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21.
Observations of the origin of downward terrestrial gamma-ray flashes
J. W. Belz, P. R. Krehbiel, J. Remington, M. A. Stanley, R. U. Abbasi, R. LeVon, W. Rison, D. Rodeheffer, T. Abu-Zayyad, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2020, original scientific article

Abstract: In this paper we report the first close, high‐resolution observations of downward‐directed terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes (TGFs) detected by the large‐area Telescope Array cosmic ray observatory, obtained in conjunction with broadband VHF interferometer and fast electric field change measurements of the parent discharge. The results show that the TGFs occur during strong initial breakdown pulses (IBPs) in the first few milliseconds of negative cloud‐to‐ground and low‐altitude intracloud flashes and that the IBPs are produced by a newly identified streamer‐based discharge process called fast negative breakdown. The observations indicate the relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREAs) responsible for producing the TGFs are initiated by embedded spark‐like transient conducting events (TCEs) within the fast streamer system and potentially also by individual fast streamers themselves. The TCEs are inferred to be the cause of impulsive sub‐pulses that are characteristic features of classic IBP sferics. Additional development of the avalanches would be facilitated by the enhanced electric field ahead of the advancing front of the fast negative breakdown. In addition to showing the nature of IBPs and their enigmatic sub‐pulses, the observations also provide a possible explanation for the unsolved question of how the streamer to leader transition occurs during the initial negative breakdown, namely, as a result of strong currents flowing in the final stage of successive IBPs, extending backward through both the IBP itself and the negative streamer breakdown preceding the IBP.
Keywords: terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, lightning, fast breakdown, initial breakdown pulse, atmospheric electricity, transient conducting events
Published in RUNG: 04.02.2021; Views: 2379; Downloads: 21
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22.
Evidence for a Supergalactic Structure of Magnetic Deflection Multiplets of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays
R. Abbasi, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2020, original scientific article

Abstract: Evidence for a large-scale supergalactic cosmic ray multiplet (arrival directions correlated with energy) structure is reported for ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) energies above 10^19 eV using seven years of data from the Telescope Array (TA) surface detector and updated to 10 years. Previous energy-position correlation studies have made assumptions regarding magnetic field shapes and strength, and UHECR composition. Here the assumption tested is that, since the supergalactic plane is a fit to the average matter density of the local Large Scale Structure (LSS), UHECR sources and intervening extragalactic magnetic fields are correlated with this plane. This supergalactic deflection hypothesis is tested by the entire field-of-view (FOV) behavior of the strength of intermediate-scale energy-angle correlations. These multiplets are measured in spherical cap section bins (wedges) of the FOV to account for coherent and random magnetic fields. The structure found is consistent with supergalactic deflection, the previously published energy spectrum anisotropy results of TA (the hotspot and coldspot), and toy-model simulations of a supergalactic magnetic sheet. The seven year data post-trial significance of this supergalactic structure of multiplets appearing by chance, on an isotropic sky, is found by Monte Carlo simulation to be 4.19σ. The ten years of data post-trial significance is 4.09σ. Furthermore, the starburst galaxy M82 is shown to be a possible source of the TA Hotspot, and an estimate of the supergalactic magnetic field using UHECR measurements is presented.
Keywords: astroparticle physics, cosmic rays, UHECR, supergalactic plane, multiplets, magnetic deflection, large-scale structure of universe
Published in RUNG: 19.05.2020; Views: 2665; Downloads: 0
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23.
Search for EeV protons of galactic origin
R.U. Abbasi, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2016, original scientific article

Abstract: Cosmic rays in the energy range 10^18.0–10^18.5 eV are thought to have a light, probably protonic, composition. To study their origin one can search for anisotropy in their arrival directions. Extragalactic cosmic rays should be isotropic, but galactic cosmic rays of this type should be seen mostly along the galactic plane, and there should be a shortage of events coming from directions near the galactic anticenter. This is due to the fact that, under the influence of the galactic magnetic field, the transition from ballistic to diffusive behavior is well advanced, and this qualitative picture persists over the whole energy range. Guided by models of the galactic magnetic field that indicate that the enhancement along the galactic plane should have a standard deviation of about 20° in galactic latitude, and the deficit in the galactic anticenter direction should have a standard deviation of about 50° in galactic longitude, we use the data of the Telescope Array surface detector in 10^18.0 to 10^18.5 eV energy range to search for these effects. The data are isotropic. Neither an enhancement along the galactic plane nor a deficit in the galactic anticenter direction is found. Using these data we place an upper limit on the fraction of EeV cosmic rays of galactic origin at 1.3% at 95% confidence level.
Keywords: Cosmic ray, Galactic protons, Telescope array, Surface detector
Published in RUNG: 30.04.2020; Views: 2563; Downloads: 0
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24.
The bursts of high energy events observed by the telescope array surface detector
R.U. Abbasi, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2017, original scientific article

Abstract: 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.
Keywords: High energy radiation, Lightning, Terrestrial gamma-ray flash
Published in RUNG: 30.04.2020; Views: 2530; Downloads: 0
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25.
Study of muons from ultrahigh energy cosmic ray air showers measured with the Telescope Array experiment
R.U. Abbasi, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2018, original scientific article

Abstract: One of the uncertainties in the interpretation of ultrahigh energy cosmic ray data comes from the hadronic interaction models used for air shower Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. The number of muons observed at the ground from ultrahigh energy cosmic ray–induced air showers is expected to depend upon the hadronic interaction model. One may therefore test the hadronic interaction models by comparing the measured number of muons with the MC prediction. In this paper, we present the results of studies of muon densities in ultrahigh energy extensive air showers obtained by analyzing the signal of surface detector stations which should have high muon purity. The muon purity of a station will depend on both the inclination of the shower and the relative position of the station. In seven years’ data from the Telescope Array experiment, we find that the number of particles observed for signals with an expected muon purity of ∼65% at a lateral distance of 2000 m from the shower core is 1.72± 0.10(stat)±0.37(syst) times larger than the MC prediction value using the QGSJET II-03 model for proton-induced showers. A similar effect is also seen in comparisons with other hadronic models such as QGSJET II-04, which shows a 1.67±0.10±0.36 excess. We also studied the dependence of these excesses on lateral distances and found a slower decrease of the lateral distribution of muons in the data as compared to the MC, causing larger discrepancy at larger lateral distances.
Keywords: UHECR, cosmic rays, muons, particle physics
Published in RUNG: 30.04.2020; Views: 2399; Downloads: 0
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26.
Gamma Ray Showers Observed at Ground Level in Coincidence With Downward Lightning Leaders
R.U. Abbasi, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2018, original scientific article

Abstract: Bursts of gamma ray showers have been observed in coincidence with downward propagating negative leaders in lightning flashes by the Telescope Array Surface Detector (TASD). The TASD is a 700‐km^2 cosmic ray observatory located in southwestern Utah, USA. In data collected between 2014 and 2016, correlated observations showing the structure and temporal development of three shower‐producing flashes were obtained with a 3‐D lightning mapping array, and electric field change measurements were obtained for an additional seven flashes, in both cases colocated with the TASD. National Lightning Detection Network information was also used throughout. The showers arrived in a sequence of 2–5 short‐duration (≤10 μs) bursts over time intervals of several hundred microseconds and originated at an altitude of ≃3–5 km above ground level during the first 1–2 ms of downward negative leader breakdown at the beginning of cloud‐to‐ground lightning flashes. The shower footprints, associated waveforms and the effect of atmospheric propagation indicate that the showers consist primarily of downward‐beamed gamma radiation. This has been supported by GEANT simulation studies, which indicate primary source fluxes of ≃10^12–10^14 photons for 16° half‐angle beams. We conclude that the showers are terrestrial gamma ray flashes, similar to those observed by satellites, but that the ground‐based observations are more representative of the temporal source activity and are also more sensitive than satellite observations, which detect only the most powerful terrestrial gamma ray flashes.
Keywords: gamma rays, lightning, gamma ray bursts, surface detector
Published in RUNG: 30.04.2020; Views: 3004; Downloads: 0
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27.
The Cosmic Ray Energy Spectrum between 2 PeV and 2 EeV Observed with the TALE Detector in Monocular Mode
R.U. Abbasi, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2018, original scientific article

Abstract: We report on a measurement of the cosmic ray energy spectrum by the Telescope Array Low-Energy Extension (TALE) air fluorescence detector (FD). The TALE air FD is also sensitive to the Cherenkov light produced by shower particles. Low-energy cosmic rays, in the PeV energy range, are detectable by TALE as Cherenkov events. Using these events, we measure the energy spectrum from a low energy of ~2 PeV to an energy greater than 100 PeV. Above 100 PeV, TALE can detect cosmic rays using air fluorescence. This allows for the extension of the measurement to energies greater than a few EeV. In this paper, we describe the detector, explain the technique, and present results from a measurement of the spectrum using ~1000 hr of observation. The observed spectrum shows a clear steepening near 10^17.1 eV, along with an ankle-like structure at 10^16.2 eV. These features present important constraints on the origin of galactic cosmic rays and on propagation models. The feature at 10^17.1 eV may also mark the end of the galactic cosmic ray flux and the start of the transition to extragalactic sources.
Keywords: astroparticle physics, cosmic rays, UHECR, energy spectrum
Published in RUNG: 30.04.2020; Views: 2564; Downloads: 0
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28.
Constraints on the diffuse photon flux with energies above 10^18 eV using the surface detector of the Telescope Array experiment
R.U. Abbasi, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2018, original scientific article

Abstract: We present the results of the search for ultra-high-energy photons with nine years of data from the Telescope Array surface detector. A multivariate classifier is built upon 16 reconstructed parameters of the extensive air shower. These parameters are related to the curvature and the width of the shower front, the steepness of the lateral distribution function, and the timing parameters of the waveforms sensitive to the shower muon content. A total number of two photon candidates found in the search is fully compatible with the expected background. The 95% CL limits on the diffuse flux of the photons with energies greater than 10^18.0, 10^18.5, 10^19.0, 10^19.5 and 10^20.0 eV are set at the level of 0.067, 0.012, 0.0036, 0.0013, correspondingly.
Keywords: Ultra-high-energy photons, Telescope array experiment, Extensive air showers
Published in RUNG: 30.04.2020; Views: 2838; Downloads: 0
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29.
Search for ultra-high-energy neutrinos with the Telescope Array surface detector
R. U. Abbasi, Mitsuhiro Abe, T. Abu-Zayyad, M. Allen, R. Azuma, E. Barcikowski, J. W. Belz, Douglas R. Bergman, S. A. Blake, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2020, original scientific article

Abstract: We present an upper limit on the flux of ultra-high-energy down-going neutrinos for E > 10^18 eV derived with the nine years of data collected by the Telescope Array surface detector (05-11-2008– 05-10-2017). The method is based on the multivariate analysis technique, so-called Boosted Decision Trees (BDT). Proton-neutrino classifier is built upon 16 observables related to both the properties of the shower front and the lateral distribution function.
Keywords: neutrinos, pattern recognition, UHECR, cosmic rays
Published in RUNG: 29.04.2020; Views: 2865; Downloads: 76
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30.
Search for point sources of ultra-high-energy photons with the Telescope Array surface detector
R.U. Abbasi, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2020, original scientific article

Abstract: The surface detector (SD) of the Telescope Array (TA) experiment allows us to detect indirectly photons with energies of the order of 10^18 eV and higher, and to separate photons from the cosmic ray background. In this paper, we present the results of a blind search for point sources of ultra-high-energy (UHE) photons in the Northern sky using the TA SD data. The photon-induced extensive air showers are separated from the hadron-induced extensive air shower background by means of a multivariate classifier based upon 16 parameters that characterize the air shower events. No significant evidence for the photon point sources is found. The upper limits are set on the flux of photons from each particular direction in the sky within the TA field of view, according to the experiment’s angular resolution for photons. The average 95 per cent confidence level upper-limits for the point-source flux of photons with energies greater than 10^18, 10^18.5, 10^19, 10^19.5 and 10^20 eV are 0.094, 0.029, 0.010, 0.0073 and 0.0058 km−2yr−1, respectively. For energies higher than 10^18.5 eV, the photon point-source limits are set for the first time. Numerical results for each given direction in each energy range are provided as a supplement to this paper.
Keywords: methods: data analysis, cosmic rays, gamma-rays: general
Published in RUNG: 29.04.2020; Views: 2559; Downloads: 0
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