1. Mass composition of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays from distribution of their arrival directions with the Telescope ArrayR. U. Abbasi, Y. Abe, T. Abu-Zayyad, M. Allen, Y. Arai, R. Arimura, E. Barcikowski, J. W. Belz, Douglas R. Bergman, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: We use a new method to estimate the injected mass composition of ultrahigh cosmic rays (UHECRs) at energies higher than 10 EeV. The method is based on comparison of the energy-dependent distribution of cosmic ray arrival directions as measured by the Telescope Array (TA) experiment with that calculated in a given putative model of UHECR under the assumption that sources trace the large-scale structure (LSS) of the Universe. As we report in the companion Letter, the TA data show large deflections with respect to the LSS which can be explained, assuming small extragalactic magnetic fields (EGMF), by an intermediate composition changing to a heavy one (iron) in the highest energy bin. Here we show that these results are robust to uncertainties in UHECR injection spectra, the energy scale of the experiment and galactic magnetic fields. The assumption of weak EGMF, however, strongly affects this interpretation at all but the highest energies E > 100 EeV, where the remarkable isotropy of the data implies a heavy injected composition even in the case of strong EGMF. This result also holds if UHECR sources are as rare as 2 × 10[sup]−5 Mpc[sup]−3, that is the conservative lower limit for the source number density.
Keywords: ultrahigh energy cosmic rays, large-scale structure, extragalactic magnetic fields, UHECR propagation, Telescope Array, UHECR mass composition, UHECR arrival directions
Published in RUNG: 23.04.2025; Views: 435; Downloads: 4
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2. Isotropy of Cosmic Rays beyond 10[sup]20 eV Favors Their Heavy Mass CompositionR. U. Abbasi, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: We report an estimation of the injected mass composition of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) at energies higher than 10 EeV. The composition is inferred from an energy-dependent sky distribution of UHECR events observed by the Telescope Array surface detector by comparing it to the Large Scale Structure of the local Universe. In the case of negligible extragalactic magnetic fields (EGMFs), the results are consistent with a relatively heavy injected composition at E ∼ 10 EeV that becomes lighter up to E ∼ 100 EeV, while the composition at E > 100 EeV is very heavy. The latter is true even in the presence of highest experimentally allowed extragalactic magnetic fields, while the composition at lower energies can be light if a strong EGMF is present. The effect of the uncertainty in the galactic magnetic field on these results is subdominant.
Keywords: ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), Large Scale Structure, extragalactic magnetic fields, UHECR propagation, Telescope Array surface detector, UHECR mass composition, UHECR arrival directions
Published in RUNG: 23.04.2025; Views: 459; Downloads: 4
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3. Astrophysical models to interpret the Pierre Auger Observatory dataJuan Manuel González, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Shima Ujjani Shivashankara, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, 2025, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Pierre Auger Observatory has measured the spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with unprecedented precision, as well as the distribution of the depths of the maximum of the shower development in the atmosphere, which provide a reliable estimator of the mass composition. The measurements above 10[sup]17.8 eV can be interpreted assuming two populations of uniformly distributed sources, one with a soft spectrum dominating the flux below few EeV, and another one with a very hard spectrum dominating above that energy. When considering the presence of intense extragalactic magnetic fields between our Galaxy and the closest sources and a high-energy population with low spatial density, a magnetic horizon appears, suppressing the cosmic ray's flux at low-energies, which could explain the very hard spectrum observed at Earth. The distribution of arrival directions, which at energies above 32 EeV shows indications of a correlation with a population of starburst galaxies or the radio galaxy Centaurus A (Cen A), are also important to constrain the sources. It is shown that adding a fractional contribution from these sources of about 20% on top of an homogeneous background leads to an improvement of the model likelihood.
Keywords: ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, UHECR energy spectrum, UHECR mass composition, UHECR anisotropies, UHECR propagation, UHECR data interpretation, extragalactic magnetic fields, starburst galaxies, Centaurus A, Pierre Auger Observatory
Published in RUNG: 24.03.2025; Views: 691; Downloads: 10
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4. Combined fit of spectrum and composition for FR0 radio-galaxy-emitted ultra–high energy cosmic rays with resulting secondary photons and neutrinosJon Paul Lundquist, Serguei Vorobiov, Lukas Merten, Anita Reimer, Margot Boughelilba, Paolo Da Vela, Fabrizio Tavecchio, Giacomo Bonnoli, Chiara Righi, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: This study comprehensively investigates the gamma-ray dim population of Fanaroff–Riley
Type 0 (FR0) radio galaxies as potentially significant sources of ultra–high energy cosmic rays
(UHECRs, E > 10[sup]18 eV) detected on Earth. While individual FR0 luminosities are relatively
low compared to the more powerful Fanaroff–Riley Type 1 and Type 2 galaxies, FR0s are
substantially more prevalent in the local universe, outnumbering the more energetic galaxies
by a factor of ∼5 within a redshift of z ≤ 0.05. Employing CRPropa3 simulations, we estimate
the mass composition and energy spectra of UHECRs originating from FR0 galaxies for energies
above 10[sup]18.6 eV. This estimation fits data from the Pierre Auger Observatory (Auger)
using three extensive air shower models; both constant and energy-dependent observed
elemental fractions are considered. The simulation integrates an approximately isotropic
distribution of FR0 galaxies, extrapolated from observed characteristics, with UHECR
propagation in the intergalactic medium, incorporating various plausible configurations of
extragalactic magnetic fields, both random and structured. We then compare the resulting
emission spectral indices, rigidity cutoffs, and elemental fractions with recent Auger results.
In total, 25 combined energy-spectrum and mass-composition fits are considered. Beyond
the cosmic-ray fluxes emitted by FR0 galaxies, this study predicts the secondary photon and
neutrino fluxes from UHECR interactions with intergalactic cosmic photon backgrounds.
The multimessenger approach, encompassing observational data and theoretical models,
helps elucidate the contribution of low-luminosity FR0 radio galaxies to the total cosmic-ray
energy density.
Keywords: ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, UHECRs, UHECR energy spectrum, Pierre Auger Observatory, UHECR mass composition, UHECR sources, extragalactic magnetic fields, UHECR propagation, CRPropa tool
Published in RUNG: 06.01.2025; Views: 968; Downloads: 10
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5. Testing cosmology and fundamental physics with the Cherenkov Telescope ArrayH. Martínez-Huerta, Christopher Eckner, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2019, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next generation ground-based observatory for γ-ray astronomy at energies above 30 GeV. Thanks to its unique capabilities, CTA observations will
address a plethora of open questions in astrophysics, ranging from the origin of cosmic messengers to the exploration of the frontiers of physics. In this note, we present a comprehensive sensitivity study to assess the potential of CTA to measure the γ-ray absorption on the extragalactic background light (EBL), to constrain or detect intergalactic magnetic fields (IGMFs), and probe physics beyond the standard model such as axion-like particles (ALPs) and Lorentz invariance violation (LIV), which could modify the γ-ray spectra features expected from EBL absorption. Our results suggest that CTA will have unprecedented sensitivity to detect IGMF signatures and will probe so-far unexplored regions of the LIV and ALP parameter space. Furthermore, an indirect measurement of the EBL and of its evolution will be performed with unrivaled precision.
Keywords: very-high-energy gamma rays, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) Observatory, extragalactic background light (EBL), intergalactic magnetic fields (IGMFs), axion-like particles (ALPs), Lorentz invariance violation (LIV)
Published in RUNG: 07.11.2024; Views: 1044; Downloads: 5
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6. Possible interpretations of the joint observations of UHECR arrival directions using data recorded at the Telescope Array and the Pierre Auger ObservatoryMikhail Kuznetsov, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Shima Ujjani Shivashankara, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, 2023, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: Various hints for anisotropies in the distribution of arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) have been reported. Still, our poor knowledge about extragalactic and Galactic
magnetic fields and about the UHECR mass composition makes it non-trivial to interpret such results in terms of possible models of UHECR sources. In this work, we apply the same analyses that have been performed on the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array UHECR data to a variety of Monte Carlo simulations generated according to many different combinations of hypotheses about the sources, composition and magnetic deflections of UHECRs. We find that
only some of these models can yield results similar to those obtained with the real data.
Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, ultra-high energy cosmic rays, anisotropy, galactic magnetic fields, telescope array, arrival directions
Published in RUNG: 23.01.2024; Views: 2482; Downloads: 7
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7. Update on the searches for anisotropies in UHECR arrival directions with the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope ArrayLorenzo Caccianiga, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Shima Ujjani Shivashankara, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, 2023, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), particles from outer space with energies �≥1 EeV, is still unknown, though the near-isotropy of their arrival direction distribution excludes a dominant Galactic contribution, and interactions with background photons prevent them from travelling cosmologically large distances. This suggests that their sources must be searched for in nearby galaxy groups and clusters. Deflections by intergalactic and Galactic magnetic fields are expected to hinder such searches but not preclude them altogether. So far, the only anisotropy detected with statistical significance ≥ 5� is a modulation in right ascension in the data from the Pierre Auger Observatory at �≥8 EeV interpretable as a 7% dipole moment. Various hints for higher-energy, smaller-scale anisotropies have been reported. UHECR arrival direction data from both the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array experiment have been searched for anisotropies by a working group with members from both collaborations; combining the two datasets requires a cross-calibration procedure due to the different systematic uncertainties on energy measurements but allows us to perform analyses that are less model-dependent than what can be done with partial sky coverage. We report a significant dipole pointing away from the Galactic Center and a ∼4.6� anisotropy found when comparing the directions of UHECRs with a catalog of starburst galaxies.
Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, ultra-high energy cosmic rays, anisotropy, galactic magnetic fields, telescope array, arrival directions
Published in RUNG: 23.01.2024; Views: 2824; Downloads: 6
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8. A study of analysis method for the identification of UHECR source typeF. Yoshida, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The autocorrelation analysis using the arrival direction of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) has been previously reported by the Telescope Array (TA) experiment. It is expected that the autocorrelation function reflects the source distribution. We simulate the expected arrival direction distribution of the cosmic rays using the catalogs of candidate sources. We take into account random deflection in the magnetic fields, with the magnitude of deflection determined by the charge and energy of the cosmic rays, coherence length and magnitude of the extragalactic magnetic field (EGMF), and by distance to source. In addition, in order to compare with the results of TA experiment, we consider the TA exposure. We compare the autocorrelation of the arrival directions corresponding to different source catalogs with the isotropic distribution. We calculate the autocorrelation function for each type of source candidates using this procedure. We will discuss the ability of this method to identify the source type of UHECRs.
Keywords: Telescope Array, indirect detection, surface detection, ground array, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, energy spectrum, composition, anisotropy, autocorrelation, source models, magnetic fields
Published in RUNG: 04.10.2023; Views: 2742; Downloads: 10
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9. UHECR mass composition from anisotropy of their arrival directions with the Telescope Array SDM. Kuznetsov, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: We propose a new method for the estimation of ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) mass composition from a distribution of their arrival directions. The method employs a test statistic (TS) based on a characteristic deflection of UHECR events with respect to the distribution of luminous matter in the local Universe modeled with a flux-weighed 2MRS catalog. Making realistic simulations of the mock UHECR sets, we show that this TS is robust to the presence of galactic and non-extreme extra-galactic magnetic fields and sensitive to the mass composition of events in a set.
We apply the method to Telescope Array surface detector data for 11 years and derive new independent constraints on fraction of protons and iron in p-Fe mix at E>10 EeV. At 10100 EeV --- pure iron or even more massive composition. This result is in tension with Auger composition model inferred from spectrum-Xmax fit at 2.7σ (2.0σ) for PT'11 (JF'12) regular GMF model.
Keywords: Telescope Array, indirect detection, surface detection, ground array, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, composition, anisotropy, magnetic fields, 2MRS
Published in RUNG: 04.10.2023; Views: 3131; Downloads: 7
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10. Extrapolating FR-0 radio galaxy source properties from propagation of multi-messenger ultra-high energy cosmic raysJon Paul Lundquist, Lukas Merten, Serguei Vorobiov, Margot Boughelilba, Anita Reimer, Paolo Da Vela, Fabrizio Tavecchio, Giacomo Bonnoli, Chiara Righi, 2021, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: Recently, it has been shown that relatively low luminosity Fanaroff-Riley type 0 (FR-0) radio galaxies are a good candidate source class for a predominant fraction of cosmic rays (CR) accelerated to ultra-high energies (UHE, E>10[sup]18 eV). FR-0s can potentially provide a significant fraction
of the UHECR energy density as they are much more numerous in the local universe than more energetic radio galaxies such as FR-1s or FR-2s (up to a factor of ∼5 with z≤0.05 compared to
FR-1s).
In the present work, UHECR mass composition and energy spectra at the FR-0 sources are estimated by fitting simulation results to the published Pierre Auger Observatory data. This fitting is done using a simulated isotropic sky distribution extrapolated from the measured FR-0 galaxy properties and propagating CRs in plausible extragalactic magnetic field configurations using the CRPropa3 framework. In addition, we present estimates of the fluxes of secondary photons and neutrinos created in UHECR interactions with cosmic photon backgrounds during
CR propagation. With this approach, we aim to investigate the properties of the sources with the help of observational multi-messenger data.
Keywords: jetted active galaxies, FR-0 radiogalaxies, ultra-high energy cosmic rays, extragalactic magnetic fields, UHECR propagation, UHECR interactions, cosmogenic photons, cosmogenic neutrinos
Published in RUNG: 16.08.2021; Views: 3487; Downloads: 5
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