De Marzo, C. N.; De Pascale, M. P.; Finetti, N.; Francke, T.; Hansen, P.; Hof, M.; Kremer, J.; Menn, W.; Mitchell, J. W.; Mocchitti, E.; Morselli, A.; Ormes, J. F.; Papini, P.; Piccardi, S.; Picozza, P.; Ricci, M.; Schiavon, P.; Simon, M.; Sparvoli, R.; Spillantini, P.; Stephens, S. A.; Stochaj, S. J.; Streitmatter, R. E.; Suffert, M.; Vacchi, A.; Vannuccini, E.; Zampa, N.; WIZARD/CAPRICE Collaboration

2001-08-01

Observations of cosmic-ray antiprotons were performed by the balloon-borne experiment CAPRICE98 that was flown on 28-29 May 1998 from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, USA. The experiment used the NMSU-WIZARD/CAPRICE98 balloon-borne magnet spectrometer equipped with a gas Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector, a time-of-flight system, a tracking device consisting of drift chambers and a superconducting magnet and a silicon-tungsten calorimeter. We report on the absolute-antiproton-energy spectrum determined in the kinetic energy region at the top of the atmosphere between 3.2 and 49.1 GeV.

Cosmic Ray Induced Neutron Irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Overholt, Andrew

2011-11-01

After cancer studies performed on flight crews during the 1970s, it was found that cosmic rays produce a signficant flux of thermal neutrons at airplane altitudes. In the case of high energy cosmic rays these biologically threatening neutrons are increased at ground level. Our work models the flux of neutrons produced by high energy cosmic rays, exploring the possibility of biological impact due to extended periods of increase high energy cosmic ray flux.

The bursts of high energy events observed by the telescope array surface detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R. U.; Abe, M.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Allen, M.; Anderson, R.; Azuma, R.; Barcikowski, E.; Belz, J. W.; Bergman, D. R.; Blake, S. A.; Cady, R.; Cheon, B. G.; Chiba, J.; Chikawa, M.; Fujii, T.; Fukushima, M.; Goto, T.; Hanlon, W.; Hayashi, Y.; Hayashida, N.; Hibino, K.; Honda, K.; Ikeda, D.; Inoue, N.; Ishii, T.; Ishimori, R.; Ito, H.; Ivanov, D.; Jui, C. C. H.; Kadota, K.; Kakimoto, F.; Kalashev, O.; Kasahara, K.; Kawai, H.; Kawakami, S.; Kawana, S.; Kawata, K.; Kido, E.; Kim, H. B.; Kim, J. H.; Kim, J. H.; Kishigami, S.; Kitamura, S.; Kitamura, Y.; Kuzmin, V.; Kwon, Y. J.; Lan, J.; Lundquist, J. P.; Machida, K.; Martens, K.; Matsuda, T.; Matsuyama, T.; Matthews, J. N.; Minamino, M.; Mukai, K.; Myers, I.; Nagasawa, K.; Nagataki, S.; Nakamura, T.; Nonaka, T.; Nozato, A.; Ogio, S.; Ogura, J.; Ohnishi, M.; Ohoka, H.; Oki, K.; Okuda, T.; Ono, M.; Onogi, R.; Oshima, A.; Ozawa, S.; Park, I. H.; Pshirkov, M. S.; Rodriguez, D. C.; Rubtsov, G.; Ryu, D.; Sagawa, H.; Saito, K.; Saito, Y.; Sakaki, N.; Sakurai, N.; Sampson, A. L.; Scott, L. M.; Sekino, K.; Shah, P. D.; Shibata, F.; Shibata, T.; Shimodaira, H.; Shin, B. K.; Shin, H. S.; Smith, J. D.; Sokolsky, P.; Springer, R. W.; Stokes, B. T.; Stratton, S. R.; Stroman, T. A.; Suzawa, T.; Takamura, M.; Takeda, M.; Takeishi, R.; Taketa, A.; Takita, M.; Tameda, Y.; Tanaka, H.; Tanaka, K.; Tanaka, M.; Thomas, S. B.; Thomson, G. B.; Tinyakov, P.; Tkachev, I.; Tokuno, H.; Tomida, T.; Troitsky, S.; Tsunesada, Y.; Tsutsumi, K.; Uchihori, Y.; Udo, S.; Urban, F.; Vasiloff, G.; Wong, T.; Yamane, R.; Yamaoka, H.; Yamazaki, K.; Yang, J.; Yashiro, K.; Yoneda, Y.; Yoshida, S.; Yoshii, H.; Zollinger, R.; Zundel, Z.

2017-08-01

The Telescope Array (TA) experiment is designed to detect air showers induced by ultra high energy cosmic rays. The TA ground Surface particle Detector (TASD) observed several short-time bursts of air shower like events. These bursts are not likely due to chance coincidence between single shower events. The expectation of chance coincidence is less than 10-4 for five-year's observation. We checked the correlation between these bursts of events and lightning data, and found evidence for correlations in timing and position. Some features of the burst events are similar to those of a normal cosmic ray air shower, and some are not. On this paper, we report the observed bursts of air shower like events and their correlation with lightning.

Synchrotron Radiation from Ultra-High Energy Protons and the Fermi Observations of GRB 080916C

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

compared with keV – MeV radiation. Here we show that synchrotron radiation from cosmic ray protons accelerated in GRBs, delayed by the proton synchrotron... cosmic rays from sources within 100 Mpc for nano-Gauss intergalactic magnetic fields. The total energy requirements in a proton synchrotron model are...component arising from cosmic - ray proton synchrotron radiation explains the delayed onset of the LAT emission. If GRBs accelerate UHECRs, then the

Experimental And Theoretical High Energy Physics Research At UCLA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cousins, Robert D.

2013-07-22

This is the final report of the UCLA High Energy Physics DOE Grant No. DE-FG02- 91ER40662. This report covers the last grant project period, namely the three years beginning January 15, 2010, plus extensions through April 30, 2013. The report describes the broad range of our experimental research spanning direct dark matter detection searches using both liquid xenon (XENON) and liquid argon (DARKSIDE); present (ICARUS) and R&D for future (LBNE) neutrino physics; ultra-high-energy neutrino and cosmic ray detection (ANITA); and the highest-energy accelerator-based physics with the CMS experiment and CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. For our theory group, the report describesmore » frontier activities including particle astrophysics and cosmology; neutrino physics; LHC interaction cross section calculations now feasible due to breakthroughs in theoretical techniques; and advances in the formal theory of supergravity.« less

High-energy ultra-short pulse thin-disk lasers: new developments and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michel, Knut; Klingebiel, Sandro; Schultze, Marcel; Tesseit, Catherine Y.; Bessing, Robert; Häfner, Matthias; Prinz, Stefan; Sutter, Dirk; Metzger, Thomas

2016-03-01

We report on the latest developments at TRUMPF Scientific Lasers in the field of ultra-short pulse lasers with highest output energies and powers. All systems are based on the mature and industrialized thin-disk technology of TRUMPF. Thin Yb:YAG disks provide a reliable and efficient solution for power and energy scaling to Joule- and kW-class picosecond laser systems. Due to its efficient one dimensional heat removal, the thin-disk exhibits low distortions and thermal lensing even when pumped under extremely high pump power densities of 10kW/cm². Currently TRUMPF Scientific Lasers develops regenerative amplifiers with highest average powers, optical parametric amplifiers and synchronization schemes. The first few-ps kHz multi-mJ thin-disk regenerative amplifier based on the TRUMPF thindisk technology was developed at the LMU Munich in 20081. Since the average power and energy have continuously been increased, reaching more than 300W (10kHz repetition rate) and 200mJ (1kHz repetition rate) at pulse durations below 2ps. First experiments have shown that the current thin-disk technology supports ultra-short pulse laser solutions >1kW of average power. Based on few-picosecond thin-disk regenerative amplifiers few-cycle optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers (OPCPA) can be realized. These systems have proven to be the only method for scaling few-cycle pulses to the multi-mJ energy level. OPA based few-cycle systems will allow for many applications such as attosecond spectroscopy, THz spectroscopy and imaging, laser wake field acceleration, table-top few-fs accelerators and laser-driven coherent X-ray undulator sources. Furthermore, high-energy picosecond sources can directly be used for a variety of applications such as X-ray generation or in atmospheric research.

Extraterrestrial high energy neutrino fluxes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stecker, F. W.

1979-01-01

Using the most recent cosmic ray spectra up to 2x10 to the 20th power eV, production spectra of high energy neutrinos from cosmic ray interactions with interstellar gas and extragalactic interactions of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays with 3K universal background photons are presented and discussed. Estimates of the fluxes from cosmic diffuse sources and the nearby quasar 3C273 are made using the generic relationship between secondary neutrinos and gammas and using recent gamma ray satellite data. These gamma ray data provide important upper limits on cosmological neutrinos. Quantitative estimates of the observability of high energy neutrinos from the inner galaxy and 3C273 above atmospheric background for a DUMAND type detector are discussed in the context of the Weinberg-Salam model with sq sin theta omega = 0.2 and including the atmospheric background from the decay of charmed mesons. Constraints on cosmological high energy neutrino production models are also discussed. It appears that important high energy neutrino astronomy may be possible with DUMAND, but very long observing times are required.

Planetary Habitability over Cosmic-Time Based on Cosmic-Ray Levels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mason, Paul A.; Biermann, Peter L.

2016-01-01

Extreme cosmic-ray (CR) fluxes have a negative effect on life when flux densities are high enough to cause excessive biological, especially DNA, damage. The CR history of a planet plays an important role in its potential surface habitation. Both global and local CR conditions determine the ability of life to survive for astrobiologically relevant time periods. We highlight two CR life-limiting factors: 1) General galactic activity, starburst and AGN, was up by about a factor of 30 at redshift 1 - 2, per comoving frame, averaged over all galaxies. And 2) AGN activity is highly intermittent, so extreme brief but powerful bursts (Her A for example) can be detrimental at great distances. This means that during such brief bursts of AGN activity the extragalactic CRs might even overpower the local galactic CRs. But as shown by the starburst galaxy M82, the local CRs in a starburst can also be quite high. Moreover, in our cosmic neighborhood we have several super-massive black holes. These are in M31, M32, M81, NGC5128 (Cen A), and in our own Galaxy, all within about 4 Mpc today. Within about 20 Mpc today there are many more super-massive black holes. Cen A is of course the most famous one now, since it may be a major source of the ultra-high-energy CRs (UHECRs). Folding in what redshift means in terms of cosmic time, this implies that there may have been little chance for life to survive much earlier than Earth's starting epoch. We speculate, on whether the very slow start oflife on Earth is connected to the decay of disturbing CR activity.

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays from tidally-ignited white dwarfs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alves Batista, Rafael; Silk, Joseph

2017-11-01

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) can be accelerated by tidal disruption events of stars by black holes. We suggest a novel mechanism for UHECR acceleration wherein white dwarfs (WDs) are tidally compressed by intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs), leading to their ignition and subsequent explosion as a supernova. Cosmic rays accelerated by the supernova may receive an energy boost when crossing the accretion-powered jet. The rate of encounters between WDs and IMBHs can be relatively high, as the number of IMBHs may be substantially augmented once account is taken of their likely presence in dwarf galaxies. Here we show that this kind of tidal disruption event naturally provides an intermediate composition for the observed UHECRs, and suggest that dwarf galaxies and globular clusters are suitable sites for particle acceleration to ultrahigh energies.

Earth Versus Neutrinos: Measuring the Total Muon-Neutrino-to-Nucleon Cross Section at Ultra-High Energies through Differential Earth Absorption of Muon Neutrinos from Cosmic Rays Using the IceCube Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miarecki, Sandra Christine

The IceCube Neutrino Detector at the South Pole was constructed to measure the flux of high-energy neutrinos and to try to identify their cosmic sources. In addition to these astrophysical neutrinos, IceCube also detects the neutrinos that result from cosmic ray interactions with the atmosphere. These atmospheric neutrinos can be used to measure the total muon neutrino-to-nucleon cross section by measuring neutrino absorption in the Earth. The measurement involves isolating a sample of 10,784 Earth-transiting muons detected by IceCube in its 79-string configuration. The cross-section is determined using a two-dimensional fit in measured muon energy and zenith angle and is presented as a multiple of the Standard Model expectation as calculated by Cooper-Sarkar, Mertsch, and Sarkar in 2011. A multiple of 1.0 would indicate agreement with the Standard Model. The results of this analysis find the multiple to be 1.30 (+0.21 -0.19 statistical) (+0.40 -0.44 systematic) for the neutrino energy range of 6.3 to 980 TeV, which is in agreement with the Standard Model expectation.

Effects of Cosmic Ray Interactions with the Focal Surface of JEM-EUSO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rowley, C.; Adams, J. H.; Bonemente, M.

2013-12-01

The JEM-EUSO mission promises an entirely new perspective on ultra high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) detection. Bound for the International Space Station, its field of view is far greater than that of ground based instruments. However, being space-based, it is itself subject to cosmic ray (CR) impacts (abet much lower energy ones). In this poster, we discuss the effects this may have on the triggering algorithms implemented on JEM-EUSO. We conclude that the mean photoelectron rate due to CRs is 6.73×10-3 s-1 and that the fractional number of triggers per Gate Timing Unit (GTU) is 4.34×10-10 GTU-1 at a trigger level of 1 photoelectron. This is small and will have little effect on the triggering of JEM-EUSO.

Radio detection of high-energy cosmic rays with the Auger Engineering Radio Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schröder, Frank G.; Pierre Auger Collaboration

2016-07-01

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is an enhancement of the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. Covering about 17km2, AERA is the world-largest antenna array for cosmic-ray observation. It consists of more than 150 antenna stations detecting the radio signal emitted by air showers, i.e., cascades of secondary particles caused by primary cosmic rays hitting the atmosphere. At the beginning, technical goals had been in focus: first of all, the successful demonstration that a large-scale antenna array consisting of autonomous stations is feasible. Moreover, techniques for calibration of the antennas and time calibration of the array have been developed, as well as special software for the data analysis. Meanwhile physics goals come into focus. At the Pierre Auger Observatory air showers are simultaneously detected by several detector systems, in particular water-Cherenkov detectors at the surface, underground muon detectors, and fluorescence telescopes, which enables cross-calibration of different detection techniques. For the direction and energy of air showers, the precision achieved by AERA is already competitive; for the type of primary particle, several methods are tested and optimized. By combining AERA with the particle detectors we aim for a better understanding of cosmic rays in the energy range from approximately 0.3 to 10 EeV, i.e., significantly higher energies than preceding radio arrays.

Gravitational waves and cosmic strings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siemens, Xavier

2002-08-01

Cosmic strings are potential candidates for a variety of interesting cosmological phenomena such as gamma ray bursts, gravitational wave bursts and ultra high energy cosmic rays. The predictions of cosmic string models, however, depend sensitively on the so far unresolved question of the size of the small-scale structure. This thesis deals largely with this problem. First, I present a gravitational back-reaction model that assumes the interaction between all Fourier modes that make up a given perturbation on a long cosmic string. This calculation leads to the generally accepted value of the small scale structure cutoff. It also, however, leads to paradoxical behaviour when applied to two oppositely moving modes: As one of the modes is stretched conformally the gravitational power radiated approaches a constant. This result is in contradiction with our expectation for the straight string limit in which no power is radiated. A more careful investigation of this problem reveals that, in the case of two oppositely moving modes, the gravitational power is exponentially suppressed when the wavelengths of the modes are sufficiently different. I use this result to construct an improved gravitational back-reaction model in which modes of very different wavelengths do not interact. This model leads to a new small scale structure cutoff which is sensitive to the initial spectrum of perturbations present on the string. I also tentatively examine the consequences of this result for the evolution of cosmic string loops. Finally, I investigate the effect of the presence of small scale structure on the gravitational wave-bursts produced at cosmic string cusps.

Constraints on the extremely high-energy cosmic ray accelerators from classical electrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aharonian, F. A.; Belyanin, A. A.; Derishev, E. V.; Kocharovsky, V. V.; Kocharovsky, Vl. V.

2002-07-01

We formulate the general requirements, set by classical electrodynamics, on the sources of extremely high-energy cosmic rays (EHECRs). It is shown that the parameters of EHECR accelerators are strongly limited not only by the particle confinement in large-scale magnetic fields or by the difference in electric potentials (generalized Hillas criterion) but also by the synchrotron radiation, the electro-bremsstrahlung, or the curvature radiation of accelerated particles. Optimization of these requirements in terms of an accelerator's size and magnetic field strength results in the ultimate lower limit to the overall source energy budget, which scales as the fifth power of attainable particle energy. Hard γ rays accompanying generation of EHECRs can be used to probe potential acceleration sites. We apply the results to several populations of astrophysical objects-potential EHECR sources-and discuss their ability to accelerate protons to 1020 eV and beyond. The possibility of gain from ultrarelativistic bulk flows is addressed, with active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts being the examples.

Constraints on the extremely high-energy cosmic rays accelerators from classical electrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belyanin, A.; Aharonian, F.; Derishev, E.; Kocharovsky, V.; Kocharovsky, V.

We formulate the general requirements, set by classical electrodynamics, to the sources of extremely high-energy cosmic rays (EHECRs). It is shown that the parameters of EHECR accelerators are strongly limited not only by the particle confinement in large-scale magnetic field or by the difference in electric potentials (generalized Hillas criterion), but also by the synchrotron radiation, the electro-bremsstrahlung, or the curvature radiation of accelerated particles. Optimization of these requirements in terms of accelerator's size and magnetic field strength results in the ultimate lower limit to the overall source energy budget, which scales as the fifth power of attainable particle energy. Hard gamma-rays accompanying generation of EHECRs can be used to probe potential acceleration sites. We apply the results to several populations of astrophysical objects - potential EHECR sources - and discuss their ability to accelerate protons to 1020 eV and beyond. A possibility to gain from ultrarelativistic bulk flows is addressed, with Active Galactic Nuclei and Gamma-Ray Bursts being the examples.

Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays from nearby starburst galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Attallah, Reda; Bouchachi, Dallel

2018-04-01

Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays are the most energetic of any subatomic particles ever observed in nature. The quest for their mysterious origin is currently a major scientific challenge. Here we explore the possibility that these particles originate from nearby starburst galaxies, a scenario that matches the recent observation by the Telescope Array experiment of a cosmic-ray hotspot above 57 EeV not far from the direction of the starburst galaxy M82. Specifically, we study the stochastic propagation in space of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays through the state-of-the-art simulation framework CRPropa 3, taking into account all relevant particle interactions as well as deflections by the intervening magnetic fields. To ensure a comprehensive understanding of this model, we consider the energy spectrum, the cosmogenic neutrinos and gamma rays, and the distribution of arrival directions. The starburst galaxy scenario reproduces well observations from both the Telescope Array and Pierre Auger Observatories, making it very attractive for explaining the origin of cosmic rays at the highest energies.

Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays from nearby starburst galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Attallah, Reda; Bouchachi, Dallel

2018-07-01

Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays are the most energetic of any subatomic particles ever observed in nature. The quest for their mysterious origin is currently a major scientific challenge. Here we explore the possibility that these particles originate from nearby starburst galaxies, a scenario that matches the recent observation by the Telescope Array experiment of a cosmic ray hotspot above 57 EeV not far from the direction of the starburst galaxy M82. Specifically, we study the stochastic propagation in space of ultrahigh ENERGY cosmic rays through the state-of-the-art simulation framework CRPROPA 3, taking into account all relevant particle interactions as well as deflections by the intervening magnetic fields. To ensure a comprehensive understanding of this model, we consider the energy spectrum, the cosmogenic neutrinos and gamma rays, and the distribution of arrival directions. The starburst galaxy scenario reproduces well observations from both the Telescope Array and Pierre Auger Observatories, making it very attractive for explaining the origin of cosmic rays at the highest energies.

Angular correlation of cosmic neutrinos with ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays and implications for their sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moharana, Reetanjali; Razzaque, Soebur, E-mail: reetanjalim@uj.ac.za, E-mail: srazzaque@uj.ac.za

2015-08-01

Cosmic neutrino events detected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory with energy 0∼> 3 TeV have poor angular resolutions to reveal their origin. Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), with better angular resolutions at 0>6 EeV energies, can be used to check if the same astrophysical sources are responsible for producing both neutrinos and UHECRs. We test this hypothesis, with statistical methods which emphasize invariant quantities, by using data from the Pierre Auger Observatory, Telescope Array and past cosmic-ray experiments. We find that the arrival directions of the cosmic neutrinos are correlated with 0≥ 10 EeV UHECR arrival directions at confidence level ≈ 90%. The strengthmore » of the correlation decreases with decreasing UHECR energy and no correlation exists at energy 0∼ 6 EeV . A search in astrophysical databases within 3{sup o} of the arrival directions of UHECRs with energy 0≥ 10 EeV, that are correlated with the IceCube cosmic neutrinos, resulted in 18 sources from the Swift-BAT X-ray catalog with redshift z≤ 0.06. We also found 3 objects in the Kühr catalog of radio sources using the same criteria. The sources are dominantly Seyfert galaxies with Cygnus A being the most prominent member. We calculate the required neutrino and UHECR fluxes to produce the observed correlated events, and estimate the corresponding neutrino luminosity (25 TeV–2.2 PeV) and cosmic-ray luminosity (500 TeV–180 EeV), assuming the sources are the ones we found in the Swift-BAT and Kühr catalogs. We compare these luminosities with the X-ray luminosity of the corresponding sources and discuss possibilities of accelerating protons to 0∼> 10 EeV and produce neutrinos in these sources.« less

Advanced intermediate temperature sodium-nickel chloride batteries with ultra-high energy density.

PubMed

Li, Guosheng; Lu, Xiaochuan; Kim, Jin Y; Meinhardt, Kerry D; Chang, Hee Jung; Canfield, Nathan L; Sprenkle, Vincent L

2016-02-11

Sodium-metal halide batteries have been considered as one of the more attractive technologies for stationary electrical energy storage, however, they are not used for broader applications despite their relatively well-known redox system. One of the roadblocks hindering market penetration is the high-operating temperature. Here we demonstrate that planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries can be operated at an intermediate temperature of 190 °C with ultra-high energy density. A specific energy density of 350 Wh kg(-1), higher than that of conventional tubular sodium-nickel chloride batteries (280 °C), is obtained for planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries operated at 190 °C over a long-term cell test (1,000 cycles), and it attributed to the slower particle growth of the cathode materials at the lower operating temperature. Results reported here demonstrate that planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries operated at an intermediate temperature could greatly benefit this traditional energy storage technology by improving battery energy density, cycle life and reducing material costs.

Advanced intermediate temperature sodium–nickel chloride batteries with ultra-high energy density

PubMed Central

Li, Guosheng; Lu, Xiaochuan; Kim, Jin Y.; Meinhardt, Kerry D.; Chang, Hee Jung; Canfield, Nathan L.; Sprenkle, Vincent L.

2016-01-01

Sodium-metal halide batteries have been considered as one of the more attractive technologies for stationary electrical energy storage, however, they are not used for broader applications despite their relatively well-known redox system. One of the roadblocks hindering market penetration is the high-operating temperature. Here we demonstrate that planar sodium–nickel chloride batteries can be operated at an intermediate temperature of 190 °C with ultra-high energy density. A specific energy density of 350 Wh kg−1, higher than that of conventional tubular sodium–nickel chloride batteries (280 °C), is obtained for planar sodium–nickel chloride batteries operated at 190 °C over a long-term cell test (1,000 cycles), and it attributed to the slower particle growth of the cathode materials at the lower operating temperature. Results reported here demonstrate that planar sodium–nickel chloride batteries operated at an intermediate temperature could greatly benefit this traditional energy storage technology by improving battery energy density, cycle life and reducing material costs. PMID:26864635

Workshop on Cosmic Ray and High Energy Gamma Ray Experiments for the Space Station Era, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, October 17-20, 1984, Proceedings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, W. V. (Editor); Wefel, J. P. (Editor)

1985-01-01

The potential of the Space Station as a platform for cosmic-ray and high-energy gamma-ray astronomy is discussed in reviews, reports, and specific proposals. Topics examined include antiparticles and electrons, science facilities and new technology, high-energy nuclear interactions, nuclear composition and energy spectra, Space Shuttle experiments, Space Station facilities and detectors, high-energy gamma rays, and gamma-ray facilities and techniques. Consideration is given to universal-baryon-symmetry testing on the scale of galactic clusters, particle studies in a high-inclination orbit, balloon-borne emulsion-chamber results on ultrarelativistic nucleus-nucleus interactions, ionization states of low-energy cosmic rays, a large gamma-ray telescope for point-source studies above 1 GeV, and the possible existence of stable quark matter.

Elemental composition and energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mewaldt, R. A.

1988-01-01

A brief review is presented of the major features of the elemental composition and energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays. The requirements for phenomenological models of cosmic ray composition and energy spectra are discussed, and possible improvements to an existing model are suggested.

NUCLEON-mission: A New Approach to Cosmic Rays Investigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, J.; Bashindzhagyan, G.; Chilingarian, A.; Drury, L.; Egorov, N.; Golubkov, S.; Grebenyuk, V.; Korotkova, N.; Mashkantcev, A.; Nanjo, H.;

The UCSD high energy X-ray timing experiment cosmic ray particle anticoincidence detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hink, P. L.; Rothschild, R. E.; Pelling, M. R.; Macdonald, D. R.; Gruber, D. E.

1991-01-01

The HEXTE, part of the X-Ray Timing Explorer (XTE), is designed to make high sensitivity temporal and spectral measurements of X-rays with energies between 15 and 250 keV using NaI/CsI phoswich scintillation counters. To achieve the required sensitivity it is necessary to provide anticoincidence of charged cosmic ray particles incident upon the instrument, some of which interact to produce background X-rays. The proposed cosmic ray particle anticoincidence shield detector for HEXTE uses a novel design based on plastic scintillators and wavelength-shifter bars. It consists of five segments, each with a 7 mm thick plastic scintillator, roughly 50 cm x 50 cm in size, coupled to two wavelength-shifter bars viewed by 1/2 inch photomultiplier tubes. These segments are configured into a five-sided, box-like structure around the main detector system. Results of laboratory testing of a model segment, and calculations of the expected performance of the flight segments and particle anticoincidence detector system are presented to demonstrate that the above anticoincidence detector system satisfies its scientific requirements.

Detection of High Energy Cosmic Rays with Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter, ATIC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, J. H.; Ahn, E. J.; Ahn, H. S.; Bashindzhagyan, G.; Case, G.; Chang, J.; Christl, M.; Ellison, S.; Fazely, A. R.; Ganel, O.

2002-01-01

The author presents preliminary results of the first flight of the Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC). ATIC is a multiple, long duration balloon flight, investigation for the study of cosmic ray spectra from below 50 GeV to near 100 TeV total energy, using a fully active Bismuth Germanate (BGO) calorimeter. It is equipped with the first large area mosaic of small fully depleted silicon detector pads capable of charge identification of cosmic rays from H to Fe. As a redundancy check for the charge identification and a coarse particle tracking system, three projective layers of x-y scintillator hodoscopes were employed, above, in the center and below a Carbon interaction 'target'.

On the Energy Spectra of GeV/TeV Cosmic Ray Leptons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stawarz, Lukasz; /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Jagiellonian U., Astron. Observ.; Petrosian, Vahe

2011-08-19

protons. The second source discussed here is due to the annihilation of the diffuse Galactic {gamma}-rays on the stellar photon field. We find that high positron fraction increasing with energy, as claimed by the PAMELA experiment, cannot be explained in our model with the conservative set of the model parameters. We are able, however, to reproduce the PAMELA (as well as Fermi and HESS) results assuming high values of the starlight and interstellar gas densities, which would be more appropriate for vicinities of supernova remnants. A possible solution to this problem may be that cosmic rays undergo most of their interactions near their sources due to the efficient trapping in the far upstream of supernova shocks by self-generated, cosmic ray-driven turbulence.« less

CaloCube: An isotropic spaceborne calorimeter for high-energy cosmic rays. Optimization of the detector performance for protons and nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adriani, O.; Albergo, S.; Auditore, L.; Basti, A.; Berti, E.; Bigongiari, G.; Bonechi, L.; Bonechi, S.; Bongi, M.; Bonvicini, V.; Bottai, S.; Brogi, P.; Carotenuto, G.; Castellini, G.; Cattaneo, P. W.; Daddi, N.; D'Alessandro, R.; Detti, S.; Finetti, N.; Italiano, A.; Lenzi, P.; Maestro, P.; Marrocchesi, P. S.; Mori, N.; Orzan, G.; Olmi, M.; Pacini, L.; Papini, P.; Pellegriti, M. G.; Rappoldi, A.; Ricciarini, S.; Sciuto, A.; Spillantini, P.; Starodubtsev, O.; Stolzi, F.; Suh, J. E.; Sulaj, A.; Tiberio, A.; Tricomi, A.; Trifiro', A.; Trimarchi, M.; Vannuccini, E.; Zampa, G.; Zampa, N.

2017-11-01

The direct detection of high-energy cosmic rays up to the PeV region is one of the major challenges for the next generation of space-borne cosmic-ray detectors. The physics performance will be primarily determined by their geometrical acceptance and energy resolution. CaloCube is a homogeneous calorimeter whose geometry allows an almost isotropic response, so as to detect particles arriving from every direction in space, thus maximizing the acceptance. A comparative study of different scintillating materials and mechanical structures has been performed by means of Monte Carlo simulation. The scintillation-Cherenkov dual read-out technique has been also considered and its benefit evaluated.

Cosmic ray nuclei of energy 50 GeV/NUC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balasubrahmanyan, V. K.; Streitmatter, R. E.; Ormes, J. F.

1985-01-01

Preliminary results from the High Energy Gas Cerenkov Spectrometer indicate that the sub-iron to iron ratio increases beyond 100 GeV/nucleon. This surprising finding is examined in light of various models for the origin and propagation of galactic cosmic rays.

Large scale distribution of ultra high energy cosmic rays detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory with zenith angles up to 80°

DOE PAGES

Aab, Alexander

2015-03-30

In this study, we present the results of an analysis of the large angular scale distribution of the arrival directions of cosmic rays with energy above 4 EeV detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory including for the first time events with zenith angle between 60° and 80°. We perform two Rayleigh analyses, one in the right ascension and one in the azimuth angle distributions, that are sensitive to modulations in right ascension and declination, respectively. The largest departure from isotropy appears in themore » $$E\\gt 8$$ EeV energy bin, with an amplitude for the first harmonic in right ascension $$r_{1}^{\\alpha }=(4.4\\pm 1.0)\\times {{10}^{-2}}$$, that has a chance probability $$P(\\geqslant r_{1}^{\\alpha })=6.4\\times {{10}^{-5}}$$, reinforcing the hint previously reported with vertical events alone.« less

Searches for anisotropies in the arrival directions of the highest energy cosmic rays detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE PAGES

Aab, Alexander

2015-05-01

We analyze the distribution of arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory in 10 years of operation. The data set, about three times larger than that used in earlier studies, includes arrival directions with zenith angles up to 80°, thus covering from -90° to +45° in declination. After updating the fraction of events correlating with the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the Véron-Cetty and Véron catalog, we subject the arrival directions of the data with energies in excess of 40 EeV to different tests for anisotropy. We search for localized excess fluxes, self-clustering of event directions at angular scales up to 30°, and different threshold energies between 40 and 80 EeV. We then look for correlations of cosmic rays with celestial structures both in the Galaxy (the Galactic Center and Galactic Plane) and in the local universe (the Super-Galactic Plane). We also examine their correlation with different populations of nearby extragalactic objects: galaxies in the 2MRS catalog, AGNs detected by Swift-BAT, radio galaxies with jets, and the Centaurus A (Cen A) galaxy. None of the tests show statistically significant evidence of anisotropy. As a result, the strongest departures from isotropy (post-trial probabilitymore » $$\\sim 1.4$$%) are obtained for cosmic rays with $$E\\gt 58$$ EeV in rather large windows around Swift AGNs closer than 130 Mpc and brighter than 10 44 erg s -1 (18° radius), and around the direction of Cen A (15° radius).« less

Study of cosmic ray events with high muon multiplicity using the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

DOE PAGES

Adam, J.

2016-01-19

ALICE is one of four large experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, specially designed to study particle production in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Located 52 meters underground with 28 meters of overburden rock, it has also been used to detect muons produced by cosmic ray interactions in the upper atmosphere. Here, we present the multiplicity distribution of these atmospheric muons and its comparison with Monte Carlo simulations. Our analysis exploits the large size and excellent tracking capability of the ALICE Time Projection Chamber. A special emphasis is given to the study of high multiplicity events containing more thanmore » 100 reconstructed muons and corresponding to a muon areal density rho(mu) > 5.9 m(-2). Similar events have been studied in previous underground experiments such as ALEPH and DELPHI at LEP. While these experiments were able to reproduce the measured muon multiplicity distribution with Monte Carlo simulations at low and intermediate multiplicities, their simulations failed to describe the frequency of the highest multiplicity events. In this work we show that the high multiplicity events observed in ALICE stem from primary cosmic rays with energies above 10(16) eV and that the frequency of these events can be successfully described by assuming a heavy mass composition of primary cosmic rays in this energy range. Furthermore, the development of the resulting air showers was simulated using the latest version of QGSJET to model hadronic interactions. This observation places significant constraints on alternative, more exotic, production mechanisms for these events.« less

High Energy Physics

Science.gov Websites

Untitled Document [Argonne Logo] [DOE Logo] High Energy Physics Home Division ES&H Personnel Collider Physics Cosmic Frontier Cosmic Frontier Theory & Computing Detector R&D Electronic Design Mechanical Design Neutrino Physics Theoretical Physics Seminars HEP Division Seminar HEP Lunch Seminar HEP

Exploring the Excluded Galactic Cosmic Rays--those at the Lowest Energies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shapiro, Maurice M.

2001-04-01

The solar wind prevents the lowest- energy Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) from entering the heliosphere. Consequently, space probes have thus far been unable to sample them. We suggest that astrochemistry may provide a ``handle" on these particles. Clouds in the interstellar medium (ISM) are sites of chemical-reaction networks that produce various molecular species detectable by their radioastronomical signatures. Highly ionizing low-energy cosmic rays are thought to be the principal agents of molecule production in clouds. Some anomalous abundances, e.g., of deuterium molecules, have been detected. Could studies of the foregoing networks of reactions and their products yield clues to the fluxes and energy spectra of the lowest-energy GCR in the ISM? Other approaches to this problem are also cited.

Implications of the experimental results on high energy cosmic rays with regard to their origin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, C. E.; Linsley, J.

1985-01-01

It was shown in an earlier report that current cosmic ray evidence supports a change in the cosmic ray composition in the region between 10 to the 6th power and 10 to the 8th power GeV total energy in the direction of a smaller average value of A. Compared to normal celestial abundances, the heavy nuclei are much less abundant, and, in fact, the composition measurements above 10 to the 8th power GeV are consistent with there being only protons. Here, these results combined with those of the energy spectrum and anisotropy of the comsic rays and other astrophysical information will be examined to try to determine their implications for the origin of the cosmic rays. In this paper, consideration is given to the implications of one or more than one type of source in the galaxy to see which are consistent with the interpretation of current measurements. The nature of the source types that would be required are discussed.

Numerical Simulation of the Anomalous Transport of High-Energy Cosmic Rays in Galactic Superbubble

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barghouty, A. F.; Price, E. M.; MeWaldt, R. A.

2013-01-01

A continuous-time random-walk (CTRW) model to simulate the transport and acceleration of high-energy cosmic rays in galactic superbubbles has recently been put forward (Barghouty & Schnee 2102). The new model has been developed to simulate and highlight signatures of anomalous transport on particles' evolution and their spectra in a multi-shock, collective acceleration context. The superbubble is idealized as a heterogeneous region of particle sources and sinks bounded by a random surface. This work concentrates on the effects of the bubble's assumed astrophysical characteristics (cf. geometry and roughness) on the particles' spectra.

Ultrahigh energy cosmic ray nuclei from remnants of dead quasars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moncada, Roberto J.; Colon, Rafael A.; Guerra, Juan J.; O'Dowd, Matthew J.; Anchordoqui, Luis A.

2017-03-01

We re-examine the possibility of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays being accelerated in nearby dormant quasars. We particularize our study to heavy nuclei to accommodate the spectrum and nuclear composition recently reported by the Pierre Auger Collaboration. Particle acceleration is driven by the Blandford-Znajek mechanism, which wires the dormant spinning black holes as Faraday unipolar dynamos. We demonstrate that energy losses are dominated by photonuclear interactions on the ambient photon fields. We argue that the local dark fossils of the past quasar activity can be classified on the basis of how source parameters (mass of the central engine and photon background surrounding the accelerator) impact the photonuclear interaction. In this classification it is possible to distinguish two unequivocal type of sources: those in which nuclei are completely photodisintegrated before escaping the acceleration region and those in which photopion production is the major energy damping mechanism. We further argue that the secondary nucleons from the photodisintegrated nuclei (which have a steep spectral index at injection) can populate the energy region below ;the ankle; feature in the cosmic ray spectrum, whereas heavy and medium mass nuclei (with a harder spectral index) populate the energy region beyond ;the ankle;, all the way to the high energy end of the spectrum. In addition, we show that five potential quasar remnants from our cosmic backyard correlate with the hot-spot observed by the Telescope Array.

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays: physics and astrophysics at extreme energies.

PubMed

Sigl, G

2001-01-05

The origin of cosmic rays is one of the major unresolved questions in astrophysics. In particular, the highest energy cosmic rays observed have macroscopic energies up to several 10(20) electron volts and thus provide a probe of physics and astrophysics at energies unattained in laboratory experiments. Theoretical explanations range from astrophysical acceleration of charged particles, to particle physics beyond the established standard model, and processes taking place at the earliest moments of our universe. Distinguishing between these scenarios requires detectors with effective areas in the 1000-square-kilometer range, which are now under construction or in the planning stage. Close connections with gamma-ray and neutrino astrophysics add to the interdisciplinary character of this field.

Searches for ultra-high energy neutrinos at the Pierre Auger observatory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alvarez-Muñiz, Jaime; Observatorio Pierre Auger, Av. San Martín Norte 304, 5613 Malargüe

2015-07-15

Neutrinos in the sub-EeV energy range and above can be detected and identified with the Surface Detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The identification can be efficiently done for neutrinos of all flavours interacting in the atmosphere, typically above 60° (downward-going), as well as for “Earth-skimming” neutrino interactions in the case of tau neutrinos (upward-going). Three sets of identification criteria were designed to search for downward-going neutrinos in the zenith angle bins 60° − 75° and 75° − 90° as well as for upward-going neutrinos. The three searches have been recently combined, providing, in the absence of candidates inmore » data from 1 January 04 until 31 December 12, a stringent limit to the diffuse flux of ultra-high energy neutrinos.« less

Cosmic gamma-rays and cosmic nuclei above 1 TeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, A. A.

1986-01-01

Work on cosmic gamma rays and cosmic nuclei above I TeV is described and evaluated. The prospect that gamma ray astronomy above I TeV will give new insights into high energy cosmic ray origin within our galaxy is particularly bright.

R-process Element Cosmic Rays from Neutron Star Mergers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komiya, Yutaka; Shigeyama, Toshikazu

2017-09-01

Neutron star mergers (NSMs) are one of the most plausible sources of r-process elements in the universe. Therefore, NSMs can also be a major source of ultra-heavy elements in cosmic rays. In this paper, we first estimate the contribution of r-process elements synthesized in NSMs to the ultra-heavy element cosmic rays (UHCRs) by calculating transport equations that take into account energy loss processes and spallations. We show that the flux of UHCRs accelerated by the NSMs themselves fluctuates by many orders of magnitude on a timescale of several million years and can overwhelm UHCRs accelerated by supernova remnants (SNRs) after an NSM takes place within a few kiloparsec from the solar system. Experiments with very long exposure times using meteorites as UHCR detectors can detect this fluctuation. As a consequence, we show that if NSMs are the primary source of UHCRs, future experiments using meteorites may be able to reveal the event history of NSMs in the solar vicinity. We also describe a possible difference in the abundance pattern and energy spectrum of UHCRs between NSM and SNR accelerations.

A Measurement of the Average Longitudinal Development Profile of Cosmic Ray Air Showers from 1017.5eV to 1020eV by HiRes-II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughes, G.

Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) have an energy many times greater than that of particles accelerated in colliders. The Extended Air Showers (EAS) resulting from their interaction in the atmosphere give us the opportunity to study not only Cosmic Rays but also these extremely energetic cascades. A method to calculate the Average Longitudinal Shower profile has been applied to the High Resolution Fly's Eye Detector (HiRes) data. A complete detector simulation was used to throw CORSIKA (QGSJET) showers which are then analyzed using the same technique. The main features of the average showers are compared to the Monte Carlo as a function of energy. Systematic errors in the reconstruction of the profile are considered.

Zenith angle distribution of cosmic ray showers measured with the Yakutsk array and its application to the analysis of arrival directions in equatorial coordinates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, A. A.

2018-04-01

The Yakutsk array data set in the energy interval (1017,1019) eV is revisited in order to interpret the zenith angle distribution of an extensive air shower event rate of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. The close relation of the distribution to the attenuation of the main measurable parameter of showers, ρ600, is examined. Measured and expected distributions are used to analyze the arrival directions of cosmic rays on an equatorial map including the energy range below 1018 eV , which was previously avoided due to the reduced trigger efficiency of the array in the range. While the null hypothesis cannot be rejected with data from the Yakutsk array, an upper limit on the fraction of cosmic rays from a separable source in the uniform background is derived as a function of declination and energy.

Gradients and anisotropies of high energy cosmic rays in the outer heliosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fillius, W.; Roelof, E. C.; Smith, E. J.; Wood, D.; Ip, W. H.

1985-01-01

Two cosmic rays which pass through the same point going in opposite directions will, in the absence of scattering and inhomogeneities in the magnetic field, trace helices about adjacent flux tubes, whose centerlines are separated by one gyrodiameter. A directional anisotropy at the point suggests a difference in the number of cosmic rays loading the two flux tubes; that is, a density gradient over the baseline of a gyrodiameter. Previous studies at lower energies have shown that the cosmic ray density gradients vary in time and space. It is suggested that the radial gradient associated with solar cycle modulation is supported largely by narrow barriers which encircle the sun and propagate outward with the solar wind. If so, the anisotropy is a desirable way to detect spatial gradients, because it can be associated with the local solar wind and magnetic field conditions. Anisotropic measurements made by Cerenkov detectors on Pioneers 10 and 11 were studied. It was found that local anisotropy varies greatly, but that the long term average is consistent with the global radial gradient measured between two spacecraft over a baseline of many AU.

New Results on High Energy Cosmic Ray Electrons Observed with Fermi LAT and Their Implications on the Models of Pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moiseev, Alexander

2010-01-01

This viewgraph presentation describes, in detail, the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM). Observations made from the June 11, 2008 launch and a discussion of observations made of high energy cosmic ray electrons is also presented.

Advanced Cosmic-ray Composition Experiment for Space Station: ISS accommodation study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wefel, John P.

1999-01-22

ACCESS--Advanced Cosmic-ray Composition Experiment for Space Station--was selected as a new Mission Concept under NRA 96-OSS-03, with the goal of combining calorimeter and transition radiation techniques to provide measurements of cosmic rays from Hydrogen through Nickel up to energies approaching the 'knee' in the cosmic ray all particle spectrum, plus providing measurements of the Z>28 (Ultra-Heavy) nuclei at all energies. An instrument to perform such an investigation is undergoing an ISS/STS Accommodation Study at JSC. The instrument concept, the mission plan, and the accommodation issues for an ISS attached payload which include, in part, the carrier, ISS Site, thermal control,more » power, data and operations are described and the current status of these issues, for an ACCESS Mission, is summarized.« less

The Curious Case of High-energy Deuterons in Galactic Cosmic Rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomassetti, Nicola; Feng, Jie

2017-02-01

A new analysis of cosmic ray (CR) data collected by the SOKOL experiment in space found that the deuteron-to-helium ratio at energies between 500 and 2000 GeV/nucleon takes the value d/He ˜ 1.5. As we will show, this result cannot be explained by standard models of secondary CR production in the interstellar medium and points to the existence of a high-energy source of CR deuterons. To account for the deuteron excess in CRs, we argue that the only viable solution is hadronic interaction processes of accelerated particles inside old supernova remnants (SNRs). From this mechanism, however, the B/C ratio is also expected to increase at energies above ˜50 of GeV/nucleon, in conflict with new precision data just released by the AMS-02 experiment. Hence, if this phenomenon is a real physical effect, hadronic production of CR deuterons must occur in SNRs characterized by low metal abundance. In such a scenario, the sources accelerating C-{N}-O nuclei are not the same as those accelerating helium or protons, so that the connection between d/He ratio and B/C ratio is broken, and the latter cannot be used to place constraints on the production of light isotopes or antiparticles.

Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays: Old Physics or New Physics?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stecker, F. W.

2004-01-01

We consider the advantages of and the problems associated with hypotheses to explain the origin of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECR: E greater than 10 EeV) and the "trans-GZK" cosmic rays (TGZK: E greater than 100 EeV) both through "old physics" (acceleration in cosmic sources) and "new physics" (new particles, topological defects, fat neutrino cross sections, Lorentz invariance violation).

A cosmic ray super high energy multicore family event. 2: Structure and fragmentation characteristics of the jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

Quarks and gluons are not directly observable, but may be displayed through fragmentation in the form of hadronic jets, the evidence of which was first revealed in cosmic ray interactions before the advent of the modern theory of strong interactions. Experimental results from ISR and SPPS collider rendered the jet phenomena more confident and definite. All the properties of jets observed up to now at ISR and SPPS collider are in agreement with the predictions of QCD. In order to make further test of QCD in still higher energy regions, detailed study of super high energy jet events in cosmic rays is very desirable. The event KO E19 observed in the Mt. Kambala emulsion chamber is an interesting event for such study. The general features of KO E19 is described. Its total visible energy is sigma E sub gamma = 1537 TeV(E sub min = 1.5 TeV) and production height H=(70 + or - 30)m, with a hadron as its primary particle. Besides about forty small clusters, there are five super high energy cores or jets, one lying near the center of the event while the other four surrounding it, having incident directions making small angles with that of the primary particle. Detailed analysis is done on the emulsion plates inserted in the chamber, making full use of their fine granularity, superior in detecting and analyzing jet events, specially their substructures.

High-energy Neutrinos from Millisecond Magnetars Formed from the Merger of Binary Neutron Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Ke; Metzger, Brian D.

2017-11-01

The merger of a neutron star (NS) binary may result in the formation of a long-lived, or indefinitely stable, millisecond magnetar remnant surrounded by a low-mass ejecta shell. A portion of the magnetar’s prodigious rotational energy is deposited behind the ejecta in a pulsar wind nebula, powering luminous optical/X-ray emission for hours to days following the merger. Ions in the pulsar wind may also be accelerated to ultra-high energies, providing a coincident source of high-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos. At early times, the cosmic rays experience strong synchrotron losses; however, after a day or so, pion production through photomeson interaction with thermal photons in the nebula comes to dominate, leading to efficient production of high-energy neutrinos. After roughly a week, the density of background photons decreases sufficiently for cosmic rays to escape the source without secondary production. These competing effects result in a neutrino light curve that peaks on a few day timescale near an energy of ˜1018eV. This signal may be detectable for individual mergers out to ˜10 (100) Mpc by current (next generation) neutrino telescopes, providing clear evidence for a long-lived NS remnant, the presence of which may otherwise be challenging to identify from the gravitational waves alone. Under the optimistic assumption that a sizable fraction of NS mergers produce long-lived magnetars, the cumulative cosmological neutrino background is estimated to be ˜ {10}-9{--}{10}-8 {GeV} {{cm}}-2 {{{s}}}-1 {{sr}}-1 for an NS merger rate of {10}-7 {{Mpc}}-3 {{yr}}-1, overlapping with IceCube’s current sensitivity and within the reach of next-generation neutrino telescopes.

Cosmic X-ray physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccammon, D.; Cox, D. P.; Kraushaar, W. L.; Sanders, W. T.

1985-01-01

A progress report of research activities carried out in the area of cosmic X-ray physics is presented. The Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer DXS which has been flown twice as a rocket payload is described. The observation times proved to be too small for meaningful X-ray data to be obtained. Data collection and reduction activities from the Ultra-Soft X-ray background (UXT) instrument are described. UXT consists of three mechanically-collimated X-ray gas proportional counters with window/filter combinations which allow measurements in three energy bands, Be (80-110 eV), B (90-187 eV), and O (e84-532 eV). The Be band measurements provide an important constraint on local absorption of X-rays from the hot component of the local interstellar medium. Work has also continued on the development of a calorimetric detector for high-resolution spectroscopy in the 0.1 keV - 8keV energy range.

Analysis of stationary fuel cell dynamic ramping capabilities and ultra capacitor energy storage using high resolution demand data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meacham, James R.; Jabbari, Faryar; Brouwer, Jacob; Mauzey, Josh L.; Samuelsen, G. Scott

Current high temperature fuel cell (HTFC) systems used for stationary power applications (in the 200-300 kW size range) have very limited dynamic load following capability or are simply base load devices. Considering the economics of existing electric utility rate structures, there is little incentive to increase HTFC ramping capability beyond 1 kWs -1 (0.4% s -1). However, in order to ease concerns about grid instabilities from utility companies and increase market adoption, HTFC systems will have to increase their ramping abilities, and will likely have to incorporate electrical energy storage (EES). Because batteries have low power densities and limited lifetimes in highly cyclic applications, ultra capacitors may be the EES medium of choice. The current analyses show that, because ultra capacitors have a very low energy storage density, their integration with HTFC systems may not be feasible unless the fuel cell has a ramp rate approaching 10 kWs -1 (4% s -1) when using a worst-case design analysis. This requirement for fast dynamic load response characteristics can be reduced to 1 kWs -1 by utilizing high resolution demand data to properly size ultra capacitor systems and through demand management techniques that reduce load volatility.

Study of cosmic ray events with high muon multiplicity using the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Collaboration: ALICE Collaboration

2016-01-01

ALICE is one of four large experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, specially designed to study particle production in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Located 52 meters underground with 28 meters of overburden rock, it has also been used to detect muons produced by cosmic ray interactions in the upper atmosphere. In this paper, we present the multiplicity distribution of these atmospheric muons and its comparison with Monte Carlo simulations. This analysis exploits the large size and excellent tracking capability of the ALICE Time Projection Chamber. A special emphasis is given to the study of high multiplicity events containingmore » more than 100 reconstructed muons and corresponding to a muon areal density ρ{sub μ} > 5.9 m{sup −2}. Similar events have been studied in previous underground experiments such as ALEPH and DELPHI at LEP. While these experiments were able to reproduce the measured muon multiplicity distribution with Monte Carlo simulations at low and intermediate multiplicities, their simulations failed to describe the frequency of the highest multiplicity events. In this work we show that the high multiplicity events observed in ALICE stem from primary cosmic rays with energies above 10{sup 16} eV and that the frequency of these events can be successfully described by assuming a heavy mass composition of primary cosmic rays in this energy range. The development of the resulting air showers was simulated using the latest version of QGSJET to model hadronic interactions. This observation places significant constraints on alternative, more exotic, production mechanisms for these events.« less

A simulation of high energy cosmic ray propagation 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Honda, M.; Kamata, K.; Kifune, T.; Matsubara, Y.; Mori, M.; Nishijima, K.

1985-01-01

The cosmic ray propagation in the Galactic arm is simulated. The Galactic magnetic fields are known to go along with so called Galactic arms as a main structure with turbulences of the scale about 30pc. The distribution of cosmic ray in Galactic arm is studied. The escape time and the possible anisotropies caused by the arm structure are discussed.

High energy particles and quanta in astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcdonald, F. B. (Editor); Fichtel, C. E.

1974-01-01

The various subdisciplines of high-energy astrophysics are surveyed in a series of articles which attempt to give an overall view of the subject as a whole by emphasizing the basic physics common to all fields in which high-energy particles and quanta play a role. Successive chapters cover cosmic ray experimental observations, the abundances of nuclei in the cosmic radiation, cosmic electrons, solar modulation, solar particles (observation, relationship to the sun acceleration, interplanetary medium), radio astronomy, galactic X-ray sources, the cosmic X-ray background, and gamma ray astronomy. Individual items are announced in this issue.

Study of ultra-high energy emission from Cygnus X-3 and Hercules X-1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dingus, B.L.

1988-11-01

The CYGNUS experiment, consisting of an extensive air shower detector and a muon detector, was built at Los Alamos, New Mexico (latitude 36 N, longitude 107W, altitude 2310 meters), to search for point sources of ultra-high energy (>10/sup 14/ eV) particles. These particles must be long-lived neutral particles because of the long source distances and the presence of the intragalactic magnetic field. Gamma rays are the most likely candidates because of the short neutron lifetime and the small neutrino cross section. Therefore, the muon content of the source showers is examined to determine if these events are muon poor asmore » is expected for gamma-initiated showers. The data set from April 1986 to July 1987 is searched for continual emission from Cygnus X-3 and Hercules X-1, and an upper bound to flux is determined for both sources. The flux limit for Cygnus X-3, 2.0 /times/ 10/sup /minus/13/ cm/sup /minus/2/ sec/sup /minus/1/ above 50 TeV, is lower than previous ultra-high energy observations. Hercules X-1 has never been observed continually at ultra-high energies. Cygnus X-3 is observed for a shorter interval of time, beginning on 17 April 1986 and ending 1 June 1986. There is one chance in 300 that the observation is due to a random fluctuation. The signal is correlated with the 4.8 hour orbital period, and the muon content of the showers in the signal is inconsistent with the conventional prediction of gamma- initiated showers. An episodic signal is also reported for Hercules X-1, and it consists of two bursts of less than one hour duration on 24 July 1986. The probability is one chance in 12,000 that this observation is not associated with Hercules X-1. The signal is pulsed at frequency near, but significantly different from, the x-ray pulsar frequency. The muon content of the signal showers is also anomalous, assuming the showers are initiated by gamma rays. 62 refs., 60 figs.« less

Plasmoid Impacts on Neutron Stars and Highest Energy Cosmic Rays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Litwin, C.; Rosner, R.

Particle acceleration by electrostatic polarization fields that arise in plasmas streaming across magnetic fields is discussed as a possible acceleration mechanism of highest energy ({approx}>10{sup 20} eV) cosmic rays. Specifically, plasmoids arising in planetoid impacts onto neutron star magnetospheres are considered. We find that such impacts at plausible rates may account for the observed flux and energy spectrum of the highest energy cosmic rays.

The superTIGER instrument: Measurement of elemental abundances of ultra-heavy galactic cosmic rays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Binns, W. R.; Bose, R. G.; Braun, D. L.

2014-06-10

The SuperTIGER (Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder) instrument was developed to measure the abundances of galactic cosmic-ray elements from {sub 10}Ne to {sub 40}Zr with individual element resolution and the high statistics needed to test models of cosmic-ray origins. SuperTIGER also makes exploratory measurements of the abundances of elements with 40 < Z ≤ 60 and measures the energy spectra of the more abundant elements for Z ≤ 30 from about 0.8 to 10 GeV/nucleon. This instrument is an enlarged and higher resolution version of the earlier TIGER instrument. It was designed to provide the largest geometric acceptance possible andmore » to reach as high an altitude as possible, flying on a standard long-duration 1.11 million m{sup 3} balloon. SuperTIGER was launched from Williams Field, McMurdo Station, Antarctica, on 2012 December 8, and made about 2.7 revolutions around the South Pole in 55 days of flight, returning data on over 50 × 10{sup 6} cosmic-ray nuclei with Z ≥ 10, including ∼1300 with Z > 29 and ∼60 with Z > 49. Here, we describe the instrument, the methods of charge identification employed, the SuperTIGER balloon flight, and the instrument performance.« less

THE SuperTIGER Instrument: Measurement of Elemental Abundances of Ultra-Heavy Galactic Cosmic Rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Binns, W. R.; Bose, R. G.; Braun, D. L.; Brandt, T. J.; Daniels, W. M.; DowKonnt, P. F.; Fitzsimmons, S. P.; Hahne, D. J.; Hams, T.; Israel, M. H.;

Magnetic Microcalorimeter (MMC) Gamma Detectors with Ultra-High Energy Resolution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Friedrich, Stephen

The goal of this LCP is to develop ultra-high resolution gamma detectors based on magnetic microcalorimeters (MMCs) for accurate non-destructive analysis (NDA) of nuclear materials. For highest energy resolution, we will introduce erbium-doped silver (Ag:Er) as a novel sensor material, and implement several geometry and design changes to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. The detector sensitivity will be increased by developing arrays of 32 Ag:Er pixels read out by 16 SQUID preamplifiers, and by developing a cryogenic Compton veto to reduce the spectral background. Since best MMC performance requires detector operation at ~10 mK, we will purchase a dilution refrigerator withmore » a base temperature <10 mK and adapt it for MMC operation. The detector performance will be tested with radioactive sources of interest to the safeguards community.« less

Ultra-high spatial resolution multi-energy CT using photon counting detector technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leng, S.; Gutjahr, R.; Ferrero, A.; Kappler, S.; Henning, A.; Halaweish, A.; Zhou, W.; Montoya, J.; McCollough, C.

2017-03-01

Two ultra-high-resolution (UHR) imaging modes, each with two energy thresholds, were implemented on a research, whole-body photon-counting-detector (PCD) CT scanner, referred to as sharp and UHR, respectively. The UHR mode has a pixel size of 0.25 mm at iso-center for both energy thresholds, with a collimation of 32 × 0.25 mm. The sharp mode has a 0.25 mm pixel for the low-energy threshold and 0.5 mm for the high-energy threshold, with a collimation of 48 × 0.25 mm. Kidney stones with mixed mineral composition and lung nodules with different shapes were scanned using both modes, and with the standard imaging mode, referred to as macro mode (0.5 mm pixel and 32 × 0.5 mm collimation). Evaluation and comparison of the three modes focused on the ability to accurately delineate anatomic structures using the high-spatial resolution capability and the ability to quantify stone composition using the multi-energy capability. The low-energy threshold images of the sharp and UHR modes showed better shape and texture information due to the achieved higher spatial resolution, although noise was also higher. No noticeable benefit was shown in multi-energy analysis using UHR compared to standard resolution (macro mode) when standard doses were used. This was due to excessive noise in the higher resolution images. However, UHR scans at higher dose showed improvement in multi-energy analysis over macro mode with regular dose. To fully take advantage of the higher spatial resolution in multi-energy analysis, either increased radiation dose, or application of noise reduction techniques, is needed.

Tungsten fragmentation in nuclear reactions induced by high-energy cosmic-ray protons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chechenin, N. G., E-mail: chechenin@sinp.msu.ru; Chuvilskaya, T. V.; Shirokova, A. A.

2015-01-15

Tungsten fragmentation arising in nuclear reactions induced by cosmic-ray protons in space-vehicle electronics is considered. In modern technologies of integrated circuits featuring a three-dimensional layered architecture, tungsten is frequently used as a material for interlayer conducting connections. Within the preequilibrium model, tungsten-fragmentation features, including the cross sections for the elastic and inelastic scattering of protons of energy between 30 and 240 MeV; the yields of isotopes and isobars; their energy, charge, and mass distributions; and recoil energy spectra, are calculated on the basis of the TALYS and EMPIRE-II-19 codes. It is shown that tungsten fragmentation affects substantially forecasts of failuresmore » of space-vehicle electronics.« less

Radiative Energy Loss by Galactic Cosmic Rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ahern, Sean C.; Norbury, John W.; Tripathi, R. K.

2002-01-01

Interactions between galactic cosmic rays and matter are a primary focus of the NASA radiation problem. The electromagnetic forces involved are for the most part well documented. Building on previous research, this study investigated the relative importance of the weak forces that occur when a cosmic ray impinges on different types of materials. For the familiar electromagnetic case, it is known that energy lost in the form of radiation is more significant than that lost via contact collisions the rate at which the energy is lost is also well understood. Similar results were derived for the weak force case. It was found that radiation is also the dominant mode of energy loss in weak force interactions and that weak force effects are indeed relatively weak compared to electromagnetic effects.

Constraints on the extremely-high energy cosmic neutrino flux with the IceCube 2008-2009 data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R.; Abdou, Y.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Adams, J.; Aguilar, J. A.; Ahlers, M.; Andeen, K.; Auffenberg, J.; Bai, X.; Baker, M.; Barwick, S. W.; Bay, R.; Bazo Alba, J. L.; Beattie, K.; Beatty, J. J.; Bechet, S.; Becker, J. K.; Becker, K.-H.; Benabderrahmane, M. L.; Benzvi, S.; Berdermann, J.; Berghaus, P.; Berley, D.; Bernardini, E.; Bertrand, D.; Besson, D. Z.; Bindig, D.; Bissok, M.; Blaufuss, E.; Blumenthal, J.; Boersma, D. J.; Bohm, C.; Bose, D.; Böser, S.; Botner, O.; Braun, J.; Brown, A. M.; Buitink, S.; Carson, M.; Chirkin, D.; Christy, B.; Clem, J.; Clevermann, F.; Cohen, S.; Colnard, C.; Cowen, D. F.; D'Agostino, M. V.; Danninger, M.; Daughhetee, J.; Davis, J. C.; de Clercq, C.; Demirörs, L.; Denger, T.; Depaepe, O.; Descamps, F.; Desiati, P.; de Vries-Uiterweerd, G.; Deyoung, T.; Díaz-Vélez, J. C.; Dierckxsens, M.; Dreyer, J.; Dumm, J. P.; Ehrlich, R.; Eisch, J.; Ellsworth, R. W.; Engdegård, O.; Euler, S.; Evenson, P. A.; Fadiran, O.; Fazely, A. R.; Fedynitch, A.; Feusels, T.; Filimonov, K.; Finley, C.; Fischer-Wasels, T.; Foerster, M. M.; Fox, B. D.; Franckowiak, A.; Franke, R.; Gaisser, T. K.; Gallagher, J.; Geisler, M.; Gerhardt, L.; Gladstone, L.; Glüsenkamp, T.; Goldschmidt, A.; Goodman, J. A.; Gora, D.; Grant, D.; Griesel, T.; Groß, A.; Grullon, S.; Gurtner, M.; Ha, C.; Hallgren, A.; Halzen, F.; Han, K.; Hanson, K.; Heinen, D.; Helbing, K.; Herquet, P.; Hickford, S.; Hill, G. C.; Hoffman, K. D.; Homeier, A.; Hoshina, K.; Hubert, D.; Huelsnitz, W.; Hülß, J.-P.; Hulth, P. O.; Hultqvist, K.; Hussain, S.; Ishihara, A.; Jacobsen, J.; Japaridze, G. S.; Johansson, H.; Joseph, J. M.; Kampert, K.-H.; Kappes, A.; Karg, T.; Karle, A.; Kelley, J. L.; Kenny, P.; Kiryluk, J.; Kislat, F.; Klein, S. R.; Köhne, J.-H.; Kohnen, G.; Kolanoski, H.; Köpke, L.; Kopper, S.; Koskinen, D. J.; Kowalski, M.; Kowarik, T.; Krasberg, M.; Krings, T.; Kroll, G.; Kuwabara, T.; Labare, M.; Lafebre, S.; Laihem, K.; Landsman, H.; Larson, M. J.; Lauer, R.; Lünemann, J.; Madsen, J.; Majumdar, P.; Marotta, A.; Maruyama, R.; Mase, K.; Matis, H. S.; Meagher, K.; Merck, M.; Mészáros, P.; Meures, T.; Middell, E.; Milke, N.; Miller, J.; Montaruli, T.; Morse, R.; Movit, S. M.; Nahnhauer, R.; Nam, J. W.; Naumann, U.; Nießen, P.; Nygren, D. R.; Odrowski, S.; Olivas, A.; Olivo, M.; O'Murchadha, A.; Ono, M.; Panknin, S.; Paul, L.; Pérez de Los Heros, C.; Petrovic, J.; Piegsa, A.; Pieloth, D.; Porrata, R.; Posselt, J.; Price, P. B.; Przybylski, G. T.; Rawlins, K.; Redl, P.; Resconi, E.; Rhode, W.; Ribordy, M.; Rizzo, A.; Rodrigues, J. P.; Roth, P.; Rothmaier, F.; Rott, C.; Ruhe, T.; Rutledge, D.; Ruzybayev, B.; Ryckbosch, D.; Sander, H.-G.; Santander, M.; Sarkar, S.; Schatto, K.; Schmidt, T.; Schönwald, A.; Schukraft, A.; Schultes, A.; Schulz, O.; Schunck, M.; Seckel, D.; Semburg, B.; Seo, S. H.; Sestayo, Y.; Seunarine, S.; Silvestri, A.; Slipak, A.; Spiczak, G. M.; Spiering, C.; Stamatikos, M.; Stanev, T.; Stephens, G.; Stezelberger, T.; Stokstad, R. G.; Stössl, A.; Stoyanov, S.; Strahler, E. A.; Straszheim, T.; Stür, M.; Sullivan, G. W.; Swillens, Q.; Taavola, H.; Taboada, I.; Tamburro, A.; Tepe, A.; Ter-Antonyan, S.; Tilav, S.; Toale, P. A.; Toscano, S.; Tosi, D.; Turčan, D.; van Eijndhoven, N.; Vandenbroucke, J.; van Overloop, A.; van Santen, J.; Vehring, M.; Voge, M.; Walck, C.; Waldenmaier, T.; Wallraff, M.; Walter, M.; Weaver, Ch.; Wendt, C.; Westerhoff, S.; Whitehorn, N.; Wiebe, K.; Wiebusch, C. H.; Williams, D. R.; Wischnewski, R.; Wissing, H.; Wolf, M.; Wood, T. R.; Woschnagg, K.; Xu, C.; Xu, X. W.; Yodh, G.; Yoshida, S.; Zarzhitsky, P.

2011-05-01

We report on a search for extremely-high energy neutrinos with energies greater than 106GeV using the data taken with the IceCube detector at the South Pole. The data was collected between April 2008 and May 2009 with the half-completed IceCube array. The absence of signal candidate events in the sample of 333.5 days of live time significantly improves model-independent limits from previous searches and allows to place a limit on the diffuse flux of cosmic neutrinos with an E-2 spectrum in the energy range 2.0×106-6.3×109GeV to a level of E2ϕ≤3.6×10-8GeVcm-2sec-1sr-1.

Ultra-compact Marx-type high-voltage generator

DOEpatents

Goerz, David A.; Wilson, Michael J.

2000-01-01

An ultra-compact Marx-type high-voltage generator includes individual high-performance components that are closely coupled and integrated into an extremely compact assembly. In one embodiment, a repetitively-switched, ultra-compact Marx generator includes low-profile, annular-shaped, high-voltage, ceramic capacitors with contoured edges and coplanar extended electrodes used for primary energy storage; low-profile, low-inductance, high-voltage, pressurized gas switches with compact gas envelopes suitably designed to be integrated with the annular capacitors; feed-forward, high-voltage, ceramic capacitors attached across successive switch-capacitor-switch stages to couple the necessary energy forward to sufficiently overvoltage the spark gap of the next in-line switch; optimally shaped electrodes and insulator surfaces to reduce electric field stresses in the weakest regions where dissimilar materials meet, and to spread the fields more evenly throughout the dielectric materials, allowing them to operate closer to their intrinsic breakdown levels; and uses manufacturing and assembly methods to integrate the capacitors and switches into stages that can be arranged into a low-profile Marx generator.

Advanced technique for ultra-thin residue inspection with sub-10nm thickness using high-energy back-scattered electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Jin-Hee

2018-03-01

Recently the aspect ratio of capacitor and via hole of memory semiconductor device has been dramatically increasing in order to store more information in a limited area. A small amount of remained residues after etch process on the bottom of the high aspect ratio structure can make a critical failure in device operation. Back-scattered electrons (BSE) are mainly used for inspecting the defect located at the bottom of the high aspect ratio structure or analyzing the overlay of the multi-layer structure because these electrons have a high linearity with the direction of emission and a high kinetic energy above 50eV. However, there is a limitation on that it cannot detect ultra-thin residue material having a thickness of several nanometers because the surface sensitivity is extremely low. We studied the characteristics of BSE spectra using Monte Carlo simulations for several cases which the high aspect ratio structures have extreme microscopic residues. Based on the assumption that most of the electrons emitted without energy loss are localized on the surface, we selected the detection energy window which has a range of 20eV below the maximum energy of the BSE. This window section is named as the high-energy BSE region. As a result of comparing the detection sensitivity of the conventional and the high-energy BSE detection mode, we found that the detection sensitivity for the residuals which have 2nm thickness is improved by more than 10 times in the high-energy BSE mode. This BSE technology is a new inspection method that can greatly be improved the inspection sensitivity for the ultra-thin residual material presented in the high aspect ratio structure, and its application will be expanded.

R -process Element Cosmic Rays from Neutron Star Mergers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Komiya, Yutaka; Shigeyama, Toshikazu

Neutron star mergers (NSMs) are one of the most plausible sources of r -process elements in the universe. Therefore, NSMs can also be a major source of ultra-heavy elements in cosmic rays. In this paper, we first estimate the contribution of r -process elements synthesized in NSMs to the ultra-heavy element cosmic rays (UHCRs) by calculating transport equations that take into account energy loss processes and spallations. We show that the flux of UHCRs accelerated by the NSMs themselves fluctuates by many orders of magnitude on a timescale of several million years and can overwhelm UHCRs accelerated by supernova remnantsmore » (SNRs) after an NSM takes place within a few kiloparsec from the solar system. Experiments with very long exposure times using meteorites as UHCR detectors can detect this fluctuation. As a consequence, we show that if NSMs are the primary source of UHCRs, future experiments using meteorites may be able to reveal the event history of NSMs in the solar vicinity. We also describe a possible difference in the abundance pattern and energy spectrum of UHCRs between NSM and SNR accelerations.« less

Extreme Energy Particle Astrophysics with ANITA-V

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wissel, Stephanie

This proposal is in collaboration with Peter Gorham at the University of Hawaii, who is the PI of the lead proposal. Co-I Wissel and her group at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) will be responsible for calibration equipment upgrades, calibration equipment, and deployment of the calibration system. The Cal Poly group is planning to provide calibration hardware and software products in support of the analysis of ANITAV data in search of ultra high-energy (UHE) neutrinos and cosmic rays. Wissel (now at Cal Poly, a new collaborating institution for ANITA-5) brings significant experience in the detection of high-energy and ultra-high energy particles to the collaboration, leveraging her thirteen years of experience in particle astrophysics and previous work on ANITA-III and ANITA-IV.

Ultrahigh-energy Cosmic Rays from Fanaroff Riley class II radio galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rachen, Joerg; Biermann, Peter L.

1992-08-01

The hot spots of very powerful radio galaxies (Fanaroff Riley class II) are argued to be the sources of the ultrahigh energy component in Cosmic Rays. We present calculations of Cosmic Ray transport in an evolving universe, taking the losses against the microwave background properly into account. As input we use the models for the cosmological radio source evolution derived by radioastronomers (mainly Peacock 1985). The model we adopt for the acceleration in the radio hot spots has been introduced by Biermann and Strittmatter (1987), and Meisenheimer et al. (1989) and is based on first order Fermi theory of particle acceleration at shocks (see, e.g., Drury 1983). As an unknown the actual proportion of energy density in protons enters, which together with structural uncertainties in the hot spots should introduce no more than one order of magnitude in uncertainty: We easily reproduce the observed spectra of high energy cosmic rays. It follows that scattering of charged energetic particles in intergalactic space must be sufficiently small in order to obtain contributions from sources as far away as even the nearest Fanaroff Riley class II radio galaxies. This implies a strong constraint on the turbulent magnetic field in intergalactic space.

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE PAGES

Aab, Alexander

2016-06-14

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy density is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two dimensional functionmore » that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge excess emission components. We found that the spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy – corrected for geometrical effects – is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. Finally we find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.« less

A cosmic microwave background feature consistent with a cosmic texture.

PubMed

Cruz, M; Turok, N; Vielva, P; Martínez-González, E; Hobson, M

2007-12-07

The Cosmic Microwave Background provides our most ancient image of the universe and our best tool for studying its early evolution. Theories of high-energy physics predict the formation of various types of topological defects in the very early universe, including cosmic texture, which would generate hot and cold spots in the Cosmic Microwave Background. We show through a Bayesian statistical analysis that the most prominent 5 degrees -radius cold spot observed in all-sky images, which is otherwise hard to explain, is compatible with having being caused by a texture. From this model, we constrain the fundamental symmetry-breaking energy scale to be (0) approximately 8.7 x 10(15) gigaelectron volts. If confirmed, this detection of a cosmic defect will probe physics at energies exceeding any conceivable terrestrial experiment.

A large area cosmic muon detector located at Ohya stone mine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nii, N.; Mizutani, K.; Aoki, T.; Kitamura, T.; Mitsui, K.; Matsuno, S.; Muraki, Y.; Ohashi, Y.; Okada, A.; Kamiya, Y.

1985-01-01

The chemical composition of the primary cosmic rays between 10 to the 15th power eV and 10 to the 18th power eV were determined by a Large Area Cosmic Muon Detector located at Ohya stone mine. The experimental aims of Ohya project are; (1) search for the ultra high-energy gamma-rays; (2) search for the GUT monopole created by Big Bang; and (3) search for the muon bundle. A large number of muon chambers were installed at the shallow underground near Nikko (approx. 100 Km north of Tokyo, situated at Ohya-town, Utsunomiya-city). At the surface of the mine, very fast 100 channel scintillation counters were equipped in order to measure the direction of air showers. These air shower arrays were operated at the same time, together with the underground muon chamber.

High-energy and ultra-wideband tunable terahertz source with DAST crystal via difference frequency generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yixin; Wang, Yuye; Xu, Degang; Nie, Meitong; Yan, Chao; Tang, Longhuang; Shi, Jia; Feng, Jiachen; Yan, Dexian; Liu, Hongxiang; Teng, Bing; Feng, Hua; Yao, Jianquan

2018-01-01

We have demonstrated a high-energy and broadly tunable monochromatic terahertz (THz) source based on difference frequency generation (DFG) in DAST crystal. A high-energy dual-wavelength optical parametric oscillator with two KTP crystals was constructed as a light source for DFG, where the effect of blue light was first observed accompanying with tunable dual-wavelength pump light due to different nonlinear processes. The THz frequency was tuned randomly in the range of 0.3-19.6 THz. The highest energy of 870 nJ/pulse was obtained at 18.9 THz under the intense pump intensity of 247 MW/cm2. The THz energy dips above 3 THz have been analyzed and mainly attributed to the resonance absorption induced by lattice vibration in DAST crystal. The dependence of THz output on the input energy was studied experimentally, and THz output saturation was observed. Furthermore, tests of transmission spectroscopy of four typical samples were demonstrated with this ultra-wideband THz source.

Graphene and carbon nanotube composite electrodes for supercapacitors with ultra-high energy density.

PubMed

Cheng, Qian; Tang, Jie; Ma, Jun; Zhang, Han; Shinya, Norio; Qin, Lu-Chang

2011-10-21

We describe a graphene and single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) composite film prepared by a blending process for use as electrodes in high energy density supercapacitors. Specific capacitances of 290.6 F g(-1) and 201.0 F g(-1) have been obtained for a single electrode in aqueous and organic electrolytes, respectively, using a more practical two-electrode testing system. In the organic electrolyte the energy density reached 62.8 Wh kg(-1) and the power density reached 58.5 kW kg(-1). The addition of single-walled carbon nanotubes raised the energy density by 23% and power density by 31% more than the graphene electrodes. The graphene/CNT electrodes exhibited an ultra-high energy density of 155.6 Wh kg(-1) in ionic liquid at room temperature. In addition, the specific capacitance increased by 29% after 1000 cycles in ionic liquid, indicating their excellent cyclicity. The SWCNTs acted as a conductive additive, spacer, and binder in the graphene/CNT supercapacitors. This work suggests that our graphene/CNT supercapacitors can be comparable to NiMH batteries in performance and are promising for applications in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2011

On Measuring Cosmic Ray Energy Spectra with the Rapidity Distributions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bashindzhagyan, G.; Adams, J.; Chilingarian, A.; Drury, L.; Egorov, N.; Golubkov, S.; Korotkova, N.; Panasyuk, M.; Podorozhnyi, D.; Procqureur, J.

2000-01-01

An important goal of cosmic ray research is to measure the elemental energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays up to 10(exp 16) eV. This goal cannot be achieved with an ionization calorimeter because the required instrument is too massive for space flight. An alternate method will be presented. This method is based on measuring the primary particle energy by determining the angular distribution of secondaries produced in a target layer. The proposed technique can be used over a wide range of energies (10 (exp 11) -10 (exp 16) eV) and gives an energy resolution of 60% or better. Based on this technique, a conceptual design for a new instrument (KLEM) will be presented. Due to its light weight, this instrument can have a large aperture enabling the direct measurement of cosmic rays to 1016 eV.

Disordering of ultra thin WO3 films by high-energy ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsunami, N.; Kato, M.; Sataka, M.; Okayasu, S.

2017-10-01

We have studied disordering or atomic structure modification of ultra thin WO3 films under impact of high-energy ions with non-equilibrium and equilibrium charge incidence, by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). WO3 films were prepared by thermal oxidation of W deposited on MgO substrate. Film thickness obtained by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) is as low as 2 nm. Smoothness of film surface was observed by atomic force microscopy. It is found that the ratio of XRD intensity degradation per 90 MeV Ni+10 ion (the incident charge is lower than the equilibrium charge) to that per 90 MeV Ni ion with the equilibrium charge depends on the film thickness. Also, film thickness dependence is observed for 100 MeV Xe+14. By comparison of the experimental result with a simple model calculation based on the assumption that the mean charge of ions along the depth follows a saturation curve with power-law approximation to the charge dependent electronic stopping power, the characteristic length attaining the equilibrium charge is obtained to be ∼7 nm for 90 MeV Ni+10 ion incidence or the electron loss cross section of ∼1016 cm2, demonstrating that disordering of ultra WO3 films has been observed and a fundamental quantity can be derived through material modification.

High to ultra-high power electrical energy storage.

PubMed

Sherrill, Stefanie A; Banerjee, Parag; Rubloff, Gary W; Lee, Sang Bok

2011-12-14

High power electrical energy storage systems are becoming critical devices for advanced energy storage technology. This is true in part due to their high rate capabilities and moderate energy densities which allow them to capture power efficiently from evanescent, renewable energy sources. High power systems include both electrochemical capacitors and electrostatic capacitors. These devices have fast charging and discharging rates, supplying energy within seconds or less. Recent research has focused on increasing power and energy density of the devices using advanced materials and novel architectural design. An increase in understanding of structure-property relationships in nanomaterials and interfaces and the ability to control nanostructures precisely has led to an immense improvement in the performance characteristics of these devices. In this review, we discuss the recent advances for both electrochemical and electrostatic capacitors as high power electrical energy storage systems, and propose directions and challenges for the future. We asses the opportunities in nanostructure-based high power electrical energy storage devices and include electrochemical and electrostatic capacitors for their potential to open the door to a new regime of power energy.

Simulation of the Acoustic Pulse Expected from the Interaction of Ultra-High Energy Neutrinos and Seawater

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

the diameter. This equation is given by Sulak et. al. [1979] as: Eq 3 2 2 sin 8 o p EK cP C r d x ≅ x ’ Where sinLx π θ λ ⎛ ⎞= ⎜ ⎟ ⎝ ⎠ , L is...and others, "Sensitivity of an Underwater Acoustic Array to Ultra-High Energy Neutrinos", Astroparticle Physics, n.17, 2002. Sulak , L., Armstrong

The cosmic matrix in the 50th anniversary of relativistic astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruffini, R.; Aimuratov, Y.; Becerra, L.; Bianco, C. L.; Karlica, M.; Kovacevic, M.; Melon Fuksman, J. D.; Moradi, R.; Muccino, M.; Penacchioni, A. V.; Pisani, G. B.; Primorac, D.; Rueda, J. A.; Shakeri, S.; Vereshchagin, G. V.; Wang, Y.; Xue, S.-S.

Our concept of induced gravitational collapse (IGC paradigm) starting from a supernova occurring with a companion neutron star, has unlocked the understanding of seven different families of gamma ray bursts (GRBs), indicating a path for the formation of black holes in the universe. An authentic laboratory of relativistic astrophysics has been unveiled in which new paradigms have been introduced in order to advance knowledge of the most energetic, distant and complex systems in our universe. A novel cosmic matrix paradigm has been introduced at a relativistic cosmic level, which parallels the concept of an S-matrix introduced by Feynmann, Wheeler and Heisenberg in the quantum world of microphysics. Here the “in” states are represented by a neutron star and a supernova, while the “out” states, generated within less than a second, are a new neutron star and a black hole. This novel field of research needs very powerful technological observations in all wavelengths ranging from radio through optical, X-ray and gamma ray radiation all the way up to ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.

Observed antiprotons and energy dependent confinement of cosmic rays: A conflict?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephens, S. A.

1985-01-01

In the frame work of energy dependent confinement for cosmic rays, the energy spectrum inside the source is flatter than that observed. Antiproton observation suggests large amount of matter is being traversed by cosmic rays in some sources. As a result, secondary particles are produced in abundance. Their spectra was calculated and it is shown that the energy dependent confinement model is in conflict with some observations.

Observation of the ankle and evidence for a high-energy break in the cosmic ray spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R.; Abuzayyad, T.; Amman, J.; Archbold, G.; Atkins, R.; Bellido, J.; Belov, K.; Belz, J.; Benzvi, S.; Bergman, D.

2005-07-01

We have measured the cosmic ray spectrum at energies above $10^{17}$ eV using the two air fluorescence detectors of the High Resolution Fly's Eye experiment operating in monocular mode. We describe the detector, PMT and atmospheric calibrations, and the analysis techniques for the two detectors. We fit the spectrum to models describing galactic and extragalactic sources. Our measured spectrum gives an observation of a feature known as the ``ankle'' near $3\\times 10^{18}$ eV, and strong evidence for a suppression near $6\\times 10^{19}$ eV.

Observations of potential ultra high energy gamma-ray sources above 10(15) eV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lambert, A.; Lloyd-Evans, J.; Perrett, J. C.; Watson, A. A.; West, A. A.

1985-01-01

The Haverah Park 50 m water-Cerenkov array has been used to examine a number of periodic sources for ultra high energy gamma-ray emission above 10 to the 15th power eV. The data, recorded between 1 Jan. 1979 and 31 Dec. 1984, feature a modest angular resolution of approx 3 deg with millisecond arrival time resolution post 1982. The sources investigated include the Crab pulsar, Her X-1, Au0115 + 63 and Geminga. All objects have been detected by workers in the TeV region, with varying degrees of confidence.

Measurement of the energy of horizontal cosmic ray muons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gettert, Michael

1993-03-01

An experiment in which the energy of cosmic ray muons is determined by measuring the electron positron pairs that they radiate off when passing through matter is described. The detector is a stack of lead converters interspersed with ionization chambers for particle detection. The chambers use as active medium the liquid tetra methyl silane (TMS). The radiated quanta initiate electromagnetic cascades in the lead and are recognized due to the characteristic shower development. The energy spectrum of horizontal muons is presented and from this the primary cosmic ray spectrum is deduced.

Spectrum measurement with the Telescope Array Low Energy Extension (TALE) fluorescence detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zundel, Zachary James

The Telescope Array (TA) experiment is the largest Ultra High Energy cosmic ray observatory in the northern hemisphere and is designed to be sensitive to cosmic ray air showers above 1018eV. Despite the substantial measurements made by TA and AUGER (the largest cosmic ray observatory in the southern hemisphere), there remains uncertainty about whether the highest energy cosmic rays are galactic or extragalactic in origin. Locating features in the cosmic ray energy spectrum below 1018eV that indicate a transition from galactic to extragalactic sources would clarify the interpretation of measurements made at the highest energies. The Telescope Array Low Energy Extension (TALE) is designed to extend the energy threshold of the TA observatory down to 1016.5eV in order to make such measurements. This dissertation details the construction, calibration, and operation of the TALE flu- orescence detector. A measurement of the flux of cosmic rays in the energy range of 1016.5 -- 1018.5eV is made using the monocular data set taken between September 2013 and January 2014. The TALE fluorescence detector observes evidence for a softening of the cosmic spectrum at 1017.25+/-0.5eV. The evidence of a change in the spectrum motivates continued study of 1016.5 -- 1018.5eV cosmic rays.

Characteristics of cesium iodide for use as a particle discriminator for high energy cosmic rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crannell, C. J.; Kurz, R. J.; Viehmann, W.

1973-01-01

The possible use of CsI to discriminate between high energy cosmic ray electrons and interacting protons has been investigated. The pulse-shape properties as a function of ionization density, temperature, and spectral response are presented for thallium-activated CsI and as a function of ionization density for sodium-activated CsI. The results are based on previously published data and on corroborative measurements from the present work. Experimental results on the response of CsI to electron-induced electromagnetic cascades and to interacting hadrons are described. Bibliographies of publications dealing with the properties of CsI and with pulse-shape discrimination techniques are presented.

High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)

NASA Image and Video Library

1970-01-01

This schematic details the third High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-3. The HEAO-3's mission was to survey and map the celestial sphere for gamma-ray flux and make detailed measurements of cosmic-ray particles. It carried three scientific experiments: a gamma-ray spectrometer, a cosmic-ray isotope experiment, and a heavy cosmic-ray nuclei experiment. The HEAO-3 was originally identified as HEAO-C but the designation was changed once the spacecraft achieved orbit.

First Mass-resolved Measurement of High-Energy Cosmic-Ray Antiprotons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergström, D.; Boezio, M.; Carlson, P.; Francke, T.; Grinstein, S.; Khalchukov, F.; Suffert, M.; Hof, M.; Kremer, J.; Menn, W.; Simon, M.; Stephens, S. A.; Ambriola, M. L.; Bellotti, R.; Cafagna, F.; Ciacio, F.; Circella, M.; De Marzo, C.; Finetti, N.; Papini, P.; Piccardi, S.; Spillantini, P.; Bartalucci, S.; Ricci, M.; Casolino, M.; De Pascale, M. P.; Morselli, A.; Picozza, P.; Sparvoli, R.; Bonvicini, V.; Schiavon, P.; Vacchi, A.; Zampa, N.; Mitchell, J. W.; Ormes, J. F.; Streitmatter, R. E.; Bravar, U.; Stochaj, S. J.

2000-05-01

We report new results for the cosmic-ray antiproton-to-proton ratio from 3 to 50 GeV at the top of the atmosphere. These results represent the first measurements, on an event-by-event basis, of mass-resolved antiprotons above 18 GeV. The results were obtained with the NMSU-WIZARD/CAPRICE98 balloon-borne magnet spectrometer equipped with a gas-RICH (Ring-Imaging Cerenkov) counter and a silicon-tungsten imaging calorimeter. The RICH detector was the first ever flown that is capable of identifying charge-one particles at energies above 5 GeV. The spectrometer was flown on 1998 May 28-29 from Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The measured p/p ratio is in agreement with a pure secondary interstellar production.

Electric Field Strength Of Coherent Radio Emission In Rock Salt Concerning Ultra High-Energy Neutrino Detection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watanabe, Y.; Chiba, M.; Yasuda, O.

2006-07-12

Detection possibility of ultra high-energy (UHE) neutrino (E >1015 eV) in natural huge rock salt formation has been studied. Collision between the UHE neutrino and the rock salt produces electromagnetic (EM) shower. Charge difference (excess electrons) between electrons and positrons in EM shower radiates radio wave coherently (Askar'yan effect). Angular distribution and frequency spectrum of electric field strength of radio wave radiated from 3-dimensional EM shower in rock salt are presented.

Using Stars to Align a Steered Laser System for Cosmic Ray Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krantz, Harry; Wiencke, Lawrence

2016-03-01

Ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are the highest energy cosmic particles with kinetic energy above 1018eV . UHECRs are detected from the air shower of secondary particles and UV florescence that results from interaction with the atmosphere. A high power UV laser beam can be used to simulate the optical signature of a UHCER air shower. The Global Light System (GLS) is a planned network of ground-based light sources including lasers to support the planned space-based Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO). A portable prototype GLS laser station has been constructed at the Colorado School of Mines. Currently the laser system uses reference targets on the ground but stars can be used to better align the beam by providing a complete hemisphere of targets. In this work, a CCD camera is used to capture images of known stars through the steering head optics. The images are analyzed to find the steering head coordinates of the target star. The true coordinates of the star are calculated from the location and time of observation. A universal adjustment for the steering head is determined from the differences between the two pairs of coordinates across multiple stars. This laser system prototype will also be used for preflight tests of the ESUO Super Pressure Balloon mission.

Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene: Optical features at millimeter wavelengths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Alessandro, G.; Paiella, A.; Coppolecchia, A.; Castellano, M. G.; Colantoni, I.; de Bernardis, P.; Lamagna, L.; Masi, S.

2018-05-01

The next generation of experiments for the measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) requires more and more the use of advanced materials, with specific physical and structural properties. An example is the material used for receiver's cryostat windows and internal lenses. The large throughput of current CMB experiments requires a large diameter (of the order of 0.5 m) of these parts, resulting in heavy structural and optical requirements on the material to be used. Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene (PE) features high resistance to traction and good transmissivity in the frequency range of interest. In this paper, we discuss the possibility of using UHMW PE for windows and lenses in experiments working at millimeter wavelengths, by measuring its optical properties: emissivity, transmission and refraction index. Our measurements show that the material is well suited to this purpose.

Abundances and energy spectra of high energy heavy cosmic-ray nuclei

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barthelmy, S.D.

1985-01-01

We have measured the relative abundances of the cosmic rays in the iron group region at energies from a few GeV/amu to approximately 70 GeV/amu. This is done using a balloon-borne instrument consisting of gas ionization chambers, a plastic scintillator, a plastic Cherenkov counter, and a CO/sub 2/ gas Cherenkov counter. The instrument was flown from Palestine, Texas in the fall of 1982 for a total exposure of 62 m/sup 2/-ster-hr at an average atmospheric depth of 4 g/cm/sup 2/. The elemental charge was determined for a combination of the scintillator and plastic Cherenkov detector. Results are reported on themore » /sub 22/Ti//sub 26/Fe, /sub 24/Cr//sub 26/Fe, /sub 20/Ca//sub 26/Fe, and /sub 28/Ni//sub 28/Fe abundance ratios from 2 to 70 GeV/amu. Within this work results on the previously unused method of relativistic rise in gas ionization chambers is detailed as well as results on the return to nonsaturation of plastic scintillators.« less

Cosmic ray energy spectrum measurement with the Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chirkin, Dmitry Aleksandrovich

AMANDA-II is a neutrino telescope composed of 677 optical sensors organized along 19 strings buried deep in the Antarctic ice cap. It is designed to detect Cherenkov light produced by cosmic-ray- and neutrino-induced charged leptons. The majority of events recorded by AMANDA-II are caused by muons which are produced in the atmosphere by high-energy cosmic rays. The leading uncertainties in simulating such events come from the choice of the high-energy model used to describe the first interaction of the cosmic rays, uncertainties in our knowledge and implementation of the ice properties at the depth of the detector, and individual optical module sensitivities. Contributions from uncertainties in the atmospheric conditions and muon cross sections in ice are smaller. The downgoing muon simulation was substantially improved by using the extensive air shower generator CORSIKA to describe the shower development in the atmosphere, and by writing a new software package for the muon propagation (MMC), which reduced computational and algorithm errors below the level of uncertainties of the muon cross sections in ice. A method was developed that resulted in a flux measurement of cosmic rays with energies 1.5--200 TeV per nucleon (95% of primaries causing low-multiplicity events in AMANDA-II have energies in this range) independent of ice model and optical module sensitivities. Predictions of six commonly used high-energy interaction models (QGSJET, VENUS, NEXUS, DPMJET, HDPM, and SIBYLL) are compared to data. The best agreement with direct measurements is achieved with QGSJET, VENUS, and NEXUS. Assuming a power-law energy spectrum (phi0,i · E -gammai) for cosmic-ray components from hydrogen to iron (i = H,..., Fe) and their mass distribution according to Wiebel-South (Wiebel-South & Biermann, 1999), phi 0,i and gammai were corrected to achieve the best description of the data. For the hydrogen component, values of phi0,H = 0.106 +/- 0.007 m-2 sr-1s-1TeV-1 , gammaH = 2

All-Particle Cosmic Ray Energy Spectrum Measured with 26 Icetop Stations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbasi, R.; Abdou, Y.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Ackermann, M.; Adams, J.; Aguilar, J. A.; Ahlers, M.; Altmann, D.; Andeen, K.; Auffenberg, J.;

Simulation of ultra-high energy photon propagation in the geomagnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Homola, P.; Góra, D.; Heck, D.; Klages, H.; PeĶala, J.; Risse, M.; Wilczyńska, B.; Wilczyński, H.

2005-12-01

The identification of primary photons or specifying stringent limits on the photon flux is of major importance for understanding the origin of ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic rays. UHE photons can initiate particle cascades in the geomagnetic field, which leads to significant changes in the subsequent atmospheric shower development. We present a Monte Carlo program allowing detailed studies of conversion and cascading of UHE photons in the geomagnetic field. The program named PRESHOWER can be used both as an independent tool or together with a shower simulation code. With the stand-alone version of the code it is possible to investigate various properties of the particle cascade induced by UHE photons interacting in the Earth's magnetic field before entering the Earth's atmosphere. Combining this program with an extensive air shower simulation code such as CORSIKA offers the possibility of investigating signatures of photon-initiated showers. In particular, features can be studied that help to discern such showers from the ones induced by hadrons. As an illustration, calculations for the conditions of the southern part of the Pierre Auger Observatory are presented. Catalogue identifier:ADWG Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADWG Program obtainable: CPC Program Library, Quen's University of Belfast, N. Ireland Computer on which the program has been thoroughly tested:Intel-Pentium based PC Operating system:Linux, DEC-Unix Programming language used:C, FORTRAN 77 Memory required to execute with typical data:<100 kB No. of bits in a word:32 Has the code been vectorized?:no Number of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.:2567 Number of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.:25 690 Distribution format:tar.gz Other procedures used in PRESHOWER:IGRF [N.A. Tsyganenko, National Space Science Data Center, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA, http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/model/magnetos/data-based/geopack.html], bessik

Ultra-high Temperature Emittance Measurements for Space and Missile Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, Jan; Crandall, David

2009-01-01

Advanced modeling and design efforts for many aerospace components require high temperature emittance data. Applications requiring emittance data include propulsion systems, radiators, aeroshells, heatshields/thermal protection systems, and leading edge surfaces. The objective of this work is to provide emittance data at ultra-high temperatures. MSFC has a new instrument for the measurement of emittance at ultra-high temperatures, the Ultra-High Temperature Emissometer System (Ultra-HITEMS). AZ Technology Inc. developed the instrument, designed to provide emittance measurements over the temperature range 700-3500K. The Ultra-HITEMS instrument measures the emittance of samples, heated by lasers, in vacuum, using a blackbody source and a Fourier Transform Spectrometer. Detectors in a Nicolet 6700 FT-IR spectrometer measure emittance over the spectral range of 0.4-25 microns. Emitted energy from the specimen and output from a Mikron M390S blackbody source at the same temperature with matched collection geometry are measured. Integrating emittance over the spectral range yields the total emittance. The ratio provides a direct measure of total hemispherical emittance. Samples are heated using lasers. Optical pyrometry provides temperature data. Optical filters prevent interference from the heating lasers. Data for Inconel 718 show excellent agreement with results from literature and ASTM 835. Measurements taken from levitated spherical specimens provide total hemispherical emittance data; measurements taken from flat specimens mounted in the chamber provide near-normal emittance data. Data from selected characterization studies will be presented. The Ultra-HITEMS technique could advance space and missile technologies by advancing the knowledge base and the technology readiness level for ultra-high temperature materials.

All-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum measured by the HAWC experiment from 10 to 500 TeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alfaro, R.; Alvarez, C.; Álvarez, J. D.; Arceo, R.; Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C.; Avila Rojas, D.; Ayala Solares, H. A.; Barber, A. S.; Becerril, A.; Belmont-Moreno, E.; BenZvi, S. Y.; Brisbois, C.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Capistrán, T.; Carramiñana, A.; Casanova, S.; Castillo, M.; Cotti, U.; Cotzomi, J.; Coutiño de León, S.; De León, C.; De la Fuente, E.; Diaz Hernandez, R.; Dichiara, S.; Dingus, B. L.; DuVernois, M. A.; Díaz-Vélez, J. C.; Ellsworth, R. W.; Enriquez-Rivera, O.; Fiorino, D. W.; Fleischhack, H.; Fraija, N.; García-González, J. A.; González Muñoz, A.; González, M. M.; Goodman, J. A.; Hampel-Arias, Z.; Harding, J. P.; Hernandez-Almada, A.; Hinton, J.; Hueyotl-Zahuantitla, F.; Hui, C. M.; Hüntemeyer, P.; Iriarte, A.; Jardin-Blicq, A.; Joshi, V.; Kaufmann, S.; Lara, A.; Lauer, R. J.; Lennarz, D.; León Vargas, H.; Linnemann, J. T.; Longinotti, A. L.; Luis Raya, G.; Luna-García, R.; López-Cámara, D.; López-Coto, R.; Malone, K.; Marinelli, S. S.; Martinez, O.; Martinez-Castellanos, I.; Martínez-Castro, J.; Martínez-Huerta, H.; Matthews, J. A.; Miranda-Romagnoli, P.; Moreno, E.; Mostafá, M.; Nellen, L.; Newbold, M.; Nisa, M. U.; Noriega-Papaqui, R.; Pelayo, R.; Pretz, J.; Pérez-Pérez, E. G.; Ren, Z.; Rho, C. D.; Rivière, C.; Rosa-González, D.; Rosenberg, M.; Ruiz-Velasco, E.; Salesa Greus, F.; Sandoval, A.; Schneider, M.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Sinnis, G.; Smith, A. J.; Springer, R. W.; Surajbali, P.; Taboada, I.; Tibolla, O.; Tollefson, K.; Torres, I.; Ukwatta, T. N.; Villaseñor, L.; Weisgarber, T.; Westerhoff, S.; Wood, J.; Yapici, T.; Zepeda, A.; Zhou, H.; HAWC Collaboration

2017-12-01

We report on the measurement of the all-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum with the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory in the energy range 10 to 500 TeV. HAWC is a ground-based air-shower array deployed on the slopes of Volcan Sierra Negra in the state of Puebla, Mexico, and is sensitive to gamma rays and cosmic rays at TeV energies. The data used in this work were taken over 234 days between June 2016 and February 2017. The primary cosmic-ray energy is determined with a maximum likelihood approach using the particle density as a function of distance to the shower core. Introducing quality cuts to isolate events with shower cores landing on the array, the reconstructed energy distribution is unfolded iteratively. The measured all-particle spectrum is consistent with a broken power law with an index of -2.49 ±0.01 prior to a break at (45.7 ±0.1 ) TeV , followed by an index of -2.71 ±0.01 . The spectrum also represents a single measurement that spans the energy range between direct detection and ground-based experiments. As a verification of the detector response, the energy scale and angular resolution are validated by observation of the cosmic ray Moon shadow's dependence on energy.

Primary gamma-rays with E gamma or = to 10(15) eV: Evidence for ultrahigh energy particle acceleration in galactic sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aharonian, F. A.; Mamidjanian, E. A.; Nikolsky, S. I.; Tukish, E. I.

1985-01-01

The recently observed primary ultra high energy gamma-rays (UHEGR) testify to the cosmic ray (CR) acceleration in the Galaxy. The available data may be interpreted as gamma-ray production due to photomeson production in CR sources.

Ultra high vacuum broad band high power microwave window

DOEpatents

Nguyen-Tuong, V.; Dylla, H.F. III

1997-11-04

An improved high vacuum microwave window has been developed that utilizes high density polyethylene coated on two sides with SiOx, SiNx, or a combination of the two. The resultant low dielectric and low loss tangent window creates a low outgassing, low permeation seal through which broad band, high power microwave energy may be passed. No matching device is necessary and the sealing technique is simple. The features of the window are broad band transmission, ultra-high vacuum compatibility with a simple sealing technique, low voltage standing wave ratio, high power transmission and low cost. 5 figs.

Ultra high vacuum broad band high power microwave window

DOEpatents

Nguyen-Tuong, Viet; Dylla, III, Henry Frederick

1997-01-01

An improved high vacuum microwave window has been developed that utilizes high density polyethylene coated on two sides with SiOx, SiNx, or a combination of the two. The resultant low dielectric and low loss tangent window creates a low outgassing, low permeation seal through which broad band, high power microwave energy may be passed. No matching device is necessary and the sealing technique is simple. The features of the window are broad band transmission, ultra-high vacuum compatibility with a simple sealing technique, low voltage standing wave ratio, high power transmission and low cost.

Cosmic ray composition and energy spectrum from 1-30 PeV using the 40-string configuration of IceTop and IceCube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

IceCube Collaboration; Abbasi, R.; Abdou, Y.; Ackermann, M.; Adams, J.; Aguilar, J. A.; Ahlers, M.; Altmann, D.; Andeen, K.; Auffenberg, J.; Bai, X.; Baker, M.; Barwick, S. W.; Baum, V.; Bay, R.; Beattie, K.; Beatty, J. J.; Bechet, S.; Becker, J. K.; Becker, K.-H.; Bell, M.; Benabderrahmane, M. L.; BenZvi, S.; Berdermann, J.; Berghaus, P.; Berley, D.; Bernardini, E.; Bertrand, D.; Besson, D. Z.; Bindig, D.; Bissok, M.; Blaufuss, E.; Blumenthal, J.; Boersma, D. J.; Bohm, C.; Bose, D.; Böser, S.; Botner, O.; Brayeur, L.; Brown, A. M.; Bruijn, R.; Brunner, J.; Buitink, S.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Carson, M.; Casey, J.; Casier, M.; Chirkin, D.; Christy, B.; Clevermann, F.; Cohen, S.; Cowen, D. F.; Silva, A. H. Cruz; Danninger, M.; Daughhetee, J.; Davis, J. C.; De Clercq, C.; Descamps, F.; Desiati, P.; de Vries-Uiterweerd, G.; DeYoung, T.; Díaz-Vélez, J. C.; Dreyer, J.; Dumm, J. P.; Dunkman, M.; Eagan, R.; Eisch, J.; Ellsworth, R. W.; Engdegård, O.; Euler, S.; Evenson, P. A.; Fadiran, O.; Fazely, A. R.; Fedynitch, A.; Feintzeig, J.; Feusels, T.; Filimonov, K.; Finley, C.; Fischer-Wasels, T.; Flis, S.; Franckowiak, A.; Franke, R.; Frantzen, K.; Fuchs, T.; Gaisser, T. K.; Gallagher, J.; Gerhardt, L.; Gladstone, L.; Glüsenkamp, T.; Goldschmidt, A.; Goodman, J. A.; Góra, D.; Grant, D.; Groß, A.; Grullon, S.; Gurtner, M.; Ha, C.; Ismail, A. Haj; Hallgren, A.; Halzen, F.; Hanson, K.; Heereman, D.; Heimann, P.; Heinen, D.; Helbing, K.; Hellauer, R.; Hickford, S.; Hill, G. C.; Hoffman, K. D.; Hoffmann, R.; Homeier, A.; Hoshina, K.; Huelsnitz, W.; Hulth, P. O.; Hultqvist, K.; Hussain, S.; Ishihara, A.; Jacobi, E.; Jacobsen, J.; Japaridze, G. S.; Jlelati, O.; Johansson, H.; Kappes, A.; Karg, T.; Karle, A.; Kiryluk, J.; Kislat, F.; Kläs, J.; Klein, S. R.; Köhne, J.-H.; Kohnen, G.; Kolanoski, H.; Köpke, L.; Kopper, C.; Kopper, S.; Koskinen, D. J.; Kowalski, M.; Krasberg, M.; Kroll, G.; Kunnen, J.; Kurahashi, N.; Kuwabara, T.; Labare, M.; Laihem, K.; Landsman, H.; Larson, M. J.; Lauer, R.; Lesiak-Bzdak, M.; Lünemann, J.; Madsen, J.; Maruyama, R.; Mase, K.; Matis, H. S.; McNally, F.; Meagher, K.; Merck, M.; Mészáros, P.; Meures, T.; Miarecki, S.; Middell, E.; Milke, N.; Miller, J.; Mohrmann, L.; Montaruli, T.; Morse, R.; Movit, S. M.; Nahnhauer, R.; Naumann, U.; Nowicki, S. C.; Nygren, D. R.; Obertacke, A.; Odrowski, S.; Olivas, A.; Olivo, M.; O'Murchadha, A.; Panknin, S.; Paul, L.; Pepper, J. A.; de los Heros, C. Pérez; Pieloth, D.; Pirk, N.; Posselt, J.; Price, P. B.; Przybylski, G. T.; Rädel, L.; Rawlins, K.; Redl, P.; Resconi, E.; Rhode, W.; Ribordy, M.; Richman, M.; Riedel, B.; Rodrigues, J. P.; Rothmaier, F.; Rott, C.; Ruhe, T.; Rutledge, D.; Ruzybayev, B.; Ryckbosch, D.; Salameh, T.; Sander, H.-G.; Santander, M.; Sarkar, S.; Saba, S. M.; Schatto, K.; Scheel, M.; Scheriau, F.; Schmidt, T.; Schmitz, M.; Schoenen, S.; Schöneberg, S.; Schönherr, L.; Schönwald, A.; Schukraft, A.; Schulte, L.; Schulz, O.; Seckel, D.; Seo, S. H.; Sestayo, Y.; Seunarine, S.; Smith, M. W. E.; Soiron, M.; Soldin, D.; Spiczak, G. M.; Spiering, C.; Stamatikos, M.; Stanev, T.; Stasik, A.; Stezelberger, T.; Stokstad, R. G.; Stößl, A.; Strahler, E. A.; Ström, R.; Sullivan, G. W.; Taavola, H.; Taboada, I.; Tamburro, A.; Ter-Antonyan, S.; Tilav, S.; Toale, P. A.; Toscano, S.; Usner, M.; van Eijndhoven, N.; van der Drift, D.; Van Overloop, A.; van Santen, J.; Vehring, M.; Voge, M.; Walck, C.; Waldenmaier, T.; Wallraff, M.; Walter, M.; Wasserman, R.; Weaver, Ch.; Wendt, C.; Westerhoff, S.; Whitehorn, N.; Wiebe, K.; Wiebusch, C. H.; Williams, D. R.; Wissing, H.; Wolf, M.; Wood, T. R.; Woschnagg, K.; Xu, C.; Xu, D. L.; Xu, X. W.; Yanez, J. P.; Yodh, G.; Yoshida, S.; Zarzhitsky, P.; Ziemann, J.; Zilles, A.; Zoll, M.

2013-02-01

The mass composition of high energy cosmic rays depends on their production, acceleration, and propagation. The study of cosmic ray composition can therefore reveal hints of the origin of these particles. At the South Pole, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory is capable of measuring two components of cosmic ray air showers in coincidence: the electromagnetic component at high altitude (2835 m) using the IceTop surface array, and the muonic component above ˜1 TeV using the IceCube array. This unique detector arrangement provides an opportunity for precision measurements of the cosmic ray energy spectrum and composition in the region of the knee and beyond. We present the results of a neural network analysis technique to study the cosmic ray composition and the energy spectrum from 1 PeV to 30 PeV using data recorded using the 40-string/40-station configuration of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.

Photonuclear interactions of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and their astrophysical consequences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Puget, J. L.; Stecker, F. W.; Bredekamp, J. H.

1975-01-01

Results of detailed Monte Carlo calculations of the interaction histories of ultrahigh energy cosmic-ray nuclei with intergalactic radiation fields are presented. Estimates of these fields and empirical determinations of photonuclear cross sections are used, including multinuclear disintegrations for nuclei up to 56Fe. Intergalactic and galactic energy loss rates and nucleon loss rates for nuclei up to 56Fe are also given. Astrophysical implications are discussed in terms of expected features in the cosmic-ray spectrum between quintillion and sextillion eV for the universal and supercluster origin hypotheses. The results of these calculations indicate that ultrahigh energy cosmic rays cannot be universal in origin regardless of whether they are protons or nuclei. Both the supercluster and galactic origin hypotheses, however, are possible regardless of nuclear composition.

High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)

NASA Image and Video Library

1979-09-20

This Atlas/Centaur launch vehicle, carrying the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-3, lifted off on September 20, 1979. The HEAO-3's mission was to survey and map the celestial sphere for gamma-ray flux and make detailed measurements of cosmic-ray particles. It carried three scientific experiments: a gamma-ray spectrometer, a cosmic-ray isotope experiment, and a heavy cosmic-ray nuclei experiment. The HEAO-3 was originally identified as HEAO-C but the designation was changed once the spacecraft achieved orbit.

Evidence for a mixed mass composition at the ‘ankle’ in the cosmic-ray spectrum

DOE PAGES

Aab, Alexander

2016-09-28

Here, 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' atmore » $$\\lg(E/{\\rm eV})=18.5-19.0$$ 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 $A > 4$. 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.« less

Balloon measurements of the energy spectrum of cosmic electrons between 1 and 25 GeV.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Earl, J. A.; Neely, D. E.; Rygg, T. A.

1972-01-01

During three balloon flights made in 1966 and 1967, cosmic electrons were investigated with the aid of a hodoscope detector that provided extensive and detailed information on each cosmic-ray event triggering the apparatus. Similar information obtained during calibration exposures to protons and pions as well as to electrons was used to provide identification of cosmic electrons and to determine their energies. Differential primary electron intensities measured in the range from 1 to 25 GeV were substantially larger than some earlier measurements. In conjunction with existing measurements at energies above 100 GeV, this finding indicates that the energy spectrum of cosmic electrons is steeper than that of cosmic-ray nuclei and consequently suggests that Compton/synchrotron energy loss plays a significant role in shaping the electron spectrum.

Industry-relevant magnetron sputtering and cathodic arc ultra-high vacuum deposition system for in situ x-ray diffraction studies of thin film growth using high energy synchrotron radiation.

PubMed

Schroeder, J L; Thomson, W; Howard, B; Schell, N; Näslund, L-Å; Rogström, L; Johansson-Jõesaar, M P; Ghafoor, N; Odén, M; Nothnagel, E; Shepard, A; Greer, J; Birch, J

2015-09-01

We present an industry-relevant, large-scale, ultra-high vacuum (UHV) magnetron sputtering and cathodic arc deposition system purposefully designed for time-resolved in situ thin film deposition/annealing studies using high-energy (>50 keV), high photon flux (>10(12) ph/s) synchrotron radiation. The high photon flux, combined with a fast-acquisition-time (<1 s) two-dimensional (2D) detector, permits time-resolved in situ structural analysis of thin film formation processes. The high-energy synchrotron-radiation based x-rays result in small scattering angles (<11°), allowing large areas of reciprocal space to be imaged with a 2D detector. The system has been designed for use on the 1-tonne, ultra-high load, high-resolution hexapod at the P07 High Energy Materials Science beamline at PETRA III at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Hamburg, Germany. The deposition system includes standard features of a typical UHV deposition system plus a range of special features suited for synchrotron radiation studies and industry-relevant processes. We openly encourage the materials research community to contact us for collaborative opportunities using this unique and versatile scientific instrument.

LORD Space Experiment for Investigation of Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic-ray Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryabov, V. A.; Gusev, G. A.; Chechin, V. A.

2013-02-01

The problem of detecting cosmic rays and neutrinos of energies above the GZK cutoff is reviewed. Nowadays, it becomes clear that registration of nature's most energetic particles requires approaches based on new principles. First of all, we imply the detection of the coherent Cherenkov radio emission in cascades of ultrahigh-energy particles in radio-transparent natural dense media, i.e., ice shields of Antarctica, mineral salt, and lunar regolith. The Luna-Glob space mission planned for launching in the near future involves the Lunar Orbital Radio Detector (LORD) whose aperture for cosmic rays and neutrinos of energies E >= 1020 eV exceeds all existing ground-based arrays. The feasibility of LORD to detect radio signals from showers initiated by ultrahigh-energy particles interacting with the lunar regolith is examined. The design of the LORD space instrument and its scientific potentialities for registration of low-intense cosmic-ray particle fluxes above the GZK cut-off up to 1025 eV is discussed.

The Cosmic Ray Energy Spectrum and Related Measurements with the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abraham, : J.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.

2009-06-01

These are presentations to be presented at the 31st International Cosmic Ray Conference, in Lodz, Poland during July 2009. It consists of the following presentations: (1) Measurement of the cosmic ray energy spectrum above 10{sup 18} eV with the Pierre Auger Observatory; (2) The cosmic ray flux observed at zenith angles larger than 60 degrees with the Pierre Auger Observatory; (3) Energy calibration of data recorded with the surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory; (4) Exposure of the Hybrid Detector of The Pierre Auger Observatory; and (5) Energy scale derived from Fluorescence Telescopes using Cherenkov Light and Shower Universality.

Very High-Energy Gamma-Ray Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weekes, Trevor C.

1986-01-01

Discusses topics related to high-energy, gamma-ray astronomy (including cosmic radiation, gamma-ray detectors, high-energy gamma-ray sources, and others). Also considers motivation for the development of this field, the principal results to date, and future prospects. (JN)

Photonuclear interactions of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and their astrophysical consequences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Puget, J. L.; Stecker, F. W.; Bredekamp, J. H.

1976-01-01

Results are presented for detailed Monte Carlo calculations of the interaction histories of ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray nuclei with intergalactic radiation fields, using improved estimates of these fields and empirical determinations of photonuclear cross sections, including multinuclear disintegrations for nuclei up to Fe-56. Intergalactic and galactic energy-loss rates and nucleon-loss rates for nuclei up to Fe-56 are also given. Astrophysical implications are discussed in terms of expected features in the cosmic-ray spectrum between 10 to the 18th and 10 to the 21st power eV for the universal and supercluster origin hypotheses. The results of these calculations indicate that ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays cannot be universal in origin regardless of whether they are protons or nuclei. Both the supercluster and galactic origin hypotheses, however, are possible regardless of nuclear composition.

Liquid scintillator composition optimization for use in ultra-high energy cosmic ray detector systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beznosko, Dmitriy; Batyrkhanov, Ayan; Iakovlev, Alexander; Yelshibekov, Khalykbek

2017-06-01

The Horizon-T (HT) detector system and the currently under R&D HT-KZ detector system are designed for the detection of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) with energies above ˜1016 eV (˜1017 eV for HT-KZ). The main challenges in both detector systems are the fast time resolutions needed for studying the temporary structure of EAS, and the extremely wide dynamic range needed to study the spatial distribution of charged particles in EAS disks. In order to detect the low-density of charged particles far from the EAS axis, a large-area detector is needed. Liquid scintillator with low cost would be a possible solution for such a detector, including the recently developed safe and low-cost water-based liquid scintillators. Liquid organic scintillators give a fast and high light yield (LY) for charged particle detection. It is similar to plastic scintillator in properties but is cost effective for large volumes. With liquid scintillator, one can create detection volumes that are symmetric and yet retain high LY detection. Different wavelength shifters affect the scintillation light by changing the output spectrum into the best detection region. Results of the latest studies of the components optimization in the liquid scintillator formulae are presented.

Observation of a large-scale anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above 8 × 10 18 eV

DOE PAGES

Aab, Alexander; et al.

2017-09-22

We report that cosmic rays are atomic nuclei arriving from outer space that reach the highest energies observed in nature. Clues to their origin come from studying the distribution of their arrival directions. Usingmore » $$3 \\times 10^4$$ cosmic rays above $$8 \\times 10^{18}$$ electron volts, recorded with the Pierre Auger Observatory from a total exposure of 76,800 square kilometers steradian year, we report an anisotropy in the arrival directions. The anisotropy, detected at more than the 5.2$$\\sigma$$ level of significance, can be described by a dipole with an amplitude of $$6.5_{-0.9}^{+1.3}$$% towards right ascension $$\\alpha_{d} = 100 \\pm 10$$ degrees and declination $$\\delta_{d} = -24_{-13}^{+12}$$ degrees. Lastly, that direction indicates an extragalactic origin for these ultra-high energy particles.« less

Observation of a large-scale anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above 8 × 10 18 eV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aab, Alexander; et al.

We report that cosmic rays are atomic nuclei arriving from outer space that reach the highest energies observed in nature. Clues to their origin come from studying the distribution of their arrival directions. Usingmore » $$3 \\times 10^4$$ cosmic rays above $$8 \\times 10^{18}$$ electron volts, recorded with the Pierre Auger Observatory from a total exposure of 76,800 square kilometers steradian year, we report an anisotropy in the arrival directions. The anisotropy, detected at more than the 5.2$$\\sigma$$ level of significance, can be described by a dipole with an amplitude of $$6.5_{-0.9}^{+1.3}$$% towards right ascension $$\\alpha_{d} = 100 \\pm 10$$ degrees and declination $$\\delta_{d} = -24_{-13}^{+12}$$ degrees. Lastly, that direction indicates an extragalactic origin for these ultra-high energy particles.« less

Observing the Ultrahigh Energy Universe with OWL Eyes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stecker, F. W.; Krizmanic, J. F.; Barbier, L. M.; Loh, E.; Mitchell, J. W.; Sokolsky, P.; Streitmatter, R. E.

2004-01-01

The goal of the Orbiting Wide-field Light-collectors (0WL) mission is to study the origin and physics of the highest energy particles known in nature, the ultra- high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). The OWL mission consists of telescopes with UV sensitive cameras on two satellites operating in tandem to view in stereo the development of the giant particle showers induced in the Earth s atmosphere by UHECRs. This paper discusses the characteristics of the 0WL mission.

Final Report for DoE Grant DE-SC-0011689 - Studies of Particle Astrophysics at the Cosmic Frontier

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nitz, David F.; Fick, Brian E.

Our research focuses on the “Cosmic Frontier”, one of the three principle thrusts of the DoE Office of Science High Energy Physics research program. The 2013 community summer study “Snowmass on the Mississippi” catalyzed joint work to describe the status and future prospects of this research thrust. Over its history, the field of cosmic ray studies has provided many discoveries of central importance to the the progress of high energy physics, including the identification of new elementary particles, measurements of particle interactions far above accelerator energies, and the confirmation of neutrino oscillations. In our research we continued this tradition, employingmore » 2 instruments (the Auger Observatory and the HAWC Observatory) to study high energy physics questions using cosmic rays. One approach to addressing particle physics questions at the cosmic frontier is to study the very highest energy cosmic rays. This has been the major thrust of our research effort. The two largest currently operating ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) observatories are the Pierre Auger Observatory in the Southern hemisphere, covering an area of 3000 km 2 and the Telescope Array (TA) in the Northern hemisphere, covering about 700 km 2. The observatories sample the cosmic ray air showers at ground level (with 1660 water Cerenkov stations in the Auger surface detector), and also measure the longitudinal development of air showers on clear moonless nights (approx. 10% of the events) using atmospheric fluorescence detectors. The observatories have recently installed low energy extensions, which provide an overlap with the LHC energy regime. The Auger and TA teams have established joint working groups to discuss experimental methods, compare data analyses and modeling, and perform cross calibrations. Another approach is to study high energy gamma rays. The High Altitude Water Cerenkov (HAWC) gamma-ray observatory is located at 4100 m above sea level near Pico de Orizaba

TIERRAS: A package to simulate high energy cosmic ray showers underground, underwater and under-ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tueros, Matías; Sciutto, Sergio

2010-02-01

In this paper we present TIERRAS, a Monte Carlo simulation program based on the well-known AIRES air shower simulations system that enables the propagation of particle cascades underground, providing a tool to study particles arriving underground from a primary cosmic ray on the atmosphere or to initiate cascades directly underground and propagate them, exiting into the atmosphere if necessary. We show several cross-checks of its results against CORSIKA, FLUKA, GEANT and ZHS simulations and we make some considerations regarding its possible use and limitations. The first results of full underground shower simulations are presented, as an example of the package capabilities. Program summaryProgram title: TIERRAS for AIRES Catalogue identifier: AEFO_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEFO_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 36 489 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 3 261 669 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Fortran 77 and C Computer: PC, Alpha, IBM, HP, Silicon Graphics and Sun workstations Operating system: Linux, DEC Unix, AIX, SunOS, Unix System V RAM: 22 Mb bytes Classification: 1.1 External routines: TIERRAS requires AIRES 2.8.4 to be installed on the system. AIRES 2.8.4 can be downloaded from http://www.fisica.unlp.edu.ar/auger/aires/eg_AiresDownload.html. Nature of problem: Simulation of high and ultra high energy underground particle showers. Solution method: Modification of the AIRES 2.8.4 code to accommodate underground conditions. Restrictions: In AIRES some processes that are not statistically significant on the atmosphere are not simulated. In particular, it does not include muon photonuclear processes. This imposes a limitation on the application of this package to a depth of

Phantom energy: dark energy with w <--1 causes a cosmic doomsday.

PubMed

Caldwell, Robert R; Kamionkowski, Marc; Weinberg, Nevin N

2003-08-15

We explore the consequences that follow if the dark energy is phantom energy, in which the sum of the pressure and energy density is negative. The positive phantom-energy density becomes infinite in finite time, overcoming all other forms of matter, such that the gravitational repulsion rapidly brings our brief epoch of cosmic structure to a close. The phantom energy rips apart the Milky Way, solar system, Earth, and ultimately the molecules, atoms, nuclei, and nucleons of which we are composed, before the death of the Universe in a "big rip."

Emission line galaxies at high redshift and analogs of the sources of cosmic reionization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaerer, D.

2017-11-01

We present recent work on emission line galaxies at high redshift and searches for analogs of the sources of cosmic reionization at low redshift. The VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey (VUDS) carried out at the VLT has assembled more than 7000 spectra of galaxies from z 1.5 to 6 allowing us to address a wide diversity of questions with statistically meaningful samples. From VUDS we have recently identified a sample of CIII] and CIV] emitters at z 2-4 whose properties we present and discuss here (cf. Nakajima et al. 2017; Le Fevre et al. 2017). These objects provide interesting insight into the C/O ratio at high-z, the nature and hardness of their ionizing source, the ionizing photon production, and others. Targeting compact strong emission line galaxies with high [OIII]/[OII] ratios with the COS spectrograph on-board HST, we have recently been able to find several relatively strong Lyman continuum emitters at z 0.3 (Izotov et al. 2016ab). We describe the physical properties of these unique, rare low-z sources, which are found to be comparable to those of typical z>6 galaxies and thus currently the best analogs for the sources of cosmic reionization (cf. Schaerer et al. 2016). We also briefly discuss open questions and future steps.

Creation of ultra-high energy density matter using nanostructured targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tommasini, Riccardo; Park, J.; London, R.; Chen, H.; Hollinger, R. C.; Bargsten, C.; Shlyaptsev, V.; Capeluto, M.; Keiss, D.; Townsend, A.; Rocca, J. J.; Kaymak, V.; Pukhov, A.; Hill, M.

2015-11-01

Recent experiments have demonstrated that trapping of 60 femtosecond laser pulses of relativistic intensity deep within ordered nanowire arrays can create a new ultra-hot plasma regime. Here we report on the experiments at the Titan laser at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that aim to scale these results by two orders of magnitude in laser energy. Preliminary analysis of the Titan results show that sub-picosecond laser irradiation of vertically aligned nanostructures of Au, Ag and Ni produces an increase of a factor greater than 1.6 in the suprathermal electron temperatures and an increase by a factor of 3 in the conversion efficiency into continuum x-rays, both with respect to flat targets of the same composition. Kα radiation from nanowire array targets also shows an increase between 3x and 5x over flat targets. The nanowire array targets reflected a 5x smaller fraction of the laser energy, indicating significantly larger absorption of the laser pulse. This work performed under the auspices of the U. S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344, by the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, U.S Department of Energy, and by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency grant HDTRA-1-10-1-0079.

A balloon-borne ionization spectrometer with very large aperture for the detection of high energy cosmic rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atallah, K.; Modlinger, A.; Schmidt, W. K. H.; Cleghorn, T. F.

1975-01-01

A balloon experiment which was used to determine the chemical composition of very high-energy cosmic rays up to and beyond 100 GeV/nucleon is described. The detector had a geometric factor of 1 sq m sr and a total weight on the balloon of 2100 kg. The apparatus consisted of an ionization spectrometer, spark chambers, and plastic scintillation and Cherenkov counters. It was calibrated at CERN up to 24 GeV/c protons and at DESY up to 7 GeV/c electrons. In October 1972 it was flown successfully on a stratospheric balloon.

Cosmic shear bias and calibration in dark energy studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, A. N.; Kitching, T. D.

2018-07-01

With the advent of large-scale weak lensing surveys there is a need to understand how realistic, scale-dependent systematics bias cosmic shear and dark energy measurements, and how they can be removed. Here, we show how spatially varying image distortions are convolved with the shear field, mixing convergence E and B modes, and bias the observed shear power spectrum. In practise, many of these biases can be removed by calibration to data or simulations. The uncertainty in this calibration is marginalized over, and we calculate how this propagates into parameter estimation and degrades the dark energy Figure-of-Merit. We find that noise-like biases affect dark energy measurements the most, while spikes in the bias power have the least impact. We argue that, in order to remove systematic biases in cosmic shear surveys and maintain statistical power, effort should be put into improving the accuracy of the bias calibration rather than minimizing the size of the bias. In general, this appears to be a weaker condition for bias removal. We also investigate how to minimize the size of the calibration set for a fixed reduction in the Figure-of-Merit. Our results can be used to correctly model the effect of biases and calibration on a cosmic shear survey, assess their impact on the measurement of modified gravity and dark energy models, and to optimize survey and calibration requirements.

Research in particles and fields. [cosmic rays, gamma rays, and cosmic plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, E. C.; Buffington, A.; Davis, L., Jr.; Prince, T. A.; Vogt, R. E.

1984-01-01

Research activities in cosmic rays, gamma rays, and astrophysical plasmas are reviewed. Energetic particle and photon detector systems flown on spacecraft and balloons were used to carry out the investigations. Specific instruments mentioned are: the high energy isotope spectrometer telescope, the electron/isotope spectrometer, the heavy isotope spectrometer telescope, and magnetometers. Solar flares, planetary magnetospheres, element abundance, the isotopic composition of low energy cosmic rays, and heavy nuclei are among the topics receiving research attention.

Cosmic Ray Studies with IceCube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez, Javier

In this contribution we will give an overview of the cosmic ray studies conducted within the IceCube collaboration. The IceCube detector in the geographical south pole can be used to measure various characteristics of the extensive air showers induced by high energy cosmic rays. With IceTop, the surface component of the detector, we detect the electromagnetic and muon components of the air showers, while with the deep detector we detect the high energy muons. We have measured the energy spectrum of cosmic ray primaries in the range between 1.58PeV and 1.26 EeV. A combined analysis of the high energy muon bundles in the ice and the air shower footprint in IceTop provides a measure of primary composition. We will also discuss how the sensitivity to low energy muons in the air showers has the potential to produce additional measures of primary composition.

Primary mass discrimination of high energy cosmic rays using PNN and k-NN methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rastegarzadeh, G.; Nemati, M.

2018-02-01

Probabilistic neural network (PNN) and k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN) methods are widely used data classification techniques. In this paper, these two methods have been used to classify the Extensive Air Shower (EAS) data sets which were simulated using the CORSIKA code for three primary cosmic rays. The primaries are proton, oxygen and iron nuclei at energies of 100 TeV-10 PeV. This study is performed in the following of the investigations into the primary cosmic ray mass sensitive observables. We propose a new approach for measuring the mass sensitive observables of EAS in order to improve the primary mass separation. In this work, the EAS observables measurement has performed locally instead of total measurements. Also the relationships between the included number of observables in the classification methods and the prediction accuracy have been investigated. We have shown that the local measurements and inclusion of more mass sensitive observables in the classification processes can improve the classifying quality and also we have shown that muons and electrons energy density can be considered as primary mass sensitive observables in primary mass classification. Also it must be noted that this study is performed for Tehran observation level without considering the details of any certain EAS detection array.

All-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum measured with 26 IceTop stations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, R.; Abdou, Y.; Abu-Zayyad, T.; Ackermann, M.; Adams, J.; Aguilar, J. A.; Ahlers, M.; Altmann, D.; Andeen, K.; Auffenberg, J.; Bai, X.; Baker, M.; Barwick, S. W.; Baum, V.; Bay, R.; Bazo Alba, J. L.; Beattie, K.; Beatty, J. J.; Bechet, S.; Becker, J. K.; Becker, K.-H.; Bell, M.; Benabderrahmane, M. L.; BenZvi, S.; Berdermann, J.; Berghaus, P.; Berley, D.; Bernardini, E.; Bertrand, D.; Besson, D. Z.; Bindig, D.; Bissok, M.; Blaufuss, E.; Blumenthal, J.; Boersma, D. J.; Bohm, C.; Bose, D.; Böser, S.; Botner, O.; Brayeur, L.; Brown, A. M.; Buitink, S.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Carson, M.; Casier, M.; Chirkin, D.; Christy, B.; Clevermann, F.; Cohen, S.; Cowen, D. F.; Cruz Silva, A. H.; D'Agostino, M. V.; Danninger, M.; Daughhetee, J.; Davis, J. C.; De Clercq, C.; Degner, T.; Descamps, F.; Desiati, P.; de Vries-Uiterweerd, G.; DeYoung, T.; Díaz-Vélez, J. C.; Dreyer, J.; Dumm, J. P.; Dunkman, M.; Eisch, J.; Ellsworth, R. W.; Engdegård, O.; Euler, S.; Evenson, P. A.; Fadiran, O.; Fazely, A. R.; Fedynitch, A.; Feintzeig, J.; Feusels, T.; Filimonov, K.; Finley, C.; Fischer-Wasels, T.; Flis, S.; Franckowiak, A.; Franke, R.; Gaisser, T. K.; Gallagher, J.; Gerhardt, L.; Gladstone, L.; Glüsenkamp, T.; Goldschmidt, A.; Goodman, J. A.; Góra, D.; Grant, D.; Groß, A.; Grullon, S.; Gurtner, M.; Ha, C.; Haj Ismail, A.; Hallgren, A.; Halzen, F.; Han, K.; Hanson, K.; Heereman, D.; Heimann, P.; Heinen, D.; Helbing, K.; Hellauer, R.; Hickford, S.; Hill, G. C.; Hoffman, K. D.; Hoffmann, B.; Homeier, A.; Hoshina, K.; Huelsnitz, W.; Hulth, P. O.; Hultqvist, K.; Hussain, S.; Ishihara, A.; Jacobi, E.; Jacobsen, J.; Japaridze, G. S.; Johansson, H.; Kappes, A.; Karg, T.; Karle, A.; Kiryluk, J.; Kislat, F.; Klein, S. R.; Klepser, S.; Köhne, J.-H.; Kohnen, G.; Kolanoski, H.; Köpke, L.; Kopper, S.; Koskinen, D. J.; Kowalski, M.; Krasberg, M.; Kroll, G.; Kunnen, J.; Kurahashi, N.; Kuwabara, T.; Labare, M.; Laihem, K.; Landsman, H.; Larson, M. J.; Lauer, R.; Lünemann, J.; Madsen, J.; Maruyama, R.; Mase, K.; Matis, H. S.; Meagher, K.; Merck, M.; Mészáros, P.; Meures, T.; Miarecki, S.; Middell, E.; Milke, N.; Miller, J.; Montaruli, T.; Morse, R.; Movit, S. M.; Nahnhauer, R.; Nam, J. W.; Naumann, U.; Nowicki, S. C.; Nygren, D. R.; Odrowski, S.; Olivas, A.; Olivo, M.; O'Murchadha, A.; Panknin, S.; Paul, L.; Pérez de los Heros, C.; Pieloth, D.; Posselt, J.; Price, P. B.; Przybylski, G. T.; Rawlins, K.; Redl, P.; Resconi, E.; Rhode, W.; Ribordy, M.; Richman, M.; Riedel, B.; Rodrigues, J. P.; Rothmaier, F.; Rott, C.; Ruhe, T.; Rutledge, D.; Ruzybayev, B.; Ryckbosch, D.; Sander, H.-G.; Santander, M.; Sarkar, S.; Schatto, K.; Scheel, M.; Schmidt, T.; Schöneberg, S.; Schönwald, A.; Schukraft, A.; Schulte, L.; Schultes, A.; Schulz, O.; Schunck, M.; Seckel, D.; Semburg, B.; Seo, S. H.; Sestayo, Y.; Seunarine, S.; Silvestri, A.; Smith, M. W. E.; Spiczak, G. M.; Spiering, C.; Stamatikos, M.; Stanev, T.; Stezelberger, T.; Stokstad, R. G.; Stößl, A.; Strahler, E. A.; Ström, R.; Stüer, M.; Sullivan, G. W.; Taavola, H.; Taboada, I.; Tamburro, A.; Ter-Antonyan, S.; Tilav, S.; Toale, P. A.; Toscano, S.; Tosi, D.; van Eijndhoven, N.; Van Overloop, A.; van Santen, J.; Vehring, M.; Voge, M.; Walck, C.; Waldenmaier, T.; Wallraff, M.; Walter, M.; Wasserman, R.; Weaver, Ch.; Wendt, C.; Westerhoff, S.; Whitehorn, N.; Wiebe, K.; Wiebusch, C. H.; Williams, D. R.; Wischnewski, R.; Wissing, H.; Wolf, M.; Wood, T. R.; Woschnagg, K.; Xu, C.; Xu, D. L.; Xu, X. W.; Yanez, J. P.; Yodh, G.; Yoshida, S.; Zarzhitsky, P.; Zoll, M.

2013-04-01

We report on a measurement of the cosmic ray energy spectrum with the IceTop air shower array, the surface component of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. The data used in this analysis were taken between June and October, 2007, with 26 surface stations operational at that time, corresponding to about one third of the final array. The fiducial area used in this analysis was 0.122 km2. The analysis investigated the energy spectrum from 1 to 100 PeV measured for three different zenith angle ranges between 0° and 46°. Because of the isotropy of cosmic rays in this energy range the spectra from all zenith angle intervals have to agree. The cosmic-ray energy spectrum was determined under different assumptions on the primary mass composition. Good agreement of spectra in the three zenith angle ranges was found for the assumption of pure proton and a simple two-component model. For zenith angles θ < 30°, where the mass dependence is smallest, the knee in the cosmic ray energy spectrum was observed at about 4 PeV, with a spectral index above the knee of about -3.1. Moreover, an indication of a flattening of the spectrum above 22 PeV was observed.

High energy cosmic ray iron spectrum experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arens, J. F.; Balasubrahmanyan, V. K.; Ormes, J. F.; Schmidt, W. K. H.; Simon, M.; Spiegelhauer, H.

1978-01-01

An instrument containing a gas Cerenkov counter and an iron ionization spectrometer was constructed in order to measure the cosmic-ray iron spectrum to 300 GeV/nucleon. Trajectories of particles were determined by entopistic or position-determining scintillator systems. The geometric factors with and without the gas Cerenkov counter were 0.3 and 0.6 sq m-ster, respectively. The instrument was successfully flown in June 1976 without the spectrometer and in October 1976 with the spectrometer from Palestine, Texas. The June flight yielded 14.5 h of data; the October flight, 25 h.

New fermionic dark matters, extended Standard Model and cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, Jae-Kwang

2017-08-01

Three generations of leptons and quarks correspond to the lepton charges (LCs) in this work. Then, the leptons have the electric charges (ECs) and LCs. The quarks have the ECs, LCs and color charges (CCs). Three heavy leptons and three heavy quarks are introduced to make the missing third flavor of EC. Then the three new particles which have the ECs are proposed as the bastons (dark matters) with the rest masses of 26.121 eV/c2, 42.7 GeV/c2 and 1.9 × 1015 eV/c2. These new particles are applied to explain the origins of the astrophysical observations like the ultra-high energy cosmic rays and supernova 1987A anti-neutrino data. It is concluded that the 3.5 keV X-ray peak observed from the cosmic X-ray background spectra is originated not from the pair annihilations of the dark matters but from the X-ray emission of the Q1 baryon atoms which are similar in the atomic structure to the hydrogen atom. The presence of the 3.5 keV cosmic X-ray supports the presence of the Q1 quark with the EC of -4/3. New particles can be indirectly seen from the astrophysical observations like the cosmic ray and cosmic gamma ray. In this work, the systematic quantized charges of EC, LC and CC for the elementary particles are used to consistently explain the decay and reaction schemes of the elementary particles. Also, the strong, weak and dark matter forces are consistently explained.

High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)

NASA Image and Video Library

1970-01-01

This artist's concept depicts the third observatory, the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-3 in orbit. Designed and developed by TRW, Inc. under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, the HEAO-3's mission was to survey and map the celestial sphere for gamma-ray flux and make detailed measurements of cosmic-ray particles. It carried three scientific experiments: a gamma-ray spectrometer, a cosmic-ray isotope experiment, and a heavy cosmic-ray nuclei experiment. The HEAO-3 was originally identified as HEAO-C but the designation was changed once the spacecraft achieved orbit.

HIGH-ENERGY NEUTRINOS FROM SOURCES IN CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fang, Ke; Olinto, Angela V.

2016-09-01

High-energy cosmic rays can be accelerated in clusters of galaxies, by mega-parsec scale shocks induced by the accretion of gas during the formation of large-scale structures, or by powerful sources harbored in clusters. Once accelerated, the highest energy particles leave the cluster via almost rectilinear trajectories, while lower energy ones can be confined by the cluster magnetic field up to cosmological time and interact with the intracluster gas. Using a realistic model of the baryon distribution and the turbulent magnetic field in clusters, we studied the propagation and hadronic interaction of high-energy protons in the intracluster medium. We report themore » cumulative cosmic-ray and neutrino spectra generated by galaxy clusters, including embedded sources, and demonstrate that clusters can contribute a significant fraction of the observed IceCube neutrinos above 30 TeV while remaining undetected in high-energy cosmic rays and γ rays for reasonable choices of parameters and source scenarios.« less

CENTAURUS A: THE EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCE OF COSMIC RAYS WITH ENERGIES ABOVE THE KNEE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biermann, Peter L.; De Souza, Vitor, E-mail: plbiermann@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de, E-mail: vitor@ifsc.usp.br

2012-02-10

The origin of cosmic rays at all energies is still uncertain. In this paper, we present and explore an astrophysical scenario to produce cosmic rays with energy ranging from below 10{sup 15} to 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 20} eV. We show here that just our Galaxy and the radio galaxy Cen A, each with their own galactic cosmic-ray particles but with those from the radio galaxy pushed up in energy by a relativistic shock in the jet emanating from the active black hole, are sufficient to describe the most recent data in the PeV to near ZeV energy range. Data aremore » available over this entire energy range from the KASCADE, KASCADE-Grande, and Pierre Auger Observatory experiments. The energy spectrum calculated here correctly reproduces the measured spectrum beyond the knee and, contrary to widely held expectations, no other extragalactic source population is required to explain the data even at energies far below the general cutoff expected at 6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 19} eV, the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min turnoff due to interaction with the cosmological microwave background. We present several predictions for the source population, the cosmic-ray composition, and the propagation to Earth which can be tested in the near future.« less

Crest - A Balloon-borne Instrument To Measure Cosmic-ray Electrons Above TeV Energies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schubnell, Michael; Anderson, T.; Bower, C.; Coutu, S.; Geske, M.; Müller, D.; Musser, J.; Nutter, S.; Park, N.; Tarlé, G.; Wakely, S.; Yagi, A.

2009-01-01

The observation of high energy (E > 1 TeV) electrons in the cosmic radiation provides important information on the distribution and energetics of local cosmic-ray sources. Galactic cosmic-ray electrons are thought to be shock accelerated in supernova remnants as evident from observations of non-thermal X-rays and TeV gamma rays. Their locally observed energy spectrum above 1 TeV is expected to reflect the distribution and abundance of nearby acceleration sites. However, the rates at these energies are low and the direct detection would require unfeasibly large balloons or satellite born detectors. CREST, a balloon-borne detector array of 1024 BaF2 crystals, overcomes this hurdle: it will measure the intensity and spectrum of multi-TeV electrons by detecting synchrotron photons emitted from electrons passing through the earth's magnetic field. Thus CREST's acceptance is several times its geometric area providing sensitivity up to about 50 TeV. Following an engineering flight in spring of 2009, CREST will be flown in a circumpolar orbit on an upcoming Antarctic long-duration balloon flight. This work is supported by NASA and CSBF.

Astronomers Use Moon in Effort to Corral Elusive Cosmic Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2010-11-01

Seeking to detect mysterious, ultra-high-energy neutrinos from distant regions of space, a team of astronomers used the Moon as part of an innovative telescope system for the search. Their work gave new insight on the possible origin of the elusive subatomic particles and points the way to opening a new view of the Universe in the future. The team used special-purpose electronic equipment brought to the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, and took advantage of new, more-sensitive radio receivers installed as part of the Expanded VLA (EVLA) project. Prior to their observations, they tested their system by flying a small, specialized transmitter over the VLA in a helium balloon. In 200 hours of observations, Ted Jaeger of the University of Iowa and the Naval Research Laboratory, and Robert Mutel and Kenneth Gayley of the University of Iowa did not detect any of the ultra-high-energy neutrinos they sought. This lack of detection placed a new limit on the amount of such particles arriving from space, and cast doubt on some theoretical models for how those neutrinos are produced. Neutrinos are fast-moving subatomic particles with no electrical charge that readily pass unimpeded through ordinary matter. Though plentiful in the Universe, they are notoriously difficult to detect. Experiments to detect neutrinos from the Sun and supernova explosions have used large volumes of material such as water or chlorine to capture the rare interactions of the particles with ordinary matter. The ultra-high-energy neutrinos the astronomers sought are postulated to be produced by the energetic, black-hole-powered cores of distant galaxies; massive stellar explosions; annihilation of dark matter; cosmic-ray particles interacting with photons of the Cosmic Microwave Background; tears in the fabric of space-time; and collisions of the ultra-high-energy neutrinos with lower-energy neutrinos left over from the Big Bang. Radio telescopes can't detect

A search for UHE cosmic ray from the Crab pulsar/nebula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexandreas, D. E.; Berley, D.; Biller, S. D.; Burman, R. L.; Cady, D. R.; Chang, C. Y.; Dingus, B. L.; Dion, C.; Dion, G. M.; Ellsworth, E. W.; Goodman, J. A.; Haines, T. J.; Hoffman, C. M.; Krakauer, D. A.; Kwok, P. W.; Lloyd-Evans, J.; Lu, X.-Q.; Nagle, D. A.; Potter, M. E.; Sandberg, V. D.; Stark, M. J.; Vishwanath, P. R.; Yodh, G. B.; Zhang, W. P.

1991-04-01

A preliminary search is made for continuously pulsed, and burst, emission from the Crab pulsar or its nebula at ultra-high energies using the CYGNUS air shower experiment. No evidence is found for pulsed emission over the entire data set of 1,075 days searched. A 90% confidence upper limit for the flux of cosmic rays at the interpulse phase is 6.9×10-14 cm-2s-1 above 50 TeV. A single day (JD=2447644.5,UTC=66700s to JD=2447645.5,UTC=11200s), is found to have a 4.1 σ excess corresponding to a chance probability of 2.2%; no evidence of the pulsar period is found on this day.

Growth of Cosmic Structure: Probing Dark Energy Beyond Expansion

DOE PAGES

Huterer, Dragan; Kirkby, David; Bean, Rachel; ...

2014-03-15

The quantity and quality of cosmic structure observations have greatly accelerated in recent years, and further leaps forward will be facilitated by imminent projects. These will enable us to map the evolution of dark and baryonic matter density fluctuations over cosmic history. The way that these fluctuations vary over space and time is sensitive to several pieces of fundamental physics: the primordial perturbations generated by GUT-scale physics; neutrino masses and interactions; the nature of dark matter and dark energy. We focus on the last of these here: the ways that combining probes of growth with those of the cosmic expansionmore » such as distance-redshift relations will pin down the mechanism driving the acceleration of the Universe.« less

Growth of Cosmic Structure: Probing Dark Energy Beyond Expansion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huterer, Dragan; Kirkby, David; Bean, Rachel

The quantity and quality of cosmic structure observations have greatly accelerated in recent years, and further leaps forward will be facilitated by imminent projects. These will enable us to map the evolution of dark and baryonic matter density fluctuations over cosmic history. The way that these fluctuations vary over space and time is sensitive to several pieces of fundamental physics: the primordial perturbations generated by GUT-scale physics; neutrino masses and interactions; the nature of dark matter and dark energy. We focus on the last of these here: the ways that combining probes of growth with those of the cosmic expansionmore » such as distance-redshift relations will pin down the mechanism driving the acceleration of the Universe.« less

Search for patterns by combining cosmic-ray energy and arrival directions at the Pierre Auger Observatory.

PubMed

Aab, A; Abreu, P; Aglietta, M; Ahn, E J; Samarai, I Al; Albuquerque, I F M; Allekotte, I; Allen, J; Allison, P; Almela, A; Castillo, J Alvarez; Alvarez-Muñiz, J; Batista, R Alves; Ambrosio, M; Aminaei, A; Anchordoqui, L; Andringa, S; Aramo, C; Aranda, V M; Arqueros, F; Asorey, H; Assis, P; Aublin, J; Ave, M; Avenier, M; Avila, G; Awal, N; Badescu, A M; Barber, K B; Bäuml, J; Baus, C; Beatty, J J; Becker, K H; Bellido, J A; Berat, C; Bertaina, M E; Bertou, X; Biermann, P L; Billoir, P; Blaess, S; Blanco, M; Bleve, C; Blümer, H; Boháčová, M; Boncioli, D; Bonifazi, C; Bonino, R; Borodai, N; Brack, J; Brancus, I; Bridgeman, A; Brogueira, P; Brown, W C; Buchholz, P; Bueno, A; Buitink, S; Buscemi, M; Caballero-Mora, K S; Caccianiga, B; Caccianiga, L; Candusso, M; Caramete, L; Caruso, R; Castellina, A; Cataldi, G; Cazon, L; Cester, R; Chavez, A G; Chiavassa, A; Chinellato, J A; Chudoba, J; Cilmo, M; Clay, R W; Cocciolo, G; Colalillo, R; Coleman, A; Collica, L; Coluccia, M R; Conceição, R; Contreras, F; Cooper, M J; Cordier, A; Coutu, S; Covault, C E; Cronin, J; Curutiu, A; Dallier, R; Daniel, B; Dasso, S; Daumiller, K; Dawson, B R; Almeida, R M de; Domenico, M De; Jong, S J de; Neto, J R T de Mello; Mitri, I De; Oliveira, J de; Souza, V de; Peral, L Del; Deligny, O; Dembinski, H; Dhital, N; Giulio, C Di; Matteo, A Di; Diaz, J C; Castro, M L Díaz; Diogo, F; Dobrigkeit, C; Docters, W; D'Olivo, J C; Dorofeev, A; Hasankiadeh, Q Dorosti; Dova, M T; Ebr, J; Engel, R; Erdmann, M; Erfani, M; Escobar, C O; Espadanal, J; Etchegoyen, A; Luis, P Facal San; Falcke, H; Fang, K; Farrar, G; Fauth, A C; Fazzini, N; Ferguson, A P; Fernandes, M; Fick, B; Figueira, J M; Filevich, A; Filipčič, A; Fox, B D; Fratu, O; Fröhlich, U; Fuchs, B; Fujii, T; Gaior, R; García, B; Roca, S T Garcia; Garcia-Gamez, D; Garcia-Pinto, D; Garilli, G; Bravo, A Gascon; Gate, F; Gemmeke, H; Ghia, P L; Giaccari, U; Giammarchi, M; Giller, M; Glaser, C; Glass, H; Berisso, M Gómez; Vitale, P F Gómez; Gonçalves, P; Gonzalez, J G; González, N; Gookin, B; Gordon, J; Gorgi, A; Gorham, P; Gouffon, P; Grebe, S; Griffith, N; Grillo, A F; Grubb, T D; Guarino, F; Guedes, G P; Hampel, M R; Hansen, P; Harari, D; Harrison, T A; Hartmann, S; Harton, J L; Haungs, A; Hebbeker, T; Heck, D; Heimann, P; Herve, A E; Hill, G C; Hojvat, C; Hollon, N; Holt, E; Homola, P; Hörandel, J R; Horvath, P; Hrabovský, M; Huber, D; Huege, T; Insolia, A; Isar, P G; Jandt, I; Jansen, S; Jarne, C; Josebachuili, M; Kääpä, A; Kambeitz, O; Kampert, K H; Kasper, P; Katkov, I; Kégl, B; Keilhauer, B; Keivani, A; Kemp, E; Kieckhafer, R M; Klages, H O; Kleifges, M; Kleinfeller, J; Krause, R; Krohm, N; Krömer, O; Kruppke-Hansen, D; Kuempel, D; Kunka, N; LaHurd, D; Latronico, L; Lauer, R; Lauscher, M; Lautridou, P; Coz, S Le; Leão, M S A B; Lebrun, D; Lebrun, P; Oliveira, M A Leigui de; Letessier-Selvon, A; Lhenry-Yvon, I; Link, K; López, R; Agüera, A Lopez; Louedec, K; Bahilo, J Lozano; Lu, L; Lucero, A; Ludwig, M; Malacari, M; Maldera, S; Mallamaci, M; Maller, J; Mandat, D; Mantsch, P; Mariazzi, A G; Marin, V; Mariş, I C; Marsella, G; Martello, D; Martin, L; Martinez, H; Bravo, O Martínez; Martraire, D; Meza, J J Masías; Mathes, H J; Mathys, S; Matthews, J; Matthews, J A J; Matthiae, G; Maurel, D; Maurizio, D; Mayotte, E; Mazur, P O; Medina, C; Medina-Tanco, G; Meissner, R; Melissas, M; Melo, D; Menshikov, A; Messina, S; Meyhandan, R; Mićanović, S; Micheletti, M I; Middendorf, L; Minaya, I A; Miramonti, L; Mitrica, B; Molina-Bueno, L; Mollerach, S; Monasor, M; Ragaigne, D Monnier; Montanet, F; Morello, C; Mostafá, M; Moura, C A; Muller, M A; Müller, G; Müller, S; Münchmeyer, M; Mussa, R; Navarra, G; Navas, S; Necesal, P; Nellen, L; Nelles, A; Neuser, J; Nguyen, P; Niechciol, M; Niemietz, L; Niggemann, T; Nitz, D; Nosek, D; Novotny, V; Nožka, L; Ochilo, L; Olinto, A; Oliveira, M; Pacheco, N; Selmi-Dei, D Pakk; Palatka, M; Pallotta, J; Palmieri, N; Papenbreer, P; Parente, G; Parra, A; Paul, T; Pech, M; Pȩkala, J; Pelayo, R; Pepe, I M; Perrone, L; Petermann, E; Peters, C; Petrera, S; Petrov, Y; Phuntsok, J; Piegaia, R; Pierog, T; Pieroni, P; Pimenta, M; Pirronello, V; Platino, M; Plum, M; Porcelli, A; Porowski, C; Prado, R R; Privitera, P; Prouza, M; Purrello, V; Quel, E J; Querchfeld, S; Quinn, S; Rautenberg, J; Ravel, O; Ravignani, D; Revenu, B; Ridky, J; Riggi, S; Risse, M; Ristori, P; Rizi, V; Carvalho, W Rodrigues de; Cabo, I Rodriguez; Fernandez, G Rodriguez; Rojo, J Rodriguez; Rodríguez-Frías, M D; Rogozin, D; Ros, G; Rosado, J; Rossler, T; Roth, M; Roulet, E; Rovero, A C; Saffi, S J; Saftoiu, A; Salamida, F; Salazar, H; Saleh, A; Greus, F Salesa; Salina, G; Sánchez, F; Sanchez-Lucas, P; Santo, C E; Santos, E; Santos, E M; Sarazin, F; Sarkar, B; Sarmento, R; Sato, R; Scharf, N; Scherini, V; Schieler, H; Schiffer, P; Schmidt, D; Schröder, F G; Scholten, O; Schoorlemmer, H; Schovánek, P; Schulz, A; Schulz, J; Schumacher, J; Sciutto, S J; Segreto, A; Settimo, M; Shadkam, A; Shellard, R C; Sidelnik, I; Sigl, G; Sima, O; Kowski, A Śmiał; Šmída, R; Snow, G R; Sommers, P; Sorokin, J; Squartini, R; Srivastava, Y N; Stanič, S; Stapleton, J; Stasielak, J; Stephan, M; Stutz, A; Suarez, F; Suomijärvi, T; Supanitsky, A D; Sutherland, M S; Swain, J; Szadkowski, Z; Szuba, M; Taborda, O A; Tapia, A; Tartare, M; Tepe, A; Theodoro, V M; Timmermans, C; Peixoto, C J Todero; Toma, G; Tomankova, L; Tomé, B; Tonachini, A; Elipe, G Torralba; Machado, D Torres; Travnicek, P; Trovato, E; Tueros, M; Ulrich, R; Unger, M; Urban, M; Galicia, J F Valdés; Valiño, I; Valore, L; Aar, G van; Bodegom, P van; Berg, A M van den; Velzen, S van; Vliet, A van; Varela, E; Vargas Cárdenas, B; Varner, G; Vázquez, J R; Vázquez, R A; Veberič, D; Verzi, V; Vicha, J; Videla, M; Villaseñor, L; Vlcek, B; Vorobiov, S; Wahlberg, H; Wainberg, O; Walz, D; Watson, A A; Weber, M; Weidenhaupt, K; Weindl, A; Werner, F; Widom, A; Wiencke, L; Wilczyńska, B; Wilczyński, H; Will, M; Williams, C; Winchen, T; Wittkowski, D; Wundheiler, B; Wykes, S; Yamamoto, T; Yapici, T; Yuan, G; Yushkov, A; Zamorano, B; Zas, E; Zavrtanik, D; Zavrtanik, M; Zaw, I; Zepeda, A; Zhou, J; Zhu, Y; Silva, M Zimbres; Ziolkowski, M; Zuccarello, F

Energy-dependent patterns in the arrival directions of cosmic rays are searched for using data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. We investigate local regions around the highest-energy cosmic rays with [Formula: see text] eV by analyzing cosmic rays with energies above [Formula: see text] eV arriving within an angular separation of approximately 15[Formula: see text]. We characterize the energy distributions inside these regions by two independent methods, one searching for angular dependence of energy-energy correlations and one searching for collimation of energy along the local system of principal axes of the energy distribution. No significant patterns are found with this analysis. The comparison of these measurements with astrophysical scenarios can therefore be used to obtain constraints on related model parameters such as strength of cosmic-ray deflection and density of point sources.

Description of Differential Cross Sections for 63Cu + p Nuclear Reactions Induced by High-Energy Cosmic-Ray Protons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuvilskaya, T. V.; Shirokova, A. A.

2018-03-01

The results of calculation of 63Cu + p differential cross sections at incident-proton energies between 10 and 200 MeV and a comparative analysis of these results are presented as a continuation of the earlier work of our group on developing methods for calculating the contribution of nuclear reactions to radiative effects arising in the onboard spacecraft electronics under the action of high-energy cosmic-ray protons on 63Cu nuclei (generation of single-event upsets) and as a supplement to the earlier calculations performed on the basis of the TALYS code in order to determine elastic- and inelastic-scattering cross sections and charge, mass, and energy distributions of recoil nuclei (heavy products of the 63Cu + p nuclear reaction). The influence of various mechanisms of the angular distributions of particles emitted in the 63Cu + p nuclear reaction is also discussed.

Cosmic ray oriented performance studies for the JEM-EUSO first level trigger

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdellaoui, G.; Abe, S.; Acheli, A.; Adams, J. H.; Ahmad, S.; Ahriche, A.; Albert, J.-N.; Allard, D.; Alonso, G.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andreev, V.; Anzalone, A.; Aouimeur, W.; Arai, Y.; Arsene, N.; Asano, K.; Attallah, R.; Attoui, H.; Ave Pernas, M.; Bacholle, S.; Bakiri, M.; Baragatti, P.; Barrillon, P.; Bartocci, S.; Batsch, T.; Bayer, J.; Bechini, R.; Belenguer, T.; Bellotti, R.; Belov, A.; Belov, K.; Benadda, B.; Benmessai, K.; Berlind, A. A.; Bertaina, M.; Biermann, P. L.; Biktemerova, S.; Bisconti, F.; Blanc, N.; Błȩcki, J.; Blin-Bondil, S.; Bobik, P.; Bogomilov, M.; Bonamente, M.; Boudaoud, R.; Bozzo, E.; Briggs, M. S.; Bruno, A.; Caballero, K. S.; Cafagna, F.; Campana, D.; Capdevielle, J.-N.; Capel, F.; Caramete, A.; Caramete, L.; Carlson, P.; Caruso, R.; Casolino, M.; Cassardo, C.; Castellina, A.; Castellini, G.; Catalano, C.; Catalano, O.; Cellino, A.; Chikawa, M.; Chiritoi, G.; Christl, M. J.; Connaughton, V.; Conti, L.; Contino, G.; Cordero, G.; Cotto, G.; Crawford, H. J.; Cremonini, R.; Csorna, S.; Dagoret-Campagne, S.; De Donato, C.; de la Taille, C.; De Santis, C.; del Peral, L.; Di Martino, M.; Djemil, T.; Djenas, S. A.; Dulucq, F.; Dupieux, M.; Dutan, I.; Ebersoldt, A.; Ebisuzaki, T.; Engel, R.; Eser, J.; Fang, K.; Fenu, F.; Fernández-González, S.; Fernández-Soriano, J.; Ferrarese, S.; Finco, D.; Flamini, M.; Fornaro, C.; Forza, R.; Fouka, M.; Franceschi, A.; Franchini, S.; Fuglesang, C.; Fujimoto, J.; Fukushima, M.; Galeotti, P.; García-Ortega, E.; Garipov, G.; Gascón, E.; Geary, J.; Gelmini, G.; Genci, J.; Giraudo, G.; Gonchar, M.; González Alvarado, C.; Gorodetzky, P.; Guardone, N.; Guarino, F.; Guehaz, R.; Guzmán, A.; Hachisu, Y.; Haiduc, M.; Harlov, B.; Haungs, A.; Hernández Carretero, J.; Hidber, W.; Higashide, K.; Ikeda, D.; Ikeda, H.; Inoue, N.; Inoue, S.; Insolia, A.; Isgrò, F.; Itow, Y.; Jammer, T.; Joven, E.; Judd, E. G.; Jung, A.; Jochum, J.; Kajino, F.; Kajino, T.; Kalli, S.; Kaneko, I.; Kang, D.; Kanouni, F.; Karadzhov, Y.; Karczmarczyk, J.; Karus, M.; Katahira, K.; Kawai, K.; Kawasaki, Y.; Kedadra, A.; Khales, H.; Khrenov, B. A.; Kim, Jeong-Sook; Kim, Soon-Wook; Kim, Sug-Whan; Kleifges, M.; Klimov, P. A.; Kolev, D.; Kreykenbohm, I.; Kudela, K.; Kurihara, Y.; Kusenko, A.; Kuznetsov, E.; Lacombe, M.; Lachaud, C.; Lahmar, H.; Lakhdari, F.; Larsson, O.; Lee, J.; Licandro, J.; Lim, H.; López Campano, L.; Maccarone, M. C.; Mackovjak, S.; Mahdi, M.; Manfrin, M.; Maravilla, D.; Marcelli, L.; Marcos, J. L.; Marini, A.; Martens, K.; Martín, Y.; Martinez, O.; Masciantonio, G.; Mase, K.; Matev, R.; Matthews, J. N.; Mebarki, N.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Mehrad, L.; Mendoza, M. A.; Merino, A.; Mernik, T.; Meseguer, J.; Messaoud, S.; Micu, O.; Mignone, M.; Mimouni, J.; Miyamoto, H.; Miyazaki, Y.; Mizumoto, Y.; Modestino, G.; Monaco, A.; Monnier-Ragaigne, D.; Morales de los Ríos, J. A.; Moretto, C.; Morozenko, V. S.; Mot, B.; Murakami, T.; Nadji, B.; Nagano, M.; Nagata, M.; Nagataki, S.; Nakamura, T.; Napolitano, T.; Naumov, D.; Nava, R.; Neronov, A.; Nomoto, K.; Nonaka, T.; Ogawa, T.; Ogio, S.; Ohmori, H.; Olinto, A. V.; Orleański, P.; Osteria, G.; Painter, W.; Panasyuk, M. I.; Panico, B.; Parizot, E.; Park, I. H.; Park, H. W.; Pastircak, B.; Patzak, T.; Paul, T.; Pennypacker, C.; Pérez-Grande, I.; Perfetto, F.; Peter, T.; Picozza, P.; Pierog, T.; Pindado, S.; Piotrowski, L. W.; Piraino, S.; Placidi, L.; Plebaniak, Z.; Pliego, S.; Pollini, A.; Popescu, E. M.; Prat, P.; Prévôt, G.; Prieto, H.; Putis, M.; Rabanal, J.; Radu, A. A.; Rahmani, M.; Reardon, P.; Reyes, M.; Rezazadeh, M.; Ricci, M.; Rodríguez Frías, M. D.; Ronga, F.; Roth, M.; Rothkaehl, H.; Roudil, G.; Rusinov, I.; Rybczyński, M.; Sabau, M. D.; Sáez Cano, G.; Sagawa, H.; Sahnoune, Z.; Saito, A.; Sakaki, N.; Sakata, M.; Salazar, H.; Sanchez, J. C.; Sánchez, J. L.; Santangelo, A.; Santiago Crúz, L.; Sanz-Andrés, A.; Sanz Palomino, M.; Saprykin, O.; Sarazin, F.; Sato, H.; Sato, M.; Schanz, T.; Schieler, H.; Scotti, V.; Segreto, A.; Selmane, S.; Semikoz, D.; Serra, M.; Sharakin, S.; Shibata, T.; Shimizu, H. M.; Shinozaki, K.; Shirahama, T.; Siemieniec-Oziȩbło, G.; Sledd, J.; Słomińska, K.; Sobey, A.; Stan, I.; Sugiyama, T.; Supanitsky, D.; Suzuki, M.; Szabelska, B.; Szabelski, J.; Tahi, H.; Tajima, F.; Tajima, N.; Tajima, T.; Takahashi, Y.; Takami, H.; Takeda, M.; Takizawa, Y.; Talai, M. C.; Tenzer, C.; Tibolla, O.; Tkachev, L.; Tokuno, H.; Tomida, T.; Tone, N.; Toscano, S.; Traïche, M.; Tsenov, R.; Tsunesada, Y.; Tsuno, K.; Tymieniecka, T.; Uchihori, Y.; Unger, M.; Vaduvescu, O.; Valdés-Galicia, J. F.; Vallania, P.; Vankova, G.; Vigorito, C.; Villaseñor, L.; Vlcek, B.; von Ballmoos, P.; Vrabel, M.; Wada, S.; Watanabe, J.; Watanabe, S.; Watts, J.; Weber, M.; Weigand Muñoz, R.; Weindl, A.; Weiler, T. J.; Wibig, T.; Wiencke, L.; Wille, M.; Wilms, J.; Włodarczyk, Z.; Yamamoto, T.; Yamamoto, Y.; Yang, J.; Yano, H.; Yashin, I. V.; Yonetoku, D.; Yoshida, S.; Young, R.; Zgura, I. S.; Zotov, M. Yu.; Zuccaro Marchi, A.

2017-09-01

JEM-EUSO is a space mission designed to investigate Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays and Neutrinos (E > 5 ṡ 1019 eV) from the International Space Station (ISS). Looking down from above its wide angle telescope is able to observe their air showers and collect such data from a very wide area. Highly specific trigger algorithms are needed to drastically reduce the data load in the presence of both atmospheric and human activity related background light, yet retain the rare cosmic ray events recorded in the telescope. We report the performance in offline testing of the first level trigger algorithm on data from JEM-EUSO prototypes and laboratory measurements observing different light sources: data taken during a high altitude balloon flight over Canada, laser pulses observed from the ground traversing the real atmosphere, and model landscapes reproducing realistic aspect ratios and light conditions as would be seen from the ISS itself. The first level trigger logic successfully kept the trigger rate within the permissible bounds when challenged with artificially produced as well as naturally encountered night sky background fluctuations and while retaining events with general air-shower characteristics.

Search for patterns by combining cosmic-ray energy and arrival directions at the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE PAGES

Aab, Alexander

2015-06-20

Energy-dependent patterns in the arrival directions of cosmic rays are searched for using data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. We investigate local regions around the highest-energy cosmic rays with E ≥ 6×10 19 eV by analyzing cosmic rays with energies above E ≥ 5×10 18 eV arriving within an angular separation of approximately 15°. We characterize the energy distributions inside these regions by two independent methods, one searching for angular dependence of energy-energy correlations and one searching for collimation of energy along the local system of principal axes of the energy distribution. No significant patterns are found with this analysis.more » As a result, the comparison of these measurements with astrophysical scenarios can therefore be used to obtain constraints on related model parameters such as strength of cosmic-ray deflection and density of point sources.« less

ΛGR Centennial: Cosmic Web in Dark Energy Background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chernin, A. D.

The basic building blocks of the Cosmic Web are groups and clusters of galaxies, super-clusters (pancakes) and filaments embedded in the universal dark energy background. The background produces antigravity, and the antigravity effect is strong in groups, clusters and superclusters. Antigravity is very weak in filaments where matter (dark matter and baryons) produces gravity dominating in the filament internal dynamics. Gravity-antigravity interplay on the large scales is a grandiose phenomenon predicted by ΛGR theory and seen in modern observations of the Cosmic Web.

The energy spectrum of cosmic ray electrons between 10 and 1000 GeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anand, K. C.; Daniel, R. R.; Stephens, S. A.

1975-01-01

Measurements made by the Bombay Group on the fluxes of cosmic ray electrons in the energy range 10-1000 GeV have been compared with those of other workers in the same energy domain with a view to understand the present confused situation on the existing observations at these high energies. Such an analysis clearly brings out the current situation in its true perspective and highlights the care and emphasis to be placed on future experimentation in this important field.

High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)

NASA Image and Video Library

1979-01-01

This photograph was taken during encapsulation of the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-3. Designed and developed by TRW, Inc. under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, the objectives of the HEAO-3 were to survey and map the celestial sphere for gamma-ray flux and make detailed measurements of cosmic-ray particles. It carried three scientific experiments: a gamma-ray spectrometer, a cosmic-ray isotope experiment, and a heavy cosmic-ray nuclei experiment. The HEAO-3 was originally identified as HEAO-C but the designation was changed once the spacecraft achieved orbit. The Marshall Space Flight Center had the project management responsibilities for the HEAO missions.

High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)

NASA Image and Video Library

1979-01-01

This photograph shows the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-3 being prepared for encapsulation. Designed and developed by TRW, Inc. under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, the objectives of the HEAO-3 were to survey and map the celestial sphere for gamma-ray flux and make detailed measurements of cosmic-ray particles. It carried three scientific experiments: a gamma-ray spectrometer, a cosmic-ray isotope experiment, and a heavy cosmic-ray nuclei experiment. The HEAO-3 was originally identified as HEAO-C but the designation was changed once the spacecraft achieved orbit. The Marshall Space Flight Center had the project management responsibilities for the HEAO missions.

High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)

NASA Image and Video Library

1979-01-01

This photograph shows the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-3 being assembled at TRW, Inc. Designed and developed by TRW, Inc. under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, the objectives of the HEAO-3 were to survey and map the celestial sphere for gamma-ray flux and make detailed measurements of cosmic-ray particles. It carried three scientific experiments: a gamma-ray spectrometer, a cosmic-ray isotope experiment, and a heavy cosmic-ray nuclei experiment. The HEAO-3 was originally identified as HEAO-C but the designation was changed once the spacecraft achieved orbit. The Marshall Space Flight Center had the project management responsibilities for the HEAO missions.

High-Energy Astrophysics: An Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishman, Gerald J.

2007-01-01

High-energy astrophysics is the study of objects and phenomena in space with energy densities much greater than that found in normal stars and galaxies. These include black holes, neutron stars, cosmic rays, hypernovae and gamma-ray bursts. A history and an overview of high-energy astrophysics will be presented, including a description of the objects that are observed. Observing techniques, space-borne missions in high-energy astrophysics and some recent discoveries will also be described. Several entirely new types of astronomy are being employed in high-energy astrophysics. These will be briefly described, along with some NASA missions currently under development.

Observation of the large scale cosmic-ray anisotropy at TeV energies with the Milagro detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolterman, Brian E.

Cosmic-rays with energies in the range of 1-100 TeV are nearly isotropic in their arrival directions due to interactions with randomly scattered inhomogeneities in the Galactic magnetic field. Observation of the large scale anisotropy in the arrival direction of these cosmic-rays is therefore a useful tool in constraining theoretical models of cosmic-ray propagation, probing the magnetic field structure in our interstellar neighborhood, as well as providing information about the distribution of sources. In this work results are presented of a harmonic analysis of the large scale cosmic-ray anisotropy as observed by the Milagro observatory. A two- dimensional display of the anisotropy projections in right ascension is generated by the fitting of three harmonics to 18 separate declination bands. Milagro is a water Cherenkov detector located at an elevation of 2630m in the Jemez mountains outside of Los Alamos, NM. With a live time > 90 and a large field-of-view (~2 sr), Milagro is an excellent instrument for measuring this anisotropy with high sensitivity at TeV energies. The analysis is conducted using a seven year data sample consisting of more than 95 billion events. A sidereal anisotropy is observed with a magnitude around 0.1% for cosmic-rays with a median energy of 6 TeV. The dominant feature in this data set is a deficit region of depth (-2.85±0.06 stat. ±0.08 syst.)×10 -3 in the direction of the Galactic North Pole with a range in declination of - 10 to 45 degrees and 150 to 225 degrees in right ascension. The anisotropy also shows evidence of a time dependence, with a steady increase in the magnitude of the signal in this region over the course of seven years. An analysis of the energy dependence of the anisotropy in this region is also presented showing possible deviation of the spectral index of the anisotropy signal from that of the nominal cosmic-ray background. The anisotropy of cosmic-rays in universal time is analyzed showing a dipole structure at

Energy spectra of cosmic-ray nuclei from 50 to 2000 GeV per amu

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grunsfeld, John M.; L'Heureux, Jacques; Meyer, Peter; Muller, Dietrich; Swordy, Simon P.

1988-01-01

A direct measurement of the elemental composition of cosmic rays up to energies of several TeV/amu was performed during the Spacelab 2 flight of the Space Shuttle. Results on the spectral shape for the elements C, O, Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe, obtained from this experiment, are presented. It was found that the C and O energy spectra retain a power-law spectrum in energy with an exponent Gamma of about 2.65. The Fe spectrum is flatter (Gamma of about 2.55) up to a particle energy of about 10 to the 14th eV, indicating a steady increase in the relative abundance of iron in cosmic rays up to this energy. The energy spectra of Ne, Mg, and Si are steeper than anticipated. This behavior is unexpected within current models of cosmic-ray acceleration.

Waste heat recovery with ultra high-speed turbomachinery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vakkilainen, E.; Larjola, J.; Lindgren, O.

1984-08-01

A new ORC heat recovery system which converts waste heat to electricity has been developed in Lappeenranta University of Technology with support from Department of Energy in Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry. Use of ultra high-speed turbomachinery (10 000 rpm - 200 000 rpm) promises lower unit costs, higher efficiencies and fast amortization rate, 2,4 - 3,0 years.

Cooperative research in high energy astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

Details of the activities conducted under the joint effort of the University of Maryland and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics are detailed for the period July 1989 through April 1994. The research covered a variety of topics including: (1) detection of cosmic rays and studies of the solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays; (2) support work for several x-ray satellites; (3) high resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy of celestial sources; (4)theoretical astrophysics; and (5) active galaxies.

High energy neutrinos from astrophysical accelerators of cosmic ray nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anchordoqui, Luis A.; Hooper, Dan; Sarkar, Subir; Taylor, Andrew M.

2008-02-01

Ongoing experimental efforts to detect cosmic sources of high energy neutrinos are guided by the expectation that astrophysical accelerators of cosmic ray protons would also generate neutrinos through interactions with ambient matter and/or photons. However, there will be a reduction in the predicted neutrino flux if cosmic ray sources accelerate not only protons but also significant numbers of heavier nuclei, as is indicated by recent air shower data. We consider plausible extragalactic sources such as active galactic nuclei, gamma ray bursts and starburst galaxies and demand consistency with the observed cosmic ray composition and energy spectrum at Earth after allowing for propagation through intergalactic radiation fields. This allows us to calculate the expected neutrino fluxes from the sources, normalized to the observed cosmic ray spectrum. We find that the likely signals are still within reach of next generation neutrino telescopes such as IceCube.PACS95.85.Ry98.70.Rz98.54.Cm98.54.EpReferencesFor a review, see:F.HalzenD.HooperRep. Prog. Phys.6520021025A.AchterbergIceCube CollaborationPhys. Rev. Lett.972006221101A.AchterbergIceCube CollaborationAstropart. Phys.262006282arXiv:astro-ph/0611063arXiv:astro-ph/0702265V.NiessANTARES CollaborationAIP Conf. Proc.8672006217I.KravchenkoPhys. Rev. D732006082002S.W.BarwickANITA CollaborationPhys. Rev. Lett.962006171101V.Van ElewyckPierre Auger CollaborationAIP Conf. Proc.8092006187For a survey of possible sources and event rates in km3 detectors see e.g.,W.BednarekG.F.BurgioT.MontaruliNew Astron. Rev.4920051M.D.KistlerJ.F.BeacomPhys. Rev. D742006063007A. Kappes, J. Hinton, C. Stegmann, F.A. Aharonian, arXiv:astro-ph/0607286.A.LevinsonE.WaxmanPhys. Rev. Lett.872001171101C.DistefanoD.GuettaE.WaxmanA.LevinsonAstrophys. J.5752002378F.A.AharonianL.A.AnchordoquiD.KhangulyanT.MontaruliJ. Phys. Conf. Ser.392006408J.Alvarez-MunizF.HalzenAstrophys. J.5762002L33F.VissaniAstropart. Phys.262006310F

Identifying ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray accelerators with future ultrahigh-energy neutrino detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Ke; Kotera, Kumiko; Miller, M. Coleman; Murase, Kohta; Oikonomou, Foteini

2016-12-01

The detection of ultrahigh-energy (UHE) neutrino sources would contribute significantly to solving the decades-old mystery of the origin of the highest-energy cosmic rays. We investigate the ability of a future UHE neutrino detector to identify the brightest neutrino point sources, by exploring the parameter space of the total number of observed events and the angular resolution of the detector. The favored parameter region can be translated to requirements for the effective area, sky coverage and angular resolution of future detectors, for a given source number density and evolution history. Moreover, by studying the typical distance to sources that are expected to emit more than one event for a given diffuse neutrino flux, we find that a significant fraction of the identifiable UHE neutrino sources may be located in the nearby Universe if the source number density is above ~10-6 Mpc-3. If sources are powerful and rare enough, as predicted in blazar scenarios, they can first be detected at distant locations. Our result also suggests that if UHE cosmic-ray accelerators are neither beamed nor transients, it will be possible to associate the detected UHE neutrino sources with nearby UHE cosmic-ray and gamma-ray sources, and that they may also be observed using other messengers, including ones with limited horizons such as TeV gamma rays, UHE gamma rays and cosmic rays. We find that for a gtrsim5σ detection of UHE neutrino sources with a uniform density, ns~10-7-10-5 Mpc-3, at least ~100-1000 events and sub-degree angular resolution are needed, and the results depend on the source evolution model.

Anisotropy in the Arrival Directions of Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic Rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villaseñor, Luis

2017-06-01

In this article we illustrate, in an interactive way, the analysis and visualization of anisotropy properties in the arrival directions of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays detected by the Telescope Array and the Pierre Auger experiments by using data released by both collaborations. We describe the use of several programs that we have written in Python and Julia languages for this purpose. We also discuss the potential sources and analyse the effect of correcting the arrival directions to take into account the deflections of the cosmic rays by the magnetic field of our galaxy for one specific model of the galactic magnetic field under several assumptions about the composition of the primary cosmic rays.

High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)

NASA Image and Video Library

1979-01-01

Managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and built by TRW, the third High Energy Astronomy Observatory was launched September 20, 1979. HEAO-3 was designed to study gamma-rays and cosmic ray particles.

Detection of Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic Rays with the Auger Engineering Radio Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krause, Raphael; Pierre Auger Collaboration

2017-02-01

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays interact with the Earth's atmosphere and produce great numbers of secondary particles forming an extensive air shower. These air showers emit radiation in the radio frequency range which delivers important information about the processes of radio emission in extensive air showers and properties of the primary cosmic rays, e.g. arrival direction, energy and mass with a duty cycle close to 100%. The radio extension of the world's largest cosmic-ray experiment, the Pierre Auger Observatory, is called the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA). In addition to the particle and fluorescence detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory, AERA investigates the electromagnetic component of extensive air showers using 153 autonomous radio stations on an area of 17km2 .

First cosmic-ray grapes ripen in Argentina: Results and progress of the Pierre Auger Observatory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prouza, Michael; Nevis Laboratories, New York, NY 10027; Institute of Physics, Prague

2006-11-17

The Pierre Auger Observatory is the largest detector ever built for the study of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. The construction of its southern site in Mendoza Province in Argentina is almost complete and the observatory has been acquiring scientific data for more than two years. The cumulative exposure achieved during this period is greater than the exposure of any forerunner experiment. Furthermore, the Pierre Auger Observatory uses the innovative hybrid technique which combines the advantages of fluorescence telescopes (precise and nearly model-independent energy measurement) and the advantages of surface detector arrays (exact geometrical definition of exposure). A preliminary analysis ofmore » this initial data set will be presented, namely the spectrum and the results of anisotropy searches.« less

PLASMA EFFECTS ON EXTRAGALACTIC ULTRAHIGH-ENERGY COSMIC-RAY HADRON BEAMS IN COSMIC VOIDS. II. KINETIC INSTABILITY OF PARALLEL ELECTROSTATIC WAVES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krakau, S.; Schlickeiser, R., E-mail: steffen.krakau@rub.de, E-mail: rsch@tp4.rub.de

2016-02-20

The linear instability of an ultrarelativistic hadron beam in the unmagnetized intergalactic medium (IGM) is investigated with respect to the excitation of parallel electrostatic and electromagnetic fluctuations. This analysis is important for the propagation of extragalactic ultrarelativistic cosmic rays from their distant sources to Earth. As opposed to the previous paper, we calculate the minimum instability growth time for Lorentz-distributed cosmic rays which traverse the hot IGM. The growth times are orders of magnitude higher than the cosmic-ray propagation time in the IGM. Since the backreaction of the generated plasma fluctuations (plateauing) lasts longer than the propagation time, the cosmic-raymore » hadron beam can propagate to the Earth without losing a significant amount of energy to electrostatic turbulence.« less

Elemental Abundances of Ultra-Heavy Galactic Cosmic Rays from the SuperTIGER Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Ryan

2016-07-01

The SuperTIGER (Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder) experiment was launched on a long-duration balloon flight from Williams Field, Antarctica, on December 8, 2012. The instrument measured the relative elemental abundances of Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) for charge (Z) Z>10 with excellent charge resolution, displaying well resolved individual element peaks for 10 ≤ Z ≤ 40. During its record-breaking 55-day flight, SuperTIGER collected ˜4.73 x10^{6} Iron nuclei, ˜8 times as many as detected by its predecessor, TIGER, with charge resolution at iron of 0.17 cu. SuperTIGER measures charge (Z) and energy (E) using a combination of three scintillator and two Cherenkov detectors, and employs a scintillating fiber hodoscope for event trajectory determination. The SuperTIGER data have been analyzed to correct for instrument effects and remove events that underwent nuclear interactions within the instrument. The data include more than 600 events in the charge range 30 < Z ≤ 40. SuperTIGER is the first experiment to resolve elemental abundances of every element in this charge range with high statistics and single-element resolution. The relative abundances of the galactic cosmic ray source have been derived from the measured relative elemental abundances using atmospheric and interstellar propagations. The SuperTIGER measured abundances are generally consistent with previous experimental results from TIGER and ACE-CRIS, with improved statistical precision. The SuperTIGER results confirm the earlier results from TIGER, supporting a model of cosmic-ray origin in OB associations, with preferential acceleration of refractory elements over volatile elements ordered by atomic mass (A). A second SuperTIGER Antarctic flight is planned for December 2017. Details of the instrument, flight, data analysis, and ongoing preparations will be presented.

A new population of very high energy gamma-ray sources in the Milky Way.

PubMed

Aharonian, F; Akhperjanian, A G; Aye, K-M; Bazer-Bachi, A R; Beilicke, M; Benbow, W; Berge, D; Berghaus, P; Bernlöhr, K; Boisson, C; Bolz, O; Borgmeier, C; Braun, I; Breitling, F; Brown, A M; Gordo, J Bussons; Chadwick, P M; Chounet, L-M; Cornils, R; Costamante, L; Degrange, B; Djannati-Ataï, A; Drury, L O'C; Dubus, G; Ergin, T; Espigat, P; Feinstein, F; Fleury, P; Fontaine, G; Funk, S; Gallant, Y A; Giebels, B; Gillessen, S; Goret, P; Hadjichristidis, C; Hauser, M; Heinzelmann, G; Henri, G; Hermann, G; Hinton, J A; Hofmann, W; Holleran, M; Horns, D; de Jager, O C; Jung, I; Khélifi, B; Komin, Nu; Konopelko, A; Latham, I J; Le Gallou, R; Lemière, A; Lemoine, M; Leroy, N; Lohse, T; Marcowith, A; Masterson, C; McComb, T J L; de Naurois, M; Nolan, S J; Noutsos, A; Orford, K J; Osborne, J L; Ouchrif, M; Panter, M; Pelletier, G; Pita, S; Pühlhofer, G; Punch, M; Raubenheimer, B C; Raue, M; Raux, J; Rayner, S M; Redondo, I; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Ripken, J; Rob, L; Rolland, L; Rowell, G; Sahakian, V; Saugé, L; Schlenker, S; Schlickeiser, R; Schuster, C; Schwanke, U; Siewert, M; Sol, H; Steenkamp, R; Stegmann, C; Tavernet, J-P; Terrier, R; Théoret, C G; Tluczykont, M; van der Walt, D J; Vasileiadis, G; Venter, C; Vincent, P; Visser, B; Völk, H J; Wagner, S J

2005-03-25

Very high energy gamma-rays probe the long-standing mystery of the origin of cosmic rays. Produced in the interactions of accelerated particles in astrophysical objects, they can be used to image cosmic particle accelerators. A first sensitive survey of the inner part of the Milky Way with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) reveals a population of eight previously unknown firmly detected sources of very high energy gamma-rays. At least two have no known radio or x-ray counterpart and may be representative of a new class of "dark" nucleonic cosmic ray sources.

A realistic treatment of geomagnetic Cherenkov radiation from cosmic ray air showers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werner, Klaus; de Vries, Krijn D.; Scholten, Olaf

2012-09-01

We present a macroscopic calculation of coherent electro-magnetic radiation from air showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays, based on currents obtained from three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations of air showers in a realistic geo-magnetic field. We discuss the importance of a correct treatment of the index of refraction in air, given by the law of Gladstone and Dale, which affects the pulses enormously for certain configurations, compared to a simplified treatment using a constant index. We predict in particular a geomagnetic Cherenkov radiation, which provides strong signals at high frequencies (GHz), for certain geometries together with "normal radiation" from the shower maximum, leading to a double peak structure in the frequency spectrum. We also provide some information about the numerical procedures referred to as EVA 1.0.

A time-dependent search for high-energy neutrinos from bright GRBs with ANTARES

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Celli, Silvia

2017-03-01

Astrophysical point-like neutrino sources, like Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), are one of the main targets for neutrino telescopes, since they are among the best candidates for Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) acceleration. From the interaction between the accelerated protons and the intense radiation fields of the source jet, charged mesons are produced, which then decay into neutrinos. The methods and the results of a search for high-energy neutrinos in spatial and temporal correlation with the detected gamma-ray emission are presented for four bright GRBs observed between 2008 and 2013: a time-dependent analysis, optimised for each flare of the selected bursts, is performed to predict detailed neutrino spectra. The internal shock scenario of the fireball model is investigated, relying on the neutrino spectra computed through the numerical code NeuCosmA. The analysis is optimized on a per burst basis, through the maximization of the signal discovery probability. Since no events in ANTARES data passed the optimised cuts, 90% C.L. upper limits are derived on the expected neutrino fluences.

Very-High-Energy Solar Gamma Rays From Cosmic-Ray Interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Bei; Ng, Kenny; Beacom, John; Peter, Annika; Rott, Cartsen

2017-01-01

Cosmic-ray induced gamma rays from the Sun has been observed up to 100 GeV. However, there are no theoretical predictions beyond 10 GeV. We provide the first calculation of the hadronic disk component in TeV-PeV, where solar magnetic fields can be ignored. We also consider the leptonic gamma-ray halo, taking into account electrons from local pulsars. With Fermi and soon HAWC & LHAASO observations, our results provide new insights on local cosmic rays, solar magnetic fields, and solar dark matter studies. BZ is supported by OSU Fowler Fellowship. KN and FB are supported by NSF Grant PHY-1404311. AK is supported by NSF GRFP Grant No. DGE-1321846. CR is supported by the Korea Neutrino Research Center. KN is also supported by the OSU Presidential Fellowship.

COSMIC RAYS AND COSMIC SPACE (in Russian)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vernova, S.N.

1960-08-01

An account is given of recent studies of cosmic rays utilizing both earthbound stations and artificial earth satellites. Phenomena recently uncovered by sputniks are described. A description is given of the cosmic ray laboratory of Moscow University. A particle possessing an energy of l0/sup 15/ ev was detected and the equipment and procedure by which this was done are described. mu mesons in a particle shower produced by cosmic rays were detected at a depth of thirty meters underground. The apparatus required in the sputriks for the study of cosmic rays outside the earth's atmosphere is discussed. The equipment inmore » the sputniks launched to date was transistorized; scintillation counters were used to determine particle energies. A description is given of the large burst of radiation detected by the second sputnik on Nov. 7, 1957. This burst was observed only at latitudes of about 50 to 70 degrees north latitude. The third sputnik had a scintillation counter of high sensitivity which detected relatively weak fluxes of electrons. This equipment fixed the location of the high intensity radiation belt around the earth. A typical graph of count rate and energy current versus geographic location is given. Data are given that indicate the coincidence of peak radiation intensities with those regions where the aurora borealis is seen. The radiation belt extends up to approximately 60,000 km from the earth's surface and is bounded by the magnetic lines of force that intersect the earth' s surface at geomagnetic latitudes of 55 deg and 70 deg . The earth's magnetic field traps these particles and holds them in an orbit that follows magnetic lines of force and oscillates from the northern to the southern hemisphere for long periods of time. A diagram is given of the trajectory of the first Soviet cosmic rocket and changes in radiation intensity along this trajectory are indicated. A maximum radiation intensity was detected at a distance of 20,000 km from the earth

Laboratory Astrophysics Using High Intensity Particle and Photon Beams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Pisin

History has shown that the symbiosis between direct observations and laboratory studies is instrumental in the progress of astrophysics. Recent years have seen growing interests in the laboratory investigation of astrophysical phenomena that can be addressed by high densities and advancement of technologies in lasers as well as high-energy particle beams. We will give examples on how frontier phenomena such as black holes, supernovae, gamma ray bursts, ultra high-energy cosmic rays, etc., can be investigated in the laboratory setting. Finally, we describe a possible laboratory astrophysics facility to be developed at SLAC.

Low-energy cosmic ray protons from nuclear interactions of cosmic rays with the interstellar medium.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, H. T.

1973-01-01

The intensity of low-energy (less than 100 MeV) protons from nuclear interactions of higher-energy (above 100 MeV) cosmic rays with the interstellar medium is calculated. The resultant intensity in the 10- to 100-MeV range is larger by a factor of 3-5 than the observed proton intensity near earth. The calculated intensity from nuclear interactions constitutes a lower limit on the actual proton intensity in interstellar space.

Chemical Abundance Measurements of Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxies Discovered by the Dark Energy Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagasawa, Daniel; Marshall, Jennifer L.; Simon, Joshua D.; Hansen, Terese; Li, Ting; Bernstein, Rebecca; Balbinot, Eduardo; Drlica-Wagner, Alex; Pace, Andrew; Strigari, Louis; Pellegrino, Craig; DePoy, Darren L.; Suntzeff, Nicholas; Bechtol, Keith; Dark Energy Suvey

2018-01-01

We present chemical abundance analysis results derived from high-resolution spectroscopy of ultra-faint dwarfs discovered by the Dark Energy Survey. Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies preserve a fossil record of the chemical abundance patterns imprinted by the first stars in the Universe. High-resolution spectroscopic observations of member stars in several recently discovered Milky Way satellites reveal a range of abundance patterns among ultra-faint dwarfs suggesting that star formation processes in the early Universe were quite diverse. The chemical content provides a glimpse not only of the varied nucleosynthetic processes and chemical history of the dwarfs themselves, but also the environment in which they were formed. We present the chemical abundance analysis of these objects and discuss possible explanations for the observed abundance patterns.

Prospects of Silicon Photomultipliers for Ground-Based Cosmic Ray Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, Christine; Bretz, Thomas; Hebbeker, Thomas; Kemp, Julian; Lauscher, Markus; Middendorf, Lukas; Niggemann, Tim; Schumacher, Johannes

An established technique to study ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is the detection of extensive air showers induced in the atmosphere of the earth. Thereby, cascades of secondary particles are produced consisting of a hadronic, an electromagnetic and a muonic component. Especially the determination of the number of muons and the amount of fluorescence light produced during the shower development allows to draw conclusions on the mass and energy of the primary particle. Thus, these are important observables for air shower experiments like for instance the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina, and its AugerPrime upgrade in progress. The steady development of semiconductor devices in the last years resulted in highly improved photon sensors, e.g., silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The small package and moderate bias voltage (<100 V) of these silicon devices allow for compact and robust designs. Detailed detector simulations, the development of dedicated front-end electronics, as well as construction and investigation of detector prototypes, are needed to study the applicability of SiPMs for cosmic ray experiments. We present our findings for two different detector techniques: First, we present the fluorescence telescope, FAMOUS. Its basic principle is based on a Fresnel lens focusing the incoming light onto a camera instrumented with 61 pixels. Secondly, the benefit of the application of SiPMs is studied for scintillator detectors designed for an improved determination of the muonic component in air showers of current experiments.

Indications for a High-Rigidity Break in the Cosmic-Ray Diffusion Coefficient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Génolini, Yoann; Serpico, Pasquale D.; Boudaud, Mathieu; Caroff, Sami; Poulin, Vivian; Derome, Laurent; Lavalle, Julien; Maurin, David; Poireau, Vincent; Rosier, Sylvie; Salati, Pierre; Vecchi, Manuela

2017-12-01

Using cosmic-ray boron to carbon ratio (B/C) data recently released by the Ams-02 experiment, we find indications (decisive evidence, in Bayesian terms) in favor of a diffusive propagation origin for the broken power-law spectra found in protons (p ) and helium nuclei (He). The result is robust with respect to currently estimated uncertainties in the cross sections, and in the presence of a small component of primary boron, expected because of spallation at the acceleration site. Reduced errors at high energy as well as further cosmic ray nuclei data (as absolute spectra of C, N, O, Li, Be) may definitively confirm this scenario.

Dark energy and the cosmic microwave background radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dodelson, S.; Knox, L.

2000-01-01

We find that current cosmic microwave background anisotropy data strongly constrain the mean spatial curvature of the Universe to be near zero, or, equivalently, the total energy density to be near critical-as predicted by inflation. This result is robust to editing of data sets, and variation of other cosmological parameters (totaling seven, including a cosmological constant). Other lines of argument indicate that the energy density of nonrelativistic matter is much less than critical. Together, these results are evidence, independent of supernovae data, for dark energy in the Universe.

Dark energy and the cosmic microwave background radiation.

PubMed

Dodelson, S; Knox, L

2000-04-17

We find that current cosmic microwave background anisotropy data strongly constrain the mean spatial curvature of the Universe to be near zero, or, equivalently, the total energy density to be near critical-as predicted by inflation. This result is robust to editing of data sets, and variation of other cosmological parameters (totaling seven, including a cosmological constant). Other lines of argument indicate that the energy density of nonrelativistic matter is much less than critical. Together, these results are evidence, independent of supernovae data, for dark energy in the Universe.

Weakly ionized cosmic gas: Ionization and characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenberg, M.; Mendis, D. A.; Chow, V. W.

1994-01-01

Since collective plasma behavior may determine important transport processes (e.g., plasma diffusion across a magnetic field) in certain cosmic environments, it is important to delineate the parameter space in which weakly ionized cosmic gases may be characterized as plasmas. In this short note, we do so. First, we use values for the ionization fraction given in the literature, wherein the ionization is generally assumed to be due primarily to ionization by cosmic rays. We also discuss an additional mechanism for ionization in such environments, namely, the photoelectric emission of electrons from cosmic dust grains in an interstellar Far Ultra Violet (FUV) radiation field. Simple estimates suggest that under certain conditions this mechanism may dominate cosmic ray ionization, and possibly also the photoionization of metal atoms by the interstellar FUV field, and thereby lead to an enhanced ionization level.

Research in High Energy Physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilson, Robert John; Toki, Walter; Harton, John

This report summarizes research performed within the Department of Energy Office of Science's Intensity Frontier and Cosmic Frontier High Energy Physics research subprograms during the period 2014-17. The major research thrusts in the Intensity Frontier involved two currently active neutrino experiments T2K and NOvA; participation in development for the new Short-Baseline Neutrino program at Fermilab (SBN), which will begin full operation within the next one to two years; and physics tools, analysis and detector prototyping for the future Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). The major research thrusts in the Cosmic Frontier involved the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Directional Recoilmore » Identification From Tracks (DRIFT) dark matter search experiment.« less

Identifying ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray accelerators with future ultrahigh-energy neutrino detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fang, Ke; Miller, M. Coleman; Kotera, Kumiko

2016-12-01

The detection of ultrahigh-energy (UHE) neutrino sources would contribute significantly to solving the decades-old mystery of the origin of the highest-energy cosmic rays. We investigate the ability of a future UHE neutrino detector to identify the brightest neutrino point sources, by exploring the parameter space of the total number of observed events and the angular resolution of the detector. The favored parameter region can be translated to requirements for the effective area, sky coverage and angular resolution of future detectors, for a given source number density and evolution history. Moreover, by studying the typical distance to sources that are expectedmore » to emit more than one event for a given diffuse neutrino flux, we find that a significant fraction of the identifiable UHE neutrino sources may be located in the nearby Universe if the source number density is above ∼10{sup −6} Mpc{sup −3}. If sources are powerful and rare enough, as predicted in blazar scenarios, they can first be detected at distant locations. Our result also suggests that if UHE cosmic-ray accelerators are neither beamed nor transients, it will be possible to associate the detected UHE neutrino sources with nearby UHE cosmic-ray and gamma-ray sources, and that they may also be observed using other messengers, including ones with limited horizons such as TeV gamma rays, UHE gamma rays and cosmic rays. We find that for a ∼>5σ detection of UHE neutrino sources with a uniform density, n {sub s} {sub ∼}10{sup −7}−10{sup −5} Mpc{sup −3}, at least ∼100−1000 events and sub-degree angular resolution are needed, and the results depend on the source evolution model.« less

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy.

PubMed

Aab, A; Abreu, P; Aglietta, M; Ahn, E J; Al Samarai, I; Albuquerque, I F M; Allekotte, I; Allison, P; Almela, A; Alvarez Castillo, J; Alvarez-Muñiz, J; Alves Batista, R; Ambrosio, M; Aminaei, A; Anastasi, G A; Anchordoqui, L; Andringa, S; Aramo, C; Arqueros, F; Arsene, N; Asorey, H; Assis, P; Aublin, J; Avila, G; Awal, N; Badescu, A M; Baus, C; Beatty, J J; Becker, K H; Bellido, J A; Berat, C; Bertaina, M E; Bertou, X; Biermann, P L; Billoir, P; Blaess, S G; Blanco, A; Blanco, M; Blazek, J; Bleve, C; Blümer, H; Boháčová, M; Boncioli, D; Bonifazi, C; Borodai, N; Brack, J; Brancus, I; Bretz, T; Bridgeman, A; Brogueira, P; Buchholz, P; Bueno, A; Buitink, S; Buscemi, M; Caballero-Mora, K S; Caccianiga, B; Caccianiga, L; Candusso, M; Caramete, L; Caruso, R; Castellina, A; Cataldi, G; Cazon, L; Cester, R; Chavez, A G; Chiavassa, A; Chinellato, J A; Chudoba, J; Cilmo, M; Clay, R W; Cocciolo, G; Colalillo, R; Coleman, A; Collica, L; Coluccia, M R; Conceição, R; Contreras, F; Cooper, M J; Cordier, A; Coutu, S; Covault, C E; Cronin, J; Dallier, R; Daniel, B; Dasso, S; Daumiller, K; Dawson, B R; de Almeida, R M; de Jong, S J; De Mauro, G; de Mello Neto, J R T; De Mitri, I; de Oliveira, J; de Souza, V; Del Peral, L; Deligny, O; Dhital, N; Di Giulio, C; Di Matteo, A; Diaz, J C; Díaz Castro, M L; Diogo, F; Dobrigkeit, C; Docters, W; D'Olivo, J C; Dorofeev, A; Dorosti Hasankiadeh, Q; Dos Anjos, R C; Dova, M T; Ebr, J; Engel, R; Erdmann, M; Erfani, M; Escobar, C O; Espadanal, J; Etchegoyen, A; Falcke, H; Fang, K; Farrar, G; Fauth, A C; Fazzini, N; Ferguson, A P; Fick, B; Figueira, J M; Filevich, A; Filipčič, A; Fratu, O; Freire, M M; Fujii, T; García, B; Garcia-Gamez, D; Garcia-Pinto, D; Gate, F; Gemmeke, H; Gherghel-Lascu, A; Ghia, P L; Giaccari, U; Giammarchi, M; Giller, M; Głas, D; Glaser, C; Glass, H; Golup, G; Gómez Berisso, M; Gómez Vitale, P F; González, N; Gookin, B; Gordon, J; Gorgi, A; Gorham, P; Gouffon, P; Griffith, N; Grillo, A F; Grubb, T D; Guarino, F; Guedes, G P; Hampel, M R; Hansen, P; Harari, D; Harrison, T A; Hartmann, S; Harton, J L; Haungs, A; Hebbeker, T; Heck, D; Heimann, P; Herve, A E; Hill, G C; Hojvat, C; Hollon, N; Holt, E; Homola, P; Hörandel, J R; Horvath, P; Hrabovský, M; Huber, D; Huege, T; Insolia, A; Isar, P G; Jandt, I; Jansen, S; Jarne, C; Johnsen, J A; Josebachuili, M; Kääpä, A; Kambeitz, O; Kampert, K H; Kasper, P; Katkov, I; Keilhauer, B; Kemp, E; Kieckhafer, R M; Klages, H O; Kleifges, M; Kleinfeller, J; Krause, R; Krohm, N; Kuempel, D; Kukec Mezek, G; Kunka, N; Kuotb Awad, A W; LaHurd, D; Latronico, L; Lauer, R; Lauscher, M; Lautridou, P; Le Coz, S; Lebrun, D; Lebrun, P; Leigui de Oliveira, M A; Letessier-Selvon, A; Lhenry-Yvon, I; Link, K; Lopes, L; López, R; López Casado, A; Louedec, K; Lucero, A; Malacari, M; Mallamaci, M; Maller, J; Mandat, D; Mantsch, P; Mariazzi, A G; Marin, V; Mariş, I C; Marsella, G; Martello, D; Martinez, H; Martínez Bravo, O; Martraire, D; Masías Meza, J J; Mathes, H J; Mathys, S; Matthews, J; Matthews, J A J; Matthiae, G; Maurizio, D; Mayotte, E; Mazur, P O; Medina, C; Medina-Tanco, G; Meissner, R; Mello, V B B; Melo, D; Menshikov, A; Messina, S; Micheletti, M I; Middendorf, L; Minaya, I A; Miramonti, L; Mitrica, B; Molina-Bueno, L; Mollerach, S; Montanet, F; Morello, C; Mostafá, M; Moura, C A; Muller, M A; Müller, G; Müller, S; Navas, S; Necesal, P; Nellen, L; Nelles, A; Neuser, J; Nguyen, P H; Niculescu-Oglinzanu, M; Niechciol, M; Niemietz, L; Niggemann, T; Nitz, D; Nosek, D; Novotny, V; Nožka, L; Núñez, L A; Ochilo, L; Oikonomou, F; Olinto, A; Pacheco, N; Pakk Selmi-Dei, D; Palatka, M; Pallotta, J; Papenbreer, P; Parente, G; Parra, A; Paul, T; Pech, M; Pȩkala, J; Pelayo, R; Pepe, I M; Perrone, L; Petermann, E; Peters, C; Petrera, S; Petrov, Y; Phuntsok, J; Piegaia, R; Pierog, T; Pieroni, P; Pimenta, M; Pirronello, V; Platino, M; Plum, M; Porcelli, A; Porowski, C; Prado, R R; Privitera, P; Prouza, M; Quel, E J; Querchfeld, S; Quinn, S; Rautenberg, J; Ravel, O; Ravignani, D; Reinert, D; Revenu, B; Ridky, J; Risse, M; Ristori, P; Rizi, V; Rodrigues de Carvalho, W; Rodriguez Rojo, J; Rodríguez-Frías, M D; Rogozin, D; Rosado, J; Roth, M; Roulet, E; Rovero, A C; Saffi, S J; Saftoiu, A; Salazar, H; Saleh, A; Salesa Greus, F; Salina, G; Sanabria Gomez, J D; Sánchez, F; Sanchez-Lucas, P; Santos, E; Santos, E M; Sarazin, F; Sarkar, B; Sarmento, R; Sarmiento-Cano, C; Sato, R; Scarso, C; Schauer, M; Scherini, V; Schieler, H; Schmidt, D; Scholten, O; Schoorlemmer, H; Schovánek, P; Schröder, F G; Schulz, A; Schulz, J; Schumacher, J; Sciutto, S J; Segreto, A; Settimo, M; Shadkam, A; Shellard, R C; Sigl, G; Sima, O; Śmiałkowski, A; Šmída, R; Snow, G R; Sommers, P; Sonntag, S; Sorokin, J; Squartini, R; Srivastava, Y N; Stanca, D; Stanič, S; Stapleton, J; Stasielak, J; Stephan, M; Stutz, A; Suarez, F; Suarez Durán, M; Suomijärvi, T; Supanitsky, A D; Sutherland, M S; Swain, J; Szadkowski, Z; Taborda, O A; Tapia, A; Tepe, A; Theodoro, V M; Timmermans, C; Todero Peixoto, C J; Toma, G; Tomankova, L; Tomé, B; Tonachini, A; Torralba Elipe, G; Torres Machado, D; Travnicek, P; Trini, M; Ulrich, R; Unger, M; Urban, M; Valdés Galicia, J F; Valiño, I; Valore, L; van Aar, G; van Bodegom, P; van den Berg, A M; van Velzen, S; van Vliet, A; Varela, E; Vargas Cárdenas, B; Varner, G; Vasquez, R; Vázquez, J R; Vázquez, R A; Veberič, D; Verzi, V; Vicha, J; Videla, M; Villaseñor, L; Vlcek, B; Vorobiov, S; Wahlberg, H; Wainberg, O; Walz, D; Watson, A A; Weber, M; Weidenhaupt, K; Weindl, A; Welling, C; Werner, F; Widom, A; Wiencke, L; Wilczyński, H; Winchen, T; Wittkowski, D; Wundheiler, B; Wykes, S; Yang, L; Yapici, T; Yushkov, A; Zas, E; Zavrtanik, D; Zavrtanik, M; Zepeda, A; Zimmermann, B; Ziolkowski, M; Zuccarello, F

2016-06-17

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8±0.7(stat)±6.7(syst)  MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principles calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.

Measurement of the radiation energy in the radio signal of extensive air showers as a universal estimator of cosmic-ray energy

DOE PAGES

Aab, Alexander

2016-06-14

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 ± 0.7 (stat) ± 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade ofmore » extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.« less

Cosmic Ray Flux Measurement with AMANDA-II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chirkin, Dmitry A.; AMANDA Collaboration

2003-07-01

AMANDA-I I is a neutrino telescope composed of 677 optical sensors organized along 19 strings buried deep in the Antarctic ice cap. It is designed to detect Cherenkov light produced by cosmic-rayand neutrino-induced muons. The ma jority of events recorded by AMANDA-I I are caused by muons which are produced in the atmosphere by high-energy cosmic rays. The leading uncertainties in simulating such events come from the choice of the high-energy model used to describe the first interaction of the cosmic rays, uncertainties in our knowledge and implementation of the ice properties at the depth of the detector, and individual optical module sensitivities. A method is developed that results in a flux measurement of cosmic rays with energies 1.5-200 TeV per nucleon (95% of primaries causing low-multiplicity events in AMANDA-I I have energies in this range) indep endent of ice model and optical module sensitivities. Predictions of six commonly-used high-energy interaction models QGSJET, VENUS, NEXUS, DPMJET, HDPM, and SYBILL are compared to data. Best agreement with direct measurements is achieved with QGSJET, VENUS, and NEXUS (preliminary: Φ0,H = 0.106 ± 0.007 m-2 s-1 sr-1 TeV-1 , γH = 2.70 ± 0.02).

Cosmic archaeology with gravitational waves from cosmic strings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Yanou; Lewicki, Marek; Morrissey, David E.; Wells, James D.

2018-06-01

Cosmic strings are generic cosmological predictions of many extensions of the standard model of particle physics, such as a U (1 )' symmetry-breaking phase transition in the early Universe or remnants of superstring theory. Unlike other topological defects, cosmic strings can reach a scaling regime that maintains a small fixed fraction of the total energy density of the Universe from a very early epoch until today. If present, they will oscillate and generate gravitational waves with a frequency spectrum that imprints the dominant sources of total cosmic energy density throughout the history of the Universe. We demonstrate that current and future gravitational wave detectors, such as LIGO and LISA, could be capable of measuring the frequency spectrum of gravitational waves from cosmic strings and discerning the energy composition of the Universe at times well before primordial nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background where standard cosmology has yet to be tested. This work establishes a benchmark case that gravitational waves may provide an unprecedented, powerful tool for probing the evolutionary history of the very early Universe.

The TUS Detector of Extreme Energy Cosmic Rays on Board the Lomonosov Satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klimov, P. A.; Panasyuk, M. I.; Khrenov, B. A.; Garipov, G. K.; Kalmykov, N. N.; Petrov, V. L.; Sharakin, S. A.; Shirokov, A. V.; Yashin, I. V.; Zotov, M. Y.; Biktemerova, S. V.; Grinyuk, A. A.; Grebenyuk, V. M.; Lavrova, M. V.; Tkachev, L. G.; Tkachenko, A. V.; Park, I. H.; Lee, J.; Jeong, S.; Martinez, O.; Salazar, H.; Ponce, E.; Saprykin, O. A.; Botvinko, A. A.; Senkovsky, A. N.; Puchkov, A. E.

2017-11-01

The origin and nature of extreme energy cosmic rays (EECRs), which have energies above the 5\\cdot10^{19} eV—the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) energy limit, is one of the most interesting and complicated problems in modern cosmic-ray physics. Existing ground-based detectors have helped to obtain remarkable results in studying cosmic rays before and after the GZK limit, but have also produced some contradictions in our understanding of cosmic ray mass composition. Moreover, each of these detectors covers only a part of the celestial sphere, which poses problems for studying the arrival directions of EECRs and identifying their sources. As a new generation of EECR space detectors, TUS (Tracking Ultraviolet Set-up), KLYPVE and JEM-EUSO, are intended to study the most energetic cosmic-ray particles, providing larger, uniform exposures of the entire celestial sphere. The TUS detector, launched on board the Lomonosov satellite on April 28, 2016 from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia, is the first of these. It employs a single-mirror optical system and a photomultiplier tube matrix as a photo-detector and will test the fluorescent method of measuring EECRs from space. Utilizing the Earth's atmosphere as a huge calorimeter, it is expected to detect EECRs with energies above 10^{20} eV. It will also be able to register slower atmospheric transient events: atmospheric fluorescence in electrical discharges of various types including precipitating electrons escaping the magnetosphere and from the radiation of meteors passing through the atmosphere. We describe the design of the TUS detector and present results of different ground-based tests and simulations.

Efficient cold outflows driven by cosmic rays in high-redshift galaxies and their global effects on the IGM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samui, Saumyadip; Subramanian, Kandaswamy; Srianand, Raghunathan

2018-05-01

We present semi-analytical models of galactic outflows in high-redshift galaxies driven by both hot thermal gas and non-thermal cosmic rays. Thermal pressure alone may not sustain a large-scale outflow in low-mass galaxies (i.e. M ˜ 108 M⊙), in the presence of supernovae feedback with large mass loading. We show that inclusion of cosmic ray pressure allows outflow solutions even in these galaxies. In massive galaxies for the same energy efficiency, cosmic ray-driven winds can propagate to larger distances compared to pure thermally driven winds. On an average gas in the cosmic ray-driven winds has a lower temperature which could aid detecting it through absorption lines in the spectra of background sources. Using our constrained semi-analytical models of galaxy formation (that explains the observed ultraviolet luminosity functions of galaxies), we study the influence of cosmic ray-driven winds on the properties of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at different redshifts. In particular, we study the volume filling factor, average metallicity, cosmic ray and magnetic field energy densities for models invoking atomic cooled and molecular cooled haloes. We show that the cosmic rays in the IGM could have enough energy that can be transferred to the thermal gas in presence of magnetic fields to influence the thermal history of the IGM. The significant volume filling and resulting strength of IGM magnetic fields can also account for recent γ-ray observations of blazars.

Implications of a electroweak triplet scalar leptoquark on the ultra-high energy neutrino events at IceCube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mileo, Nicolas; de la Puente, Alejandro; Szynkman, Alejandro

2016-11-01

We study the production of scalar leptoquarks at IceCube, in particular, a particle transforming as a triplet under the weak interaction. The existence of electroweak-triplet scalars is highly motivated by models of grand unification and also within radiative seesaw models for neutrino mass generation. In our framework, we extend the Standard Model by a single colored electroweak-triplet scalar leptoquark and analyze its implications on the excess of ultra-high energy neutrino events observed by the IceCube collaboration. We consider only couplings between the leptoquark to first generation of quarks and first and second generations of leptons, and carry out a statistical analysis to determine the parameters that best describe the IceCube data as well as set 95% CL upper bounds. We analyze whether this study is still consistent with most up-to-date LHC data and various low energy observables.

A method to detect ultra high energy electrons using earth's magnetic field as a radiator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephens, S. A.; Balasubrahmanyan, V. K.

1983-01-01

It is pointed out that the detection of electrons with energies exceeding a few TeV, which lose energy rapidly through synchrotron and inverse Compton processes, would provide valuable information on the distribution of sources and on the propagation of cosmic rays in the solar neighborhood. However, it would not be possible to measure the energy spectrum beyond a few TeV with any of the existing experimental techniques. The present investigation is, therefore concerned with the possibility of detecting electrons with energies exceeding a few TeV on the basis of the photons emitted through synchrotron radiation in the earth's magnetic field. Attention is given to the synchrotron radiation of electrons in the earth's magnetic field, detector response and energy estimation, and the characteristics of an ideal detector, capable of detecting photons with energies equal to or greater than 20 keV.

Cosmic-ray detectors on the Moon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Linsley, John

1988-01-01

The state of cosmic ray physics is reviewed. It is concluded that the nonexistent lunar magnetic field, the low lunar radiation background, and the lack of an atmosphere on the Moon provide an excellent environment for the study of high energy primary cosmic rays.

On cosmic censor in high-energy particle collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyamoto, Umpei

2011-09-01

In the context of large extra-dimension or TeV-scale gravity scenarios, miniature black holes might be produced in collider experiments. In many works the validity of the cosmic censorship hypothesis has been assumed, which means that there is no chance to observe trans-Planckian phenomena in the experiments since such phenomena are veiled behind the horizons. Here, we argue that "visible borders of spacetime" (as effective naked singularities) would be produced, even dominantly over the black holes, in the collider experiments. Such phenomena will provide us an arena of quantum gravity.

Cosmic ray and neutrino emission from gamma-ray bursts with a nuclear cascade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biehl, D.; Boncioli, D.; Fedynitch, A.; Winter, W.

2018-04-01

Aim. We discuss neutrino and cosmic ray emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with the injection of nuclei, where we take into account that a nuclear cascade from photodisintegration can fully develop in the source. Our main objective is to test whether recent results from the IceCube and the Pierre Auger Observatory can be accommodated within the paradigm that GRBs are the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). Methods: We simulate this scenario in a combined source-propagation model. While our key results are obtained using an internal shock model of the source, we discuss how the secondary emission from a GRB shell can be interpreted in terms of other astrophysical models. Results: We demonstrate that the expected neutrino flux from GRBs weakly depends on the injection composition for the same injection spectra and luminosities, which implies that prompt neutrinos from GRBs can efficiently test the GRB-UHECR paradigm even if the UHECRs are nuclei. We show that the UHECR spectrum and composition, as measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory, can be self-consistently reproduced. In an attempt to describe the energy range including the ankle, we find tension with the IceCube bounds from the GRB stacking analyses. In an alternative scenario, where only the UHECRs beyond the ankle originate from GRBs, the requirement for a joint description of cosmic ray and neutrino observations favors lower luminosities, which does not correspond to the typical expectation from γ-ray observations.

Ultra High Bypass Integrated System Test

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-09-14

NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project, in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Pratt & Whitney, completed testing of an Ultra High Bypass Ratio Turbofan Model in the 9’ x 15’ Low Speed Wind Tunnel at NASA Glenn Research Center. The fan model is representative of the next generation of efficient and quiet Ultra High Bypass Ratio Turbofan Engine designs.

Ultra-low switching energy and scaling in electric-field-controlled nanoscale magnetic tunnel junctions with high resistance-area product

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grezes, C.; Alzate, J. G.; Cai, X.

2016-01-04

We report electric-field-induced switching with write energies down to 6 fJ/bit for switching times of 0.5 ns, in nanoscale perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with high resistance-area product and diameters down to 50 nm. The ultra-low switching energy is made possible by a thick MgO barrier that ensures negligible spin-transfer torque contributions, along with a reduction of the Ohmic dissipation. We find that the switching voltage and time are insensitive to the junction diameter for high-resistance MTJs, a result accounted for by a macrospin model of purely voltage-induced switching. The measured performance enables integration with same-size CMOS transistors in compact memorymore » and logic integrated circuits.« less

Iron K shell line, a probe of low energy cosmic rays in SNRs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koyama, Katsuji; Sato, Tamotsu

2016-06-01

Since the discovery of non thermal power-law X-rays at the rim of SN1006 by Koyama et al. (1995), this feature has been established to be evidence of high energy cosmic rays (HECRs). The HECRs are created by a diffuse shock acceleration process. Accordingly low energy cosmic rays (LECRS) must be presented as the injector of this acceleration process. We found for the first time that the K-shell line from neutral iron at 6.4 keV is good tracer of LECRs in SNRs. This paper present the observational facts for LECRs from intermediate aged SNRs, 3C391, Kes79, Kes 78 and W44 in the Scutum Arm region (see figure, Sato et al. 2014, 2015). Two SNRs, 3C391 and W44, exhibit recombining plasma (RP), an unusual structure in the frame work of the standard SNR evolution scenario. Together with the RP, we discuss the origin of LECRs in the SNRs.

Results on the energy dependence of cosmic-ray charge composition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balasubrahmanyan, V. K.; Ormes, J. F.

1973-01-01

Results of measurements by a balloon-borne ionization spectrometer of the energy dependence of high-energy cosmic-ray charge composition. The results presented are greatly improved over those obtained earlier by Ormes et al. (1971) by the use of a multidimensional charge analysis with more efficient background rejection, and a more accurate energy determination. Complex couplings between the charge, energy, and trajectory information were taken into account and are discussed. The spectra of individual elements up to oxygen and of groups of nuclei up through iron were measured up to almost 100 GeV per nucleon. The energy spectrum of the secondary nuclei, B + N, is found to be steeper than that of the primary nuclei, C + O, in agreement with Smith et al. (1973). The most dramatic finding is that the spectrum of the iron nuclei is flatter than that of the carbon and oxygen nuclei by 0.57 plus or minus 0.14 of a power.

Ultra-High-Contrast Laser Acceleration of Relativistic Electrons in Solid Targets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Higginson, Drew Pitney

2013-01-01

The cone-guided fast ignition approach to Inertial Con nement Fusion requires laser-accelerated relativistic electrons to deposit kilojoules of energy within an imploded fuel core to initiate fusion burn. One obstacle to coupling electron energy into the core is the ablation of material, known as preplasma, by laser energy proceeding nanoseconds prior to the main pulse. This causes the laser-absorption surface to be pushed back hundreds of microns from the initial target surface; thus increasing the distance that electrons must travel to reach the imploded core. Previous experiments have shown an order of magnitude decrease in coupling into surrogate targets whenmore » intentionally increasing the amount of preplasma. Additionally, for electrons to deposit energy within the core, they should have kinetic energies on the order of a few MeV, as less energetic electrons will be stopped prior to the core and more energetic electrons will pass through the core without depositing much energy. Thus a quantitative understanding of the electron energy spectrum and how it responds to varied laser parameters is paramount for fast ignition. For the rst time, this dissertation quantitatively investigates the acceleration of electrons using an ultra-high-contrast laser. Ultra-high-contrast lasers reduce the laser energy that reaches the target prior to the main pulse; drastically reducing the amount of preplasma. Experiments were performed in a cone-wire geometry relevant to fast ignition. These experiments irradiated the inner-tip of a Au cone with the laser and observed electrons that passed through a Cu wire attached to the outer-tip of the cone. The total emission of K x-rays is used as a diagnostic to infer the electron energy coupled into the wire. Imaging the x-ray emission allowed an e ective path-length of electrons within the wire to be determined, which constrained the electron energy spectrum. Experiments were carried out on the ultra-high-contrast Trident laser at

Gradients and anisotropies of high energy cosmic rays in the outer heliosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fillius, W.; Roelof, E. C.; Smith, E. J.; Wood, D.; Ip, W. H.

1985-01-01

Previous studies at lower energies have shown that the cosmic ray density gradients vary in space and time, and many authors currently are suggesting that the radial gradient associated with solar cycle modulation is supported largely by narrow barriers which encircle the Sun and propagate outward with the solar wind. If so, the anisotropy is a desirable way to detect spatial gradients, because it can be associated with the local solar wind and magnetic field conditions. With this in mind, the anisotropy measurements made by the UCSD Cerenkov detectors on Pioneers 10 and 11 are studied. It is shown that the local anisotropy varies greatly, but that the long term average is consistent with the global radial gradient measured between two spacecraft over a baseline of many AU.

A high resolution gas scintillation proportional counter for studying low energy cosmic X-ray sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, T. T.; Hailey, C. J.; Ku, W. H.-M.; Novick, R.

1980-01-01

In recent years much effort has been devoted to the development of large area gas scintillation proportional counters (GSPCs) suitable for use in X-ray astronomy. The paper deals with a low-energy GSPC for use in detecting sub-keV X-rays from cosmic sources. This instrument has a measured energy resolution of 85 eV (FWHM) at 149 eV over a sensitive area of 5 sq cm. The development of imaging capability for this instrument is discussed. Tests are performed on the feasibility of using an arrangement of several phototubes placed adjacent to one another to determine event locations in a large flat counter. A simple prototype has been constructed and successfully operated.

High Energy Electron Detection with ATIC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, J.; Schmidt, W. K. H.; Adams, James H., Jr.; Ahn, H.; Ampe, J.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The ATIC (Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter) balloon-borne ionization calorimeter is well suited to record and identify high energy cosmic ray electrons. The instrument was exposed to high-energy beams at CERN H2 bean-dine in September of 1999. We have simulated the performance of the instrument, and compare the simulations with actual high energy electron exposures at the CERN accelerator. Simulations and measurements do not compare exactly, in detail, but overall the simulations have predicted actual measured behavior quite well.

2WHSP: A multi-frequency selected catalogue of high energy and very high energy γ-ray blazars and blazar candidates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Y.-L.; Arsioli, B.; Giommi, P.; Padovani, P.

2017-02-01

Aims: High synchrotron peaked blazars (HSPs) dominate the γ-ray sky at energies higher than a few GeV; however, only a few hundred blazars of this type have been cataloged so far. In this paper we present the 2WHSP sample, the largest and most complete list of HSP blazars available to date, which is an expansion of the 1WHSP catalogue of γ-ray source candidates off the Galactic plane. Methods: We cross-matched a number of multi-wavelength surveys (in the radio, infrared and X-ray bands) and applied selection criteria based on the radio to IR and IR to X-ray spectral slopes. To ensure the selection of genuine HSPs, we examined the SED of each candidate and estimated the peak frequency of its synchrotron emission (νpeak) using the ASDC SED tool, including only sources with νpeak > 1015 Hz (equivalent to νpeak > 4 eV). Results: We have assembled the largest and most complete catalogue of HSP blazars to date, which includes 1691 sources. A number of population properties, such as infrared colours, synchrotron peak, redshift distributions, and γ-ray spectral properties have been used to characterise the sample and maximize completeness. We also derived the radio log N-log S distribution. This catalogue has already been used to provide seeds to discover new very high energy objects within Fermi-LAT data and to look for the counterparts of neutrino and ultra high energy cosmic ray sources, showing its potential for the identification of promising high-energy γ-ray sources and multi-messenger targets. Table 4 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/598/A17

Cosmic ray interactions in starbursting galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoast-Hull, Tova M.

High quality gamma-ray and radio observations of nearby galaxies offer an unprecedented opportunity to quantitatively study the properties of their cosmic ray populations. Accounting for various interactions and energy losses, I developed a multi-component, single-zone model of the cosmic ray populations in the central molecular zones of star-forming galaxies. Using observational knowledge of the interstellar medium and star formation, I successfully predicted the radio, gamma-ray, and neutrino spectra for nearby starbursts. Using chi-squared tests to compare the models with observational radio and gamma-ray data, I placed constraints on magnetic field strengths, cosmic ray energy densities, and galactic wind (advection) speeds. The initial models were applied to and tested on the prototypical starburst galaxy M82. To further test the model and to explore the differences in environment between starbursts and active galactic nuclei, I studied NGC 253 and NGC 1068, both nearby giant spiral galaxies which have been detected in gamma-rays. Additionally, I demonstrated that the excess GeV energy gamma-ray emission in the Galactic Center is likely not diffuse emission from an additional population of cosmic rays accelerated in supernova remnants. Lastly, I investigated cosmic ray populations in the starburst nuclei of Arp 220, a nearby ultraluminous infrared galaxy which displays a high-intensity mode of star formation more common in young galaxies, and I showed that the nuclei are efficient cosmic-ray proton calorimeters.

The impact of networks of robotic telescopes in continuous monitoring of high energy cosmic sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giovannelli, Franco; Sabau-Graziati, Lola

High energy (HE) cosmic sources are characterized by emissions in a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum. In order to clarify their behavior and understand the involved physics it is necessary to perform simultaneous measurements in a range of energy as wide as possible. This makes it necessary to use different techniques and instrumentation both space- and ground-based. Simultaneous observations are in general very difficult to be performed because they need the involvement of many instruments that belong to many experiments under the control of many groups and countries. However, since the importance of multifrequency measurements is now universally recognized, many efforts are made in order to obtain such measurements. Our group has been a pioneer in such a kind of measurements since middle of 1970s. We will briefly discuss the impact of such measurements in different class of HE cosmic sources, such as T Tauri stars (TTSs), active galactic nuclei (AGNs), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), X-ray binary systems (XRBs), and cataclysmic variables (CVs). This discussion is mainly based on the review paper "The impact of the space experiments on our knowledge of the physics of the universe" tep{GiovannelliSabauGraziati2004} and subsequent revisions. We will also discuss the importance of having a network of robotic telescopes that can provide long term optical monitoring of the classes of HE sources already discussed. Such measurements will provide fundamental data for understanding many problems that are still open, such as the physics of the outbursts in flaring systems, the search of rotational periods of white dwarfs in CVs and orbital periods of those systems, rotational periods and periodicities of flare-like events of TTSs, correlations between optical and X-ray flares in X-ray/Be systems, fluctuations in the light curves of AGNs and their correlations with the HE emission in order to test the validity of current models, etc.

Wide band cryogenic ultra-high vacuum microwave absorber

DOEpatents

Campisi, I.E.

1992-05-12

An absorber waveguide assembly for absorbing higher order modes of microwave energy under cryogenic ultra-high vacuum conditions, that absorbs wide-band multi-mode energy. The absorber is of a special triangular shape, made from flat tiles of silicon carbide and aluminum nitride. The leading sharp end of the absorber is located in a corner of the waveguide and tapers to a larger cross-sectional area whose center is located approximately in the center of the wave guide. The absorber is relatively short, being of less height than the maximum width of the waveguide. 11 figs.

Wide band cryogenic ultra-high vacuum microwave absorber

DOEpatents

Campisi, Isidoro E.

1992-01-01

An absorber wave guide assembly for absorbing higher order modes of microwave energy under cryogenic ultra-high vacuum conditions, that absorbs wide-band multi-mode energy. The absorber is of a special triangular shape, made from flat tiles of silicon carbide and aluminum nitride. The leading sharp end of the absorber is located in a corner of the wave guide and tapers to a larger cross-sectional area whose center is located approximately in the center of the wave guide. The absorber is relatively short, being of less height than the maximum width of the wave guide.

Implementation of a custom time-domain firmware trigger for RADAR-based cosmic ray detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prohira, S.; Besson, D.; Kunwar, S.; Ratzlaff, K.; Young, R.

2018-05-01

Interest in Radio-based detection schemes for ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) has surged in recent years, owing to the potentially very low cost/detection ratio. The method of radio-frequency (RF) scatter has been proposed as potentially the most economical detection technology. Though the first dedicated experiment to employ this method, the Telescope Array RADAR experiment (TARA) reported no signal, efforts to develop more robust and sensitive trigger techniques continue. This paper details the development of a time-domain firmware trigger that exploits characteristics of the expected scattered signal from an UHECR extensive-air shower (EAS). The improved sensitivity of this trigger is discussed, as well as implementation in two separate field deployments from 2016 to 2017.

Anisotropy and corotation of galactic cosmic rays.

PubMed

Amenomori, M; Ayabe, S; Bi, X J; Chen, D; Cui, S W; Danzengluobu; Ding, L K; Ding, X H; Feng, C F; Feng, Zhaoyang; Feng, Z Y; Gao, X Y; Geng, Q X; Guo, H W; He, H H; He, M; Hibino, K; Hotta, N; Hu, Haibing; Hu, H B; Huang, J; Huang, Q; Jia, H Y; Kajino, F; Kasahara, K; Katayose, Y; Kato, C; Kawata, K; Labaciren; Le, G M; Li, A F; Li, J Y; Lou, Y-Q; Lu, H; Lu, S L; Meng, X R; Mizutani, K; Mu, J; Munakata, K; Nagai, A; Nanjo, H; Nishizawa, M; Ohnishi, M; Ohta, I; Onuma, H; Ouchi, T; Ozawa, S; Ren, J R; Saito, T; Saito, T Y; Sakata, M; Sako, T K; Sasaki, T; Shibata, M; Shiomi, A; Shirai, T; Sugimoto, H; Takita, M; Tan, Y H; Tateyama, N; Torii, S; Tsuchiya, H; Udo, S; Wang, B; Wang, H; Wang, X; Wang, Y G; Wu, H R; Xue, L; Yamamoto, Y; Yan, C T; Yang, X C; Yasue, S; Ye, Z H; Yu, G C; Yuan, A F; Yuda, T; Zhang, H M; Zhang, J L; Zhang, N J; Zhang, X Y; Zhang, Y; Zhang, Yi; Zhaxisangzhu; Zhou, X X

2006-10-20

The intensity of Galactic cosmic rays is nearly isotropic because of the influence of magnetic fields in the Milky Way. Here, we present two-dimensional high-precision anisotropy measurement for energies from a few to several hundred teraelectronvolts (TeV), using the large data sample of the Tibet Air Shower Arrays. Besides revealing finer details of the known anisotropies, a new component of Galactic cosmic ray anisotropy in sidereal time is uncovered around the Cygnus region direction. For cosmic-ray energies up to a few hundred TeV, all components of anisotropies fade away, showing a corotation of Galactic cosmic rays with the local Galactic magnetic environment. These results have broad implications for a comprehensive understanding of cosmic rays, supernovae, magnetic fields, and heliospheric and Galactic dynamic environments.

Anatomy of a cosmic-ray neutrino source and the Cygnus X-3 system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stecker, F. W.; Harding, A. K.; Barnard, J. J.

1985-01-01

The effects of an intense beam of ultra-high energy cosmic rays from a compact object in the Cygnus X-3 binary system hitting the companion star, and of the subsequent production of secondary neutrinos, are examined. A maximum allowable beam luminosity of about 10 to the 42nd erg/s is found for a system containing a 1-10 solar mass main sequence target star. The proton beam must heat a relatively small area of the target star to satisfy observational constraints on the resulting stellar wind. With such a model, the neutrino to gamma-ray flux ratio of about 1000 can result from a combination of gamma-ray absorption and a large neutrino to gamma-ray duty cycle ratio. It is found that the high density of the atmosphere resulting from compression by the beam leads to pion cascading and a neutrino spectrum peaking at 1-10 GeV energies.

Very-high energy gamma-ray astronomy. A 23-year success story in high-energy astroparticle physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenz, E.; Wagner, R.

2012-08-01

Very-high energy (VHE) gamma quanta contribute only a minuscule fraction - below one per million - to the flux of cosmic rays. Nevertheless, being neutral particles they are currently the best "messengers" of processes from the relativistic/ultra-relativistic Universe because they can be extrapolated back to their origin. The window of VHE gamma rays was opened only in 1989 by the Whipple collaboration, reporting the observation of TeV gamma rays from the Crab nebula. After a slow start, this new field of research is now rapidly expanding with the discovery of more than 150 VHE gamma-ray emitting sources. Progress is intimately related with the steady improvement of detectors and rapidly increasing computing power. We give an overview of the early attempts before and around 1989 and the progress after the pioneering work of the Whipple collaboration. The main focus of this article is on the development of experimental techniques for Earth-bound gamma-ray detectors; consequently, more emphasis is given to those experiments that made an initial breakthrough rather than to the successors which often had and have a similar (sometimes even higher) scientific output as the pioneering experiments. The considered energy threshold is about 30 GeV. At lower energies, observations can presently only be performed with balloon or satellite-borne detectors. Irrespective of the stormy experimental progress, the success story could not have been called a success story without a broad scientific output. Therefore we conclude this article with a summary of the scientific rationales and main results achieved over the last two decades.

CaloCube: A new-concept calorimeter for the detection of high-energy cosmic rays in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vannuccini, E.; Adriani, O.; Agnesi, A.; Albergo, S.; Auditore, L.; Basti, A.; Berti, E.; Bigongiari, G.; Bonechi, L.; Bonechi, S.; Bongi, M.; Bonvicini, V.; Bottai, S.; Brogi, P.; Carotenuto, G.; Castellini, G.; Cattaneo, P. W.; D'Alessandro, R.; Detti, S.; Fasoli, M.; Finetti, N.; Lenzi, P.; Maestro, P.; Marrocchesi, P. S.; Miritello, M.; Mori, N.; Orzan, G.; Olmi, M.; Pacini, L.; Papini, P.; Pellegriti, M. G.; Pirzio, F.; Rappoldi, A.; Ricciarini, S.; Spillantini, P.; Starodubtsev, O.; Stolzi, F.; Suh, J. E.; Sulaj, A.; Tiberio, A.; Tricomi, A.; Trifiro, A.; Trimarchi, M.; Vedda, A.; Zampa, G.; Zampa, N.; Zerbo, B.

2017-02-01

The direct observation of high-energy cosmic rays, up to the PeV region, will increasingly rely on highly performing calorimeters, and the physics performance will be primarily determined by their geometrical acceptance and energy resolution. Thus, it is extremely important to optimize their geometrical design, granularity, and absorption depth, with respect to the total mass of the apparatus, which is among the most important constraints for a space mission. Calocube is a homogeneous calorimeter whose basic geometry is cubic and isotropic, so as to detect particles arriving from every direction in space, thus maximizing the acceptance; granularity is obtained by filling the cubic volume with small cubic scintillating crystals. This design forms the basis of a three-year R &D activity which has been approved and financed by INFN. A comparative study of different scintillating materials has been performed. Optimal values for the size of the crystals and spacing among them have been studied. Different geometries, besides the cubic one, and the possibility to implement dual-readout techniques have been investigated. A prototype, instrumented with CsI(Tl) cubic crystals, has been constructed and tested with particle beams. An overview of the obtained results will be presented and the perspectives for future space experiments will be discussed.

Rossi and high-energy astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, George W.

2012-03-01

The contributions of Bruno Rossi to high-energy astronomy began in Italy in the 1930s with investigations concerning the nature of cosmic rays in theory and in hands-on experiments at the universities of Florence and Padua. Recent discoveries had cast doubt on Robert Millikan's idea that the primary cosmic rays are gamma rays created in the production of the elements by fusion of hydrogen atoms in interstellar space. Rossi entered the field with a prediction published in 1930 of a difference between the intensity of cosmic rays from the east and the west that would occur if the primary cosmic rays were charged particles of one sign. In the same year he invented the first practical electronic coincidence circuit, which he used in a series of fundamental particle experiments and in an unsuccessful attempt to detect an east-west effect at Florence. Expecting by theory that the effect would be greater at high altitude near the equator, he took his experiment to Eritrea in 1934 where his measurements demonstrated that the primary cosmic rays are predominantly positive particles. In the report of his expedition he also described his discovery of extensive cosmic-ray air showers. After WWII and his work at Los Alamos, Rossi resumed his cosmic-ray research, now at MIT, in a new style best described in his own words: ``Now I had the responsibility of an entire group, and what mattered was no longer my own work, but the work of the group.'' He suggested the new methods of ``density sampling'' and ``fast timing'' for air shower studies, and promoted their application in numerous experiments on the nature and origins of the highest energy cosmic rays. In 1959 he initiated and participated as a consultant in the work of Riccardo Giacconi that led to the discovery of the first x-ray star, Sco X-1, and the development of the first imaging x-ray telescopes. At MIT, members of the Rossi Cosmic Ray Group took the early steps in gamma-ray astronomy, first with balloon experiments

Measurements of the absolute energy spectra of cosmic-ray positrons and electrons above 7 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grimani, C.; Stephens, S. A.; Cafagna, F. S.; Basini, G.; Bellotti, R.; Brunetti, M. T.; Circella, M.; Codino, A.; De Marzo, C.; De Pascale, M. P.; Finetti, N.; Golden, R. L.; Hof, M.; Menn, W.; Mitchell, J. W.; Morselli, A.; Ormes, J. F.; Papini, P.; Pfeifer, C.; Piccardi, S.; Picozza, P.; Ricci, M.; Simon, M.; Spillantini, P.; Stochaj, S. J.; Streitmatter, R. E.

2002-09-01

A measurement of the energy spectra of cosmic-ray positrons and electrons was made with a balloon-borne magnet-spectrometer, which was flown at a mean geomagnetic cut-off of 4.5 GV/c. The observed positron flux in the energy range 7-16 GeV is approximately an order of magnitude lower than that of electrons, as measured in other experiments at various energies. The power law spectral index of the observed differential energy spectrum of electrons is -2.89 +/- 0.10 in the energy interval 7.5-47 GeV. For positrons the overall fit of the available data above 7 GeV has been considered. The spectral index is found to be -3.37 +/- 0.26 and the fraction of positrons, e+/(e+,+ e-), has a mean value of 0.064 +/- 0.003. The world data on e+/(e+,+ e-) from 0.1 to 30 GeV indicate that a plerion type electron spectrum is preferred over the other types. The trend of the presently existing high energy data also suggests a possible contribution of positrons produced at the pulsar polar cap. High resolution experiments capable of identifying positrons at least up to 100 GeV with high statistics are required to pinpoint the origin of both electrons and positrons in the cosmic radiation.

Calibration of photo sensors for the space-based cosmic ray telescope JEM-EUSO

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karus, Michael

2015-02-24

In order to unveil the mystery of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), the planned fluorescence telescope JEM-EUSO (Extreme Universe Space Observatory on-board Japanese Experiment Module) will observe extensive air showers induced by UHECRs from the International Space Station (ISS) orbit with a huge acceptance. The JEM-EUSO instrument consists of Fresnel optics and a focal surface detector with 5000 multi-anode photomultiplier tubes (MAPMTs), 300000 channels in total. For fluorescence detection of cosmic rays it is essential to calibrate the detector pre-flight with utmost precision and to monitor the performance of the detector throughout the whole mission time. For that purpose amore » calibration stand on-ground was built to measure precisely the performance of Hamamatsu 64 pixel MAPMTs that are planned to be used for JEM-EUSO. To investigate the suitability of alternative detector devices, further research is done with state-of-the-art silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), namely Hamamatsu multi-pixel photon counters (MPPCs). These will also be tested in the calibration stand and their performance can be compared to conventional photomultiplier tubes.« less

ALMA Spectroscopic Survey in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: CO Luminosity Functions and the Evolution of the Cosmic Density of Molecular Gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Decarli, Roberto; Walter, Fabian; Aravena, Manuel; Carilli, Chris; Bouwens, Rychard; da Cunha, Elisabete; Daddi, Emanuele; Ivison, R. J.; Popping, Gergö; Riechers, Dominik; Smail, Ian R.; Swinbank, Mark; Weiss, Axel; Anguita, Timo; Assef, Roberto J.; Bauer, Franz E.; Bell, Eric F.; Bertoldi, Frank; Chapman, Scott; Colina, Luis; Cortes, Paulo C.; Cox, Pierre; Dickinson, Mark; Elbaz, David; Gónzalez-López, Jorge; Ibar, Edo; Infante, Leopoldo; Hodge, Jacqueline; Karim, Alex; Le Fevre, Olivier; Magnelli, Benjamin; Neri, Roberto; Oesch, Pascal; Ota, Kazuaki; Rix, Hans-Walter; Sargent, Mark; Sheth, Kartik; van der Wel, Arjen; van der Werf, Paul; Wagg, Jeff

2016-12-01

In this paper we use ASPECS, the ALMA Spectroscopic Survey in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field in band 3 and band 6, to place blind constraints on the CO luminosity function and the evolution of the cosmic molecular gas density as a function of redshift up to z ˜ 4.5. This study is based on galaxies that have been selected solely through their CO emission and not through any other property. In all of the redshift bins the ASPECS measurements reach the predicted “knee” of the CO luminosity function (around 5 × 109 K km s-1 pc2). We find clear evidence of an evolution in the CO luminosity function with respect to z ˜ 0, with more CO-luminous galaxies present at z ˜ 2. The observed galaxies at z ˜ 2 also appear more gas-rich than predicted by recent semi-analytical models. The comoving cosmic molecular gas density within galaxies as a function of redshift shows a drop by a factor of 3-10 from z ˜ 2 to z ˜ 0 (with significant error bars), and possibly a decline at z > 3. This trend is similar to the observed evolution of the cosmic star formation rate density. The latter therefore appears to be at least partly driven by the increased availability of molecular gas reservoirs at the peak of cosmic star formation (z ˜ 2).

Systematic Studies of Cosmic-Ray Anisotropy and Energy Spectrum with IceCube and IceTop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNally, Frank

Anisotropy in the cosmic-ray arrival direction distribution has been well documented over a large energy range, but its origin remains largely a mystery. In the TeV to PeV energy range, the galactic magnetic field thoroughly scatters cosmic rays, but anisotropy at the part-per-mille level and smaller persists, potentially carrying information about nearby cosmic-ray accelerators and the galactic magnetic field. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory was the first detector to observe anisotropy at these energies in the Southern sky. This work uses 318 billion cosmic-ray induced muon events, collected between May 2009 and May 2015 from both the in-ice component of IceCube as well as the surface component, IceTop. The observed global anisotropy features large regions of relative excess and deficit, with amplitudes on the order of 10-3. While a decomposition of the arrival direction distribution into spherical harmonics shows that most of the power is contained in the low-multipole (ℓ ≤ 4) moments, higher-multipole components are found to be statistically significant down to an angular scale of less than 10°, approaching the angular resolution of the detector. Above 100TeV, a change in the topology of the arrival direction distribution is observed, and the anisotropy is characterized by a wide relative deficit whose amplitude increases with primary energy up to at least 5PeV, the highest energies currently accessible to IceCube with sufficient event statistics. No time dependence of the large- and small-scale structures is observed in the six-year period covered by this analysis within statistical and systematic uncertainties. Analysis of the energy spectrum and composition in the PeV energy range as a function of sky position is performed with IceTop data over a five-year period using a likelihood-based reconstruction. Both the energy spectrum and the composition distribution are found to be consistent with a single source population over declination bands. This work

Galactic Cosmic Rays: From Earth to Sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brandt, Theresa J.

2012-01-01

For nearly 100 years we have known that cosmic rays come from outer space, yet proof of their origin, as well as a comprehensive understanding of their acceleration, remains elusive. Direct detection of high energy (up to 10(exp 15)eV), charged nuclei with experiments such as the balloon-born, antarctic Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (TIGER) have provided insight into these mysteries through measurements of cosmic ray abundances. The abundance of these rare elements with respect to certain intrinsic properties suggests that cosmic rays include a component of massive star ejecta. Supernovae and their remnants (SNe & SNRs), often occurring at the end of a massive star's life or in an environment including massive star material, are one of the most likely candidates for sources accelerating galactic comic ray nuclei up to the requisite high energies. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Large Area Detector (Fermi LAT) has improved our understanding of such sources by widening the window of observable energies and thus into potential sources' energetic processes. In combination with multiwavelength observations, we are now better able to constrain particle populations (often hadron-dominated at GeV energies) and environmental conditions, such as the magnetic field strength. The SNR CTB 37A is one such source which could contribute to the observed galactic cosmic rays. By assembling populations of SNRs, we will be able to more definitively define their contribution to the observed galactic cosmic rays, as well as better understand SNRs themselves. Such multimessenger studies will thus illuminate the long-standing cosmic ray mysteries, shedding light on potential sources, acceleration mechanisms, and cosmic ray propagation.

Comparison of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography, ultra high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography for the separation of synthetic cathinones.

PubMed

Carnes, Stephanie; O'Brien, Stacey; Szewczak, Angelica; Tremeau-Cayel, Lauriane; Rowe, Walter F; McCord, Bruce; Lurie, Ira S

2017-09-01

A comparison of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography, ultra high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography for the separation of synthetic cathinones has been conducted. Nine different mixtures of bath salts were analyzed in this study. The three different chromatographic techniques were examined using a general set of controlled synthetic cathinones as well as a variety of other synthetic cathinones that exist as positional isomers. Overall 35 different synthetic cathinones were analyzed. A variety of column types and chromatographic modes were examined for developing each separation. For the ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography separations, analyses were performed using a series of Torus and Trefoil columns with either ammonium formate or ammonium hydroxide as additives, and methanol, ethanol or isopropanol organic solvents as modifiers. Ultra high performance liquid chromatographic separations were performed in both reversed phase and hydrophilic interaction chromatographic modes using SPP C18 and SPP HILIC columns. Gas chromatography separations were performed using an Elite-5MS capillary column. The orthogonality of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography, ultra high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography was examined using principal component analysis. For the best overall separation of synthetic cathinones, the use of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography in combination with gas chromatography is recommended. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Energy spectra of cosmic-ray nuclei to above 100 GeV per nucleon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simon, M.; Spiegelhauer, H.; Schmidt, W. K. H.; Siohan, F.; Ormes, J. F.; Balasubrahmanyan, V. K.; Arens, J. F.

1980-01-01

Energy spectra of cosmic-ray nuclei boron to iron have been measured from 2 GeV per nucleon to beyond 100 GeV per nucleon. The data were obtained using an ionization calorimeter flown on a balloon from Palestine, Texas. The 3450 kg payload floated at 7 g/sq cm for almost 24 hours. The results are in excellent agreement with those of other workers where overlaps exist. The spectra are not consistent with single power laws, and demonstrate the power of using a single technique sensitive over a large dynamic range. The data are consistent with the leaky box model of cosmic-ray propagation. The boron data indicate that the cosmic-ray escape length decreases with increasing energy as E to the -(0.4 + or - 0.1) up to 100 GeV per nucleon. Secondary nuclei from iron are also consistent with this dependence. Predicted changes in the energy dependence of the ratios of primary nuclei O/C and (Fe + Ni)/(C + O) are also observed.

Heavy weak bosons, cosmic antimatter and DUMAND. 2: Looking for cosmic antimatter with DUMAND