We analyze the distribution of arrival directions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory in 10 years of operation. The data set, about three times larger than that used in earlier studies, includes arrival directions with zenith angles up to 80 • , thus covering from −90 • to +45 • in declination. After updating the fraction of events correlating with the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the Véron-Cetty and Véron catalog, we subject the arrival directions of the data with energies in excess of 40 EeV to different tests for anisotropy. We search for localized excess fluxes and for self-clustering of event directions at angular scales up to 30 • and for different threshold energies between 40 EeV and 80 EeV. We then look for correlations of cosmic rays with celestial structures both in the Galaxy (the Galactic Center and Galactic Plane) and in the local Universe (the Super-Galactic Plane). We also examine their correlation with different populations of nearby extragalactic objects: galaxies in the 2MRS catalog, AGNs detected by Swift-BAT, radio galaxies with jets and the Centaurus A galaxy. None of the tests shows a statistically significant evidence of anisotropy. The strongest departures from isotropy (post-trial probability ∼1.4%) are obtained for cosmic rays with E > 58 EeV in rather large windows around Swift AGNs closer than 130 Mpc and -6brighter than 10 44 erg/s (18 • radius) and around the direction of Centaurus A (15 • radius).
Azimuthal asymmetries in signals of non vertical showers have been observed in ground arrays of water Cherenkov detectors, like Haverah Park and the Pierre Auger Observatory. The asymmetry in time distributions of arriving particles offers a new possibility for the determination of the mass composition. The dependence of this asymmetry on atmospheric depth shows a clear maximum at a position that is correlated with the primary species. In this work a novel method to determine mass composition based on these features of the ground signals is presented and a Monte Carlo study of its sensitivity is carried out.
An accurate knowledge of the fluorescence yield and its dependence on atmospheric properties such as pressure, temperature or humidity is essential to obtain a reliable measurement of the primary energy of cosmic rays in experiments using the fluorescence technique. In this work, several sets of fluorescence yield data (i.e. absolute value and quenching parameters) are described and compared. A simple procedure to study the effect of the assumed fluorescence yield on the reconstructed shower parameters (energy and shower maximum depth) as a function of the primary features has been developed. As an application, the effect of water vapor and temperature dependence of the collisional cross section on the fluorescence yield and its impact on the reconstruction of primary energy and shower maximum depth has been studied.
A procedure for the optical characterization of imaging air-Cherenkov telescopes IACTs is discussed. A CCD camera with a lens, located near the telescope focus records images of the mirror while the pointing direction of the telescope moves around a star. For each image, the slope of those mirror points which are recorded bright, due to the light star, can be accurately measured by the simple application of the reflection law. This procedure allows the reconstruction of the slope map of the mirror. A simple simulation shows that the slope map could be reconstructed with an uncertainty better than 0.1 mrad.
Abstract. The uncertainty in the absolute value of the air-fluorescence yield still puts a severe limit on the accuracy in the primary energy of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. The precise measurement of this parameter in laboratory is in turn conditioned by a careful evaluation of the energy deposited in the experimental collision chamber. In this work we discuss on the calculation of the energy deposition and its accuracy. Results from an upgraded Monte Carlo algorithm that we have developed are compared with those obtained using Geant4, showing excellent agreement. These updated calculations of energy deposition are used to apply some corrections to the available measurements of the absolute fluorescence yield, allowing us to obtain a reliable world average of this important parameter.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.