91. Adjustments to Model Predictions of Depth of Shower Maximum and Signals at Ground Level using Hybrid Events of the Pierre Auger ObservatoryJ. Vicha, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: We present a new method to explore simple ad-hoc adjustments to the predictions of hadronic interaction models to improve their consistency with observed two-dimensional distributions of the depth of shower maximum, Xmax, and signal at ground level, as a function of zenith angle. The method relies on the assumption that the mass composition is the same at all zenith angles, while the atmospheric shower development and attenuation depend on composition in a correlated way. In the present work, for each of the three leading LHC-tuned hadronic interaction models, we allow a global shift ΔXmax of the predicted shower maximum, which is the same for every mass and energy, and a rescaling R_Had of the hadronic component at ground level which depends on the zenith angle.
We apply the analysis to 2297 events reconstructed by both fluorescence and surface detectors at the Pierre Auger Observatory with energies 10^18.5−10^19.0 eV. Given the modeling assumptions made in this analysis, the best fit reaches its optimum value when shifting the Xmax predictions of hadronic interaction models to deeper values and increasing the hadronic signal at both extreme zenith angles. The resulting change in the composition towards heavier primaries alleviates the previously identified model deficit in the hadronic signal (commonly called the muon deficit), but does not remove it. Because of the size of the required corrections ΔXmax and R_Had and the large number of events in the sample, the statistical significance of the corrections is large, greater than 5σstat even for the combination of experimental systematic shifts within 1σsys that are the most favorable for the models. Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, indirect detection, fluorescence detection, ground array, surface detection, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, composition, Xmax, muon deficit, air-shower models Published in RUNG: 04.10.2023; Views: 1585; Downloads: 7 Full text (1,14 MB) This document has many files! More... |
92. Combined fit of the energy spectrum and mass composition across the ankle with the data measured at the Pierre Auger ObservatoryE. Guido, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The combined fit of the energy spectrum and mass composition data above 5 EeV suggested the presence of extragalactic sources ejecting ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with relatively low maximum energies, hard spectral indices and mixed chemical compositions, dominated by the contribution of intermediate mass groups. Here we present an extension of the fit to lower energies, to include the feature observed near 5 EeV in the all-particle energy spectrum, the so-called ankle. We show that it is possible to generate such a change of slope assuming that the flux below the ankle is provided by the superposition of different contributions. The simplest extension of this sort consists of introducing a supplemental extragalactic component at low energy, characterised by different physical parameters with respect to the one being dominant above the ankle: such a component may originate from a different population of sources or be provided by interactions occurring in the acceleration sites. In this framework we also explore the possibility of including the end of a Galactic contribution at low energies. The fit suggests that these scenarios provide a reasonable description of the measurements across the ankle, without significantly affecting the interpretation obtained for the above-ankle region.
In order to evaluate our capability to constrain the source models, we finally discuss the impact of the main experimental systematic uncertainties and of the theoretical models choice on the fit results. Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, indirect detection, fluorescence detection, hybrid detection, surface detection, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, composition, energy spectrum, combined fit Published in RUNG: 03.10.2023; Views: 1544; Downloads: 5 Full text (1,09 MB) This document has many files! More... |
93. Indication of a mass-dependent anisotropy above 10^18.7 eV in the hybrid data of the Pierre Auger ObservatoryE.W. Mayotte, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: We test the hypothesis of an anisotropy laying along the galactic plane which depends on the mass of primary cosmic-rays. The sensitivity to primary mass is provided by the depth of shower maximum, Xmax, from hybrid events measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory. The 14 years of available data are split into on- and off-plane regions using the galactic latitude of each event to form two distributions in Xmax, which are compared using the Anderson-Darling 2-samples test.
A scan over a subset of the data is used to select an optimal threshold energy of 10^18.7 eV and a galactic latitude splitting at |b|=30∘, which are then set as a prescription for the remaining data. With these thresholds, the distribution of Xmax from the on-plane region is found to have a 9.1±1.6+2.1−2.2 g/cm2 shallower mean and a 5.9±2.1+3.5−2.5 g/cm2 narrower width than that of the off-plane region. These differences are as such to indicate that the mean mass of primary particles arriving from the on-plane region is greater than that of those coming from the off-plane region.
Monte-Carlo studies yield a 4.4σ post-penalization statistical significance for the independent data. Including the scanned data results in a 4.9+1.4−1.5σ post-penalization statistical significance, where the uncertainties are of systematic origin. Accounting for systematic uncertainties leads to an indication for anisotropy in mass composition above 10^18.7 eV at a confidence level of 3.3σ. The anisotropy is observed independently at each of the four fluorescence telescope sites. Interpretations of possible causes of the observed effect are discussed. Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, indirect detection, fluorescence detection, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, composition, anisotropy, Xmax, galactic plane Published in RUNG: 03.10.2023; Views: 1470; Downloads: 8 Full text (1,33 MB) This document has many files! More... |
94. Energy spectrum of cosmic rays measured using the Pierre Auger ObservatoryV. Novotný, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: We present the energy spectrum of cosmic rays measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory from 6×10^15 eV up to the most extreme energies where the accumulated exposure reaches about 80 000 km^2sr yr. The wide energy range is covered with five different measurements, namely using the events detected by the surface detector with zenith angles below 60 degrees and applying different reconstruction method also above 60 degrees, those collected by a denser array, the hybrid events simultaneously recorded by the surface and fluorescence detectors, and using those events in which the signal is dominated by Cherenkov light registered by the high-elevation telescopes. In this contribution, we report updates of the analysis techniques and present the spectrum obtained by combining the five different measurements. Spectral features occurring in the wide energy range covered by the Observatory are discussed. Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, indirect detection, fluorescence detection, surface detection, hybrid detection, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, cerenkov light, energy spectrum, inclined showers Published in RUNG: 03.10.2023; Views: 6670; Downloads: 6 Full text (1,45 MB) This document has many files! More... |
95. Hotspot Update, and a new Excess of Events on the Sky Seen by the Telescope Array ExperimentJ. Kim, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Telescope Array (TA) experiment, the largest observatory studying ultrahigh energy cosmic rays in the northern hemisphere, has reported an excess in the arrival direction distribution for events with energies above 5.7×10^19 eV
, called the hotspot. We report here the latest results of the TA hotspot using the most recent data measured by the TA surface detector array, which is more than doubled exposure since the first publication; the hotspot still exists with 3 sigma post-trial significance. By using an oversampling search with a 20∘-circle, similar to the study of the hotspot, we find an additional excess of events at slightly lower energies. The Perseus-Pisces supercluster lies at the location of the new excess. Assuming this structure is responsible for the excess, we conducted a statistical analysis to verify the correlation between observed events and the members of the Perseus-Pisces supercluster. Keywords: Telescope Array, indirect detection, surface detection, ground array, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, anisotropy, hotspot Published in RUNG: 03.10.2023; Views: 1314; Downloads: 7 Full text (4,29 MB) This document has many files! More... |
96. Reconstruction of air shower events measured by the surface detectors of the TAx4 experimentH. Jeong, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The source, propagation and acceleration mechanism of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR) have been investigated since the first discovery of the UHECRs to solve the mystery of the extremely high-energy universe. The Telescope Array times 4 (TAx4) experiment, which currently consists of 257 Surface Detectors (SDs) and 2 Fluorescence Detector (FD) stations, had been built in Utah, USA in 2019. The TAx4 SDs observe secondary particles in an extensive air shower induced by the UHECR, and we reconstruct arrival direction and energy of the UHECR using the signal intensities and timings measured by the SDs. We present the reconstruction procedure of the UHECR and the preliminary energy spectrum above 10~EeV measured by the TAx4 SDs. Keywords: Telescope Array, TAx4, indirect detection, surface detection, ground array, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, energy spectrum Published in RUNG: 03.10.2023; Views: 1416; Downloads: 5 Full text (1,34 MB) This document has many files! More... |
97. Analysis of TAx4 hybrid trigger and eventsS. Kim, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Telescope Array is the largest ultra-high energy cosmic ray hybrid detector in the Northern hemisphere. While the TAx4 Surface Detector (TAx4 SD) has a duty cycle of ~ 100%, it should be noted that the TAx4 Fluorescence Detector (TAx4 FD) observes the full longitudinal profile of the cosmic ray air showers and therefore is able to determine their energies more accurately than TAx4 SD. In addition, observing cosmic rays in hybrid mode (“hybrid events”) has several advantages. Events seen in hybrid mode by the TAx4 FD and SD are used to establish the energy scale of the TAx4 SD. Moreover, the FD longitudinal profile is used to determine the mass composition of the primary comic ray particles, when the event geometries are well constrained by FD and SD measurements simultaneously. Despite large differences in the TAx4 SD/FD stand-alone performances, both detector types complement each other in measuring important physical quantities. Since August 2019, direction, energy, and Xmax can be obtained from reconstructing hybrid events. In this poster, preliminary analysis of TAx4 hybrid trigger and TAx4 hybrid events will be presented with focus on energy and Xmax observations. Keywords: Telescope Array, TAx4, indirect detection, hybrid detection, hybrid trigger, ground array, fluorescence detection, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, energy, Xmax Published in RUNG: 03.10.2023; Views: 1658; Downloads: 8 Full text (5,34 MB) This document has many files! More... |
98. Large-scale and multipolar anisotropies of cosmic rays detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory with energies above 4 EeVR. de Almeida, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: More than half a century after the discovery of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), their origin is still an open question. The study of anisotropies in the arrival directions of such particles is an essential ingredient to solve this puzzle. We update our previous analysis of large-scale anisotropies observed by the Pierre Auger Observatory using the latest data collected before the AugerPrime upgrade. We select events with zenith angles up to 80 degrees, implying a sky coverage of 85%, and energies above 4 EeV, for which the surface detector of the Observatory is fully efficient. Dipolar and quadrupolar amplitudes are evaluated through a combined Fourier analysis of the event count rate in right ascension and azimuth. The analysis is performed in three energy bins with boundaries at 4, 8, 16 and 32 EeV and two additional cumulative bins with energies above 8 and 32 EeV. The most significant signal is a dipolar modulation in right ascension for energies above 8 EeV, as previously reported, with statistical significance of 6.6σ. Additionally, we report the measurements of the angular power spectrum for the same energy bins with the same dataset. Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, indirect detection, surface detection, ground array, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, anisotropy, dipole, quadropole, angular power spectrum, inclined showers Published in RUNG: 03.10.2023; Views: 1433; Downloads: 5 Full text (1,14 MB) This document has many files! More... |
99. Joint analysis of the energy spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays as measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope ArrayY. Tsunesada, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The measurement of the energy spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) is of crucial importance to clarify their origin and acceleration mechanisms. The Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina and the Telescope Array (TA) in the US have reported their measurements of UHECR energy spectra observed in the southern and northern hemisphere, respectively. The region of the sky accessible to both Observatories ([−15,+24] degrees in declination) can be used to cross-calibrate the two spectra.
The Auger-TA energy spectrum working group was organized in 2012 and has been working to understand the uncertainties in energy scale in both experiments, their systematic differences, and differences in the shape of the spectra. In previous works, we reported that there was an overall agreement of the energy spectra measured by the two observatories below 10 EeV while at higher energies, a remaining significant difference was observed in the common declination band. We revisit this issue to understand its origin by examining the systematic uncertainties, statistical effects, and other possibilities. We will also discuss the differences in the spectra in different declination bands and a new feature in the spectrum recently reported by the Auger Collaboration. Keywords: Telescope Array, Pierre Auger Observatory, indirect detection, surface detection, ground array, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, energy spectrum, anisotropy, declination dependence, fully sky Published in RUNG: 02.10.2023; Views: 1386; Downloads: 7 Full text (1,02 MB) This document has many files! More... |
100. Telescope Array Combined Fit to Cosmic Ray Spectrum and CompositionD. Bergman, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: We present the result of fits of an astrophysical model of UHECR sources to the energy spectrum measured using the Telescope Array (TA) surface detectors and the composition data measured by TA fluorescence detectors in stereo mode. The astrophysical model consists of identical sources, uniformly distributed with a density which evolves with age, where groups of nuclei with varying fractions are accelerated producing a power law source with a rigidity-dependent cutoff. The model includes the propagation effects of photo-pion production, photo-nuclear disintegration and general energy loss from universal expansion. Comparison of model data with detector data in both the energy and the Xmax distributions is done via a forward-folding description of detector effects. A prediction of the cosmogenic neutrino flux at Earth resulting from the cosmic rays produced in the model with these fit values is also presented. The predicted flux is considerably higher than other similar fits to Auger data have previously predicted. Keywords: Telescope Array, indirect detection, stereo detection, fluorescence detection, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, energy spectrum, composition, combined fit, cosmogenic neutrinos, multimessenger Published in RUNG: 02.10.2023; Views: 1618; Downloads: 6 Full text (1,48 MB) This document has many files! More... |