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Opis: We report an investigation of the mass composition of cosmic rays with energies from 3 to 100 EeV (1 EeV = 10[sup]18 eV) using the distributions of the depth of shower maximum Xmax. The analysis relies on ∼50,000 events recorded by the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory and a deep-learning-based reconstruction algorithm. Above energies of 5 EeV, the dataset offers a 10-fold increase in statistics with respect to fluorescence measurements at the Observatory. After cross-calibration using the fluorescence detector, this enables the first measurement of the evolution of the mean and the standard deviation of the Xmax distributions up to 100 EeV. Our findings are threefold: (i) The evolution of the mean logarithmic mass toward a heavier composition with increasing energy can be confirmed and is extended to 100 EeV. (ii) The evolution of the fluctuations of Xmax toward a heavier and purer composition with increasing energy can be confirmed with high statistics. We report a rather heavy composition and small fluctuations in Xmax at the highest energies. (iii) We find indications for a characteristic structure beyond a constant change in the mean logarithmic mass, featuring three breaks that are observed in proximity to the ankle, instep, and suppression features in the energy spectrum.
Ključne besede: ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, UHECRs, extensive air showers, Pierre Auger Observatory, UHECR mass composition, depth of shower maximum, fluorescence detector, surface detector, deep learning
Objavljeno v RUNG: 20.01.2025; Ogledov: 172; Prenosov: 0
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Opis: The Auger Radio Detector (RD) will increase the sky coverage and overall aperture for mass- sensitive measurements of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with the Pierre Auger Observatory. The installation of over 1600 dual-polarized short aperiodic loaded loop antennas (SALLAs) on an area of about 3000 sq. km will enable the detection of highly inclined air showers via the emitted electromagnetic radiation in coincidence with the Auger water-Cherenkov detector array (SD). The combination of complementary information from both detectors yields a strong sensitivity to the mass composition of cosmic rays. We will present the expected performance of the RD to detect and reconstruct inclined air showers. This study features comprehensive sets of Monte-Carlo generated air showers, utilizes a complete description of the instrumental response of the radio antennas, and in-situ recorded background. The estimation of an energy- and direction-dependent aperture yields an expectation of about 3900 events with energies above 10[sup]19 eV being detected during 10 years of operation. From a full event reconstruction, we quantify the achievable energy resolution to be better than 10% at and beyond 10[sup]19 eV. With this at hand, the potential to measure the number of muons and discriminate between different cosmic-ray primaries in combination with the SD using inclined air showers is presented. The discrimination between proton- and iron-induced air showers yields a figure-of-merit of 1.6.
Ključne besede: Pierre Auger Observatory, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, extensive air showers, Auger Radio Detector, Auger water-Cherenkov detector array, mass-sensitive UHECR measurements
Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.10.2024; Ogledov: 600; Prenosov: 6
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Opis: After nearly 20 years of data-taking, the measurements made with the Pierre Auger Observatory represent the largest collection of ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) data so far assembled from a single instrument. Exploring this data set led to a deeper understanding of the UHECR flux and many surprises. In particular, studies aiming to investigate and leverage the mass composition of UHECRs have played an important role in empowering discovery. This contribution will present an overview of the analyses of primary mass composition carried out during the first phase of the Observatory. The overview includes analyses derived from measurements made by the surface, fluorescence, and radio detectors covering energies ranging from 0.1 EeV up to 100 EeV. Special attention will be given to recent advances and results to provide a complete picture of UHECR mass composition at the Observatory as it moves to its next phase, AugerPrime. Additionally, specific updates will be given to studies focusing on mass trends from surface detector rise-times, �max dependent anisotropies, and UHECR beam characterization using the correlation between �max and signal amplitudes at the ground.
Ključne besede: ultra-high energy cosmic rays, Pierre Auger Observatory, AERA, water-Cherenkov detector
Objavljeno v RUNG: 23.01.2024; Ogledov: 1361; Prenosov: 5
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Opis: The ongoing AugerPrime upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory will yield sensitivity and precision for measuring ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic rays that are significantly improved over the baseline design. A key part is the installation of the Radio Detector (RD), consisting of loop antennas mounted on top of each of the 1660 water-Cherenkov detectors (WCD). These antennas, with polarizations both parallel and perpendicular to Earth’s magnetic field, are sensitive to inclined air showers and will also improve the sky coverage and exposure of the observatory. Of special interest is the great sensitivity to the electromagnetic component of air showers, yielding new information for the reconstruction of the primary mass, energy and arrival direction. Complementing traditional particle detectors like the WCD, the combination of both yields new opportunities to detect rare primary particles, e.g. UHE photons and neutrinos with a large identification probability. Here we present the status and future prospects of the RD.With mass production and deployment ongoing, we showair shower statistics and reconstructions of the already installed detector stations. We detail the layout and integration of the RD, demonstrating the potential of the observatory including radio measurements and RD triggering, especially to detect air showers with weak particle footprints. We show that the new trigger enables the measurement of events for which traditional particle detectors are less sensitive.
Ključne besede: ultra-high energy cosmic rays, Pierre Auger Observatory, radio detector, air shower
Objavljeno v RUNG: 23.01.2024; Ogledov: 1388; Prenosov: 6
Celotno besedilo (7,29 MB)
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Opis: To understand the physics of cosmic rays at the highest energies, it is mandatory to have an accurate knowledge of their mass composition. Since the mass of the primary particles cannot be measured directly, we have to rely on the analysis of mass-sensitive observables to gain insights into this composition. A promising observable for this purpose is the number of muons at the ground relative to that of an air shower induced by a proton primary of the same energy and inclination angle, commonly referred to as the relative muon number �μ. Due to the complexity of shower footprints, the extraction of �μ from measurements is a challenging task and intractable to solve using analytic approaches. We, therefore, reconstruct �μ by exploiting the spatial and temporal information of the signals induced by shower particles using neural networks. Using this data-driven approach permits us to tackle this task without the need of modeling the underlying physics and, simultaneously, gives us insights into the feasibility of such an approach. In this contribution, we summarize the progress of the deep-learning-based approach to estimate �μ using simulated surface detector data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Instead of using single architecture, we present different network designs verifying that they reach similar results. Moreover, we demonstrate the potential for estimating �μ using the scintillator surface detector of the AugerPrime upgrade.
Ključne besede: ultra-high energy cosmic rays, Pierre Auger Observatory, AugerPrime, surface detector
Objavljeno v RUNG: 23.01.2024; Ogledov: 1740; Prenosov: 7
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