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Abstract: After seventeen years of operation, the first phase of measurements at the PierreAuger Observatory finished and the process of upgrading it began. In this work, we present distributions of the depth of air-shower maximum, �max, using profiles measured with the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The analysis is based on the Phase I data collected from 01 December 2004 to 31 December 2021. The �max measurements take advantage of an improved evaluation of the vertical aerosol optical depth and reconstruction of the shower profiles. We present the energy dependence of the mean and standard deviation of the �max distributions above 10^(17.8) eV. Both �max moments are corrected for detector effects and interpreted in terms of the mean logarithmic mass and variance of the masses by comparing them to the predictions of post-LHC hadronic interaction models. We corroborate our earlier findings regarding the change of the elongation rate of the mean �max at 10^(18.3) eV with higher significance. We also confirm, with four more years of data compared to the last results presented in 2019, that around the ankle in the cosmic rays spectrum, the proton component gradually disappears and that intermediate mass nuclei dominate the composition at ultra-high energies.
Keywords: ultra-high energy cosmic rays, Pierre Auger Observatory, protons, surface detector
Published in RUNG: 23.01.2024; Views: 317; Downloads: 7
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Abstract: Y-series acceptors have brought a paradigm shift in terms of power conversion efficiencies of organic solar cells in the last few years. Despite their high performance, these acceptors still exhibit substantial energy loss, stemming from their low-permittivity nature. To tackle the energy loss situation, we prepared modified Y-series acceptors with improved permittivities via an alternative synthetic route.
Keywords: solar cells, Y-series acceptors, morphology, efficiency measurements
Published in RUNG: 29.06.2023; Views: 1056; Downloads: 7
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Abstract: Gamma-ray observations have long been used to constrain the properties of dark matter (DM), with a strong focus on weakly interacting massive particles annihilating through velocity-independent processes. However, in the absence of clear-cut observational evidence for the simplest candidates, the interest of the community in more complex DM scenarios involving a velocity-dependent cross-section has been growing steadily over the past few years. We present the first systematic study of velocity-dependent DM annihilation (in particular p-wave annihilation and Sommerfeld enhancement) in a variety of astrophysical objects, not only including the well-studied Milky Way dwarf satellite galaxies, but nearby dwarf irregular galaxies and local galaxy clusters as well. Particular attention is given to the interplay between velocity dependence and DM halo substructure. Uncertainties related to halo mass, phase-space and substructure modelling are also discussed in this velocity-dependent context. We show that, for s-wave annihilation, extremely large subhalo boost factors are to be expected, up to 10^11 in clusters and up to 10^6–10^7 in dwarf galaxies where subhalos are usually assumed not to play an important role. Boost factors for p-wave annihilation are smaller but can still reach 10^3 in clusters. The angular extension of the DM signal is also significantly impacted, with e.g. the cluster typical emission radius increasing by a factor of order 10 in the s-wave case. We also compute the signal contrast of the objects in our sample with respect to annihilation happening in the Milky Way halo. Overall, we find that the hierarchy between the brightest considered targets depends on the specific details of the assumed particle-physics model.
Keywords: dark matter theory, dwarf galaxies, galaxy clusters, gamma-ray theory
Published in RUNG: 27.01.2023; Views: 1159; Downloads: 0
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Abstract: Aerosolized black carbon is monitored worldwide to quantify its impact on air quality and climate. Given its importance, measurements of black carbon mass concentrations must be conducted with instruments operating in quality-checked and ensured conditions to generate data which are reliable and comparable temporally and geographically. In this study, we report the results from the largest characterization and intercomparison of filter-based absorption photometers, the Aethalometer model AE33, belonging to several European monitoring networks. Under controlled laboratory conditions, a total of 23 instruments measured mass concentrations of black carbon from three well-characterized aerosol sources: synthetic soot, nigrosin particles, and ambient air from the urban background of Leipzig, Germany. The objective was to investigate the individual performance of the instruments and their comparability; we analyzed the response of the instruments to the different aerosol sources and the impact caused by the use of obsolete filter materials and the application of maintenance activities. Differences in the instrument-to-instrument variabilities from equivalent black carbon (eBC) concentrations reported at 880 nm were determined before maintenance activities (for soot measurements, average deviation from total least square regression was −2.0 % and the range −16 % to 7 %; for nigrosin measurements, average deviation was 0.4 % and the range −15 % to 17 %), and after they were carried out (for soot measurements, average deviation was −1.0 % and the range −14 % to 8 %; for nigrosin measurements, the average deviation was 0.5 % and the range −12 % to 15 %). The deviations are in most of the cases explained by the type of filter material employed by the instruments, the total particle load on the filter, and the flow calibration. The results of this intercomparison activity show that relatively small unit-to-unit variability of AE33-based particle light absorbing measurements is possible with well-maintained instruments. It is crucial to follow the guidelines for maintenance activities and the use of the proper filter tape in the AE33 to ensure high quality and comparable black carbon (BC) measurements among international observational networks.
Keywords: black carbon, aerosol, absorption, filter absorption photometer, aethaloemter
Published in RUNG: 03.05.2021; Views: 1999; Downloads: 0
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Keywords: Bioaerosols, bioaerosol sampling, bioaerosol detection
Published in RUNG: 04.01.2021; Views: 2291; Downloads: 0
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