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Abstract: The low energy modes of the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory record variations in the flux of low energy secondary particles with extreme detail. These two modes consist of recording (1) the rate of signals for energies between ∼15 MeV and ∼100 MeV (the Scaler mode) and (2) the calibration charge histograms of the individual pulses detected by each water-Cherenkov station, covering different energy channels up to ∼1 GeV (the Histogram mode). Previous work has studied the flux of galactic cosmic rays on short and intermediate time scales (i.e. from minutes to weeks) using these low energy modes. In this work, after including a long- term correction to the response of the detectors, we present the first long-term analysis of the flux of cosmic rays using scalers and two energy bands of the calibration histograms. We show its sensitivity to the solar cycle variation and its relation to the solar modulation of cosmic rays for an 8-year period.
Found in: ključnih besedah
Summary of found: ...The low energy modes of the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory record...
Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, Surface Detector, secondary cosmic rays, scaler mode, charge histogram mode, solar cycle modulation
Published: 03.03.2016; Views: 3953; Downloads: 194
Fulltext (533,18 KB)

Abstract: The azimuthal asymmetry in the risetime of signals in Auger surface detector stations is a source of information on shower development. The azimuthal asymmetry is due to a combination of the longitudinal evolution of the shower and geometrical effects related to the angles of incidence of the particles into the detectors. The magnitude of the effect depends upon the zenith angle and state of development of the shower and thus provides a novel observable, (secθ)max, sensitive to the mass composition of cosmic rays above 3×1018  eV. By comparing measurements with predictions from shower simulations, we find for both of our adopted models of hadronic physics (QGSJETII-04 and EPOS-LHC) an indication that the mean cosmic-ray mass increases slowly with energy, as has been inferred from other studies. However, the mass estimates are dependent on the shower model and on the range of distance from the shower core selected. Thus the method has uncovered further deficiencies in our understanding of shower modeling that must be resolved before the mass composition can be inferred from (secθ)max.
Found in: ključnih besedah
Keywords: ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR), UHECR mass composition, Pierre Auger Observatory, extensive air showers, Auger Surface Detector signals risetime, azimuthal symmetry
Published: 15.04.2016; Views: 4551; Downloads: 0
Fulltext (698,19 KB)

Found in: ključnih besedah
Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, surface detector, peculiar lightning-related events
Published: 16.02.2018; Views: 2672; Downloads: 178
Fulltext (3,10 MB)

Abstract: The Telescope Array (TA) experiment is located in the western desert of Utah, USA, and observes ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) in the Northern hemisphere. At the highest energies, E>10~EeV, the shape of cosmic ray energy spectrum may carry an imprint of the source density distribution along the line of sight different in different directions of the sky. In this study, we search for such directional variations in the shape of the energy spectrum using events observed with the Telescope Array's surface detector. We divide the TA field of view into two nearly equal-exposure regions: the "on-source" region which we define as ±30∘ of the supergalactic plane containing mostly nearby structures, and the complementary "off-source" region where the sources are further away on average. We compare the UHECR spectra in these regions by fitting them to the broken power law and comparing the resulting parameters. We find that the off-source spectrum has an earlier break at highest energies. The chance probability to obtain such or larger difference in statistically equivalent distributions is estimated as 6.2±1.1×10−4 (3.2σ) by a Monte-Carlo simulation. The observed difference in spectra is in a reasonable quantitative agreement with a simplified model that assumes that the UHECR sources trace the galaxy distribution from the 2MRS catalogue, primary particles are protons and the magnetic deflections can be neglected.
Found in: ključnih besedah
Keywords: cosmic radiation: UHE, detector: surface, cosmic radiation: spectrum, cosmic radiation: energy spectrum, deflection: magnetic, numerical calculations: Monte Carlo, anisotropy
Published: 27.04.2020; Views: 2023; Downloads: 78
Fulltext (169,05 KB)

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.
Found in: ključnih besedah
Summary of found: ...in lightning flashes by the Telescope Array Surface Detector (TASD). The TASD is a 700‐km^2...
Keywords: gamma rays, lightning, gamma ray bursts, surface detector
Published: 30.04.2020; Views: 2300; Downloads: 0
Fulltext (1,14 MB)