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Opis: We present measurements of the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum Xmax, inferred for the first time on an event-by-event level using the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Using deep learning, we were able to extend measurements of the Xmax distributions up to energies of 100 EeV (10[sup]20 eV), not yet revealed by current measurements, providing new insights into the mass composition of cosmic rays at extreme energies. Gaining a 10-fold increase in statistics compared to the Fluorescence Detector data, we find evidence that the rate of change of the average Xmax with the logarithm of energy features three breaks at 6.5 ± 0.6 (stat) ± 1 (sys) EeV, 11 ± 2 (stat) ± 1 (sys) EeV, and 31 ± 5 (stat) ± 3 (sys) EeV, in the vicinity to the three prominent features (ankle, instep, suppression) of the cosmic-ray flux. The energy evolution of the mean and standard deviation of the measured Xmax distributions indicates that the mass composition becomes increasingly heavier and purer, thus being incompatible with a large fraction of light nuclei between 50 EeV and 100 EeV.
Ključne besede: ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), extensive air showers, Pierre Auger Observatory, UHECR mass composition, depth of the shower maximum, fluorescence detector, surface detector, deep learning
Objavljeno v RUNG: 20.01.2025; Ogledov: 207; Prenosov: 1
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Opis: The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world’s largest ultra-high energy cosmic ray observatory. Its hybrid detection technique combines the observation of the longitudinal development of extensive air showers and the lateral distribution of particles arriving at the ground. In this contribution, a review of the latest results on hadronic interactions using measurements from the Pierre Auger Observatory is given. In particular, we report on the self-consistency tests of the post-LHC models using measurements of the depth of the shower maximum and the main features of the muon component at the ground. The tensions between the model predictions and the data, considering different shower observables, are reviewed.
Ključne besede: ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, hadronic interactions, extensive air showers, maximum depth, EAS muon content, Pierre Auger Observatory, post-LHC hadronic interaction models
Objavljeno v RUNG: 04.10.2024; Ogledov: 615; Prenosov: 7
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Opis: The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is an array of 153 radio antennas spanning an area of 17 sq. km, currently the largest of its kind, that probes the nature of ultra-high energy cosmic rays at energies around the transition from Galactic to extra-galactic origin. It measures the MHz radio emission of extensive air showers produced by cosmic rays hitting our atmosphere. The elemental composition of cosmic rays is a crucial piece of information in determining what the sources of cosmic rays are and how cosmic rays are accelerated. This composition can be obtained from the mass-sensitive parameter Xmax, the depth of the shower maximum. We reconstruct Xmax with a likelihood analysis by comparing the measured radio footprint on the ground to an ensemble of footprints from Monte-Carlo CORSIKA/CoREAS air shower simulations. We compare our Xmax reconstruction with fluorescence Xmax measurements on a per-event basis, a setup unique to the Pierre Auger Observatory, and show the methods to be compatible. Furthermore, we extensively validate our reconstruction by identifying and correcting for systematic uncertainties. We determine the resolution of our method as a function of energy and reach a precision better than 15 g/cm[sup]2 at the highest energies. With a bias-free set of around 600 showers, we find a light to light-mixed composition at energies between 10[sup]17.5 to 10[sup]18.8 eV, also in agreement with Auger fluorescence measurements.
Ključne besede: Pierre Auger Observatory, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, extensive air showers, UHECR mass composition
Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.10.2024; Ogledov: 551; Prenosov: 5
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Opis: The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is currently the largest facility to measure radio emissions from extensive air showers. Located at the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina, it comprises 153 autonomous radio-detector stations, covering an area of 17 sq. km, and measures radio waves in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. For the correct interpretation of data collected by AERA stations, the detector response has to be carefully calibrated. In the past, this was done by measuring the analogue chain in the laboratory, in addition to simulating and measuring the directional response of the antenna. In this work, we perform an absolute calibration by using the radio emission from the Galaxy. A model of the full radio sky is propagated through the system response, including the antenna, filters and amplifiers, and compared to the average spectra recorded by the stations. The method to determine the calibration constants, as the results, for each antenna will be presented. The behavior of the calibration constants is studied as a function of time from 2014 to 2020. There is no relevant ageing effect over a timescale of 10 years, showing that radio detectors could help to monitor possible ageing effects of other detector systems during long-term operations, stressing their importance in determining an absolute energy scale.
Ključne besede: Pierre Auger Observatory, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, extensive air showers, engineering radio array
Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.10.2024; Ogledov: 557; Prenosov: 1
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Opis: The Pierre Auger Observatory is the most sensitive instrument to detect photons with energies above 1⁢0[sup]17  eV. It measures extensive air showers generated by ultrahigh energy cosmic rays using a hybrid technique that exploits the combination of a fluorescence detector with a ground array of particle detectors. The signatures of a photon-induced air shower are a larger atmospheric depth of the shower maximum (�max) and a steeper lateral distribution function, along with a lower number of muons with respect to the bulk of hadron-induced cascades. In this work, a new analysis technique in the energy interval between 1 and 30 EeV (1  EeV=1⁢0[sup]18  eV) has been developed by combining the fluorescence detector-based measurement of �max with the specific features of the surface detector signal through a parameter related to the air shower muon content, derived from the universality of the air shower development. No evidence of a statistically significant signal due to photon primaries was found using data collected in about 12 years of operation. Thus, upper bounds to the integral photon flux have been set using a detailed calculation of the detector exposure, in combination with a data-driven background estimation. The derived 95% confidence level upper limits are 0.0403, 0.01113, 0.0035, 0.0023, and 0.0021  km[sup]−2 sr[sup]−1 yr[sup]−1 above 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 EeV, respectively, leading to the most stringent upper limits on the photon flux in the EeV range. Compared with past results, the upper limits were improved by about 40% for the lowest energy threshold and by a factor 3 above 3 EeV, where no candidates were found and the expected background is negligible. The presented limits can be used to probe the assumptions on chemical composition of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and allow for the constraint of the mass and lifetime phase space of super-heavy dark matter particles.
Ključne besede: ultra-high-energy photons, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, Pierre Auger Observatory, extensive air showers
Objavljeno v RUNG: 30.09.2024; Ogledov: 791; Prenosov: 2
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