scholarly journals Prospects for strangelet detection with large-scale cosmic ray observatories

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (14) ◽  
pp. 1650103 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Pshirkov
Keyword(s):  
Quark Matter ◽  
High Velocity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Pierre Auger Observatory ◽  
Ultra High Energy ◽  
Telescope Array ◽  
Strange Matter ◽  
The Earth

Quark matter which contains [Formula: see text]-quarks in addition to [Formula: see text]- and [Formula: see text]- could be stable or metastable. In this case, lumps made of this strange matter, called strangelets, could occasionally hit the Earth. When travelling through the atmosphere they would behave not dissimilar to usual high-velocity meteors with only exception that, eventually, strangelets reach the surface. As these encounters are expected to be extremely rare events, very large exposure is needed for their observation. Fluorescence detectors utilized in large ultra-high energy cosmic ray observatories, such as the Pierre Auger observatory and the Telescope Array are well suited for a task of the detection of these events. The flux limits that can be obtained with the Telescope Array fluorescence detectors could be as low as 2.5 × 10−22 cm−2s−1sr−1 which would improve by two orders of magnitude of the strongest present limits obtained from ancient mica crystals.

scholarly journals Covering the celestial sphere at ultra-high energies: Full-sky cosmic-ray maps beyond the ankle and the flux suppression

2019 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 01005 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Biteau ◽  
T. Bister ◽  
L. Caccianiga ◽  
O. Deligny ◽  
A. di Matteo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Ultra High Energy ◽  
Telescope Array ◽  
High Energy Cosmic Rays ◽  
High Energies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Celestial Equator ◽  
Celestial Sphere

Despite deflections by Galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields, the distribution of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) over the celestial sphere remains a most promising observable for the identification of their sources. Thanks to a large number of detected events over the past years, a large-scale anisotropy at energies above 8 EeV has been identified, and there are also indications from the Telescope Array and Pierre Auger Collaborations of deviations from isotropy at intermediate angular scales (about 20 degrees) at the highest energies. In this contribution, we map the flux of UHECRs over the full sky at energies beyond each of two major features in the UHECR spectrum – the ankle and the flux suppression -, and we derive limits for anisotropy on different angular scales in the two energy regimes. In particular, full-sky coverage enables constraints on low-order multipole moments without assumptions about the strength of higher-order multipoles. Following previous efforts from the two Collaborations, we build full-sky maps accounting for the relative exposure of the arrays and differences in the energy normalizations. The procedure relies on cross-calibrating the UHECR fluxes reconstructed in the declination band around the celestial equator covered by both observatories. We present full-sky maps at energies above ~ 10 EeV and ~ 50 EeV, using the largest datasets shared across UHECR collaborations to date. We report on anisotropy searches exploiting full-sky coverage and discuss possible constraints on the distribution of UHECR sources.

scholarly journals Search for point sources of ultra-high-energy photons with the Telescope Array surface detector

2020 ◽  
Vol 492 (3) ◽  
pp. 3984-3993 ◽  
Author(s):  
R U Abbasi ◽  
M Abe ◽  
T Abu-Zayyad ◽  
M Allen ◽  
R Azuma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Point Source ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Ultra High Energy ◽  
Telescope Array ◽  
Air Shower ◽  
Upper Limits ◽  
Surface Detector ◽  
Blind Search

ABSTRACT The surface detector (SD) of the Telescope Array (TA) experiment allows us to detect indirectly photons with energies of the order of 1018 eV and higher, and to separate photons from the cosmic ray background. In this paper, we present the results of a blind search for point sources of ultra-high-energy (UHE) photons in the Northern sky using the TA SD data. The photon-induced extensive air showers are separated from the hadron-induced extensive air shower background by means of a multivariate classifier based upon 16 parameters that characterize the air shower events. No significant evidence for the photon point sources is found. The upper limits are set on the flux of photons from each particular direction in the sky within the TA field of view, according to the experiment’s angular resolution for photons. The average 95 per cent confidence level upper-limits for the point-source flux of photons with energies greater than 1018, 1018.5, 1019, 1019.5 and 1020 eV are 0.094, 0.029, 0.010, 0.0073 and 0.0058 km−2yr−1, respectively. For energies higher than 1018.5 eV, the photon point-source limits are set for the first time. Numerical results for each given direction in each energy range are provided as a supplement to this paper.

scholarly journals The Pierre Auger Observatory: Review of Latest Results and Perspectives

Universe ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Góra ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Spectrum ◽  
Cosmic Rays ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Pierre Auger Observatory ◽  
Mass Composition ◽  
Ultra High Energy ◽  
Energy Limitation ◽  
Arrival Directions

The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world’s largest operating detection system for the observation of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), with energies above 10 17 eV. The detector allows detailed measurements of the energy spectrum, mass composition and arrival directions of primary cosmic rays in the energy range above 10 17 eV. The data collected at the Auger Observatory over the last decade show the suppression of the cosmic ray flux at energies above 4 × 10 19 eV. However, it is still unclear if this suppression is caused by the energy limitation of their sources or by the Greisen–Zatsepin–Kuzmin (GZK) cut-off. In such a case, UHECRs would interact with the microwave background (CMB), so that particles traveling long intergalactic distances could not have energies greater than 5 × 10 19 eV. The other puzzle is the origin of UHECRs. Some clues can be drawn from studying the distribution of their arrival directions. The recently observed dipole anisotropy has an orientation that indicates an extragalactic origin of UHECRs. The Auger surface detector array is also sensitive to showers due to ultra high energy neutrinos of all flavors and photons, and recent neutrino and photon limits provided by the Auger Observatory can constrain models of the cosmogenic neutrino production and exotic scenarios of the UHECRs origin, such as the decays of super heavy, non-standard-model particles. In this paper, the recent results on measurements of the energy spectrum, mass composition and arrival directions of cosmic rays, as well as future prospects are presented.

scholarly journals Measurements of UHECR Mass Composition by Telescope Array

2019 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 01008
Author(s):  
William Hanlon
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Mass Composition ◽  
Ultra High Energy ◽  
Fluorescence Detector ◽  
Telescope Array ◽  
Second Moments ◽  
Systematic Uncertainties ◽  
Surface Detector

Telescope Array (TA) has recently published results of nearly nine years of Xmax observations providing its highest statistics measurement of ultra high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) mass composition to date for energies exceeding 1018.2 eV. This analysis measured agreement of observed data with results expected for four different single elements. Instead of relying only on the first and second moments of Xmax distributions, we employ a morphological test of agreement between data and Monte Carlo to allow for systematic uncertainties in data and in current UHECR hadronic models. Results of this latest analysis and implications of UHECR composition observed by TA are presented. TA can utilize different analysis methods to understand composition as both a crosscheck on results and as a tool to understand systematics affecting Xmax measurements. The different analysis efforts utilizing fluorescence detector stereo, surface detector and fluorescence detector hybrid, and surface detector-only, currently underway at TA performed to understand composition are also discussed.

scholarly journals IS THE ULTRA-HIGH ENERGY COSMIC-RAY EXCESS OBSERVED BY THE TELESCOPE ARRAY CORRELATED WITH ICECUBE NEUTRINOS?

2014 ◽  
Vol 794 (2) ◽  
pp. 126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Fang ◽  
Toshihiro Fujii ◽  
Tim Linden ◽  
Angela V. Olinto
Keyword(s):  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Ultra High Energy ◽  
Telescope Array

scholarly journals Multi-messengers at ultra-high energies with the Pierre Auger Observatory

4open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Julien Souchard
Keyword(s):  
Gravitational Waves ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Pierre Auger Observatory ◽  
Ultra High Energy ◽  
Complete Understanding ◽  
High Energies ◽  
Binary Mergers ◽  
Shed Light

The Pierre Auger Observatory is an Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) detector which has studied cosmic particles with energies above and around 1018 eV for more than 15 years. It has proved to be the most competitive instrument at these energies and has produced a wealth of valuable results, improving our understanding of UHECRs. A complete understanding of these highest energy particles is crucial to understand the extreme astrophysical events in which they are produced and accelerated, as well as their propagation to Earth. In the same range of energies, UHE photons and neutrinos are of paramount importance as, being electrically neutral, they point back to their origin while charged particles are deflected in the galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. The flux of extragalactic photons, neutrinos, and cosmic rays are believed to be highly linked, by their origin and their interactions. Each messenger provides different information about the potential sources, and having detection means for all four messengers, including gravitational waves, allows us to shed light on energetic sources of astroparticles. The Pierre Auger Observatory benefits from a large exposure and a good angular resolution, and is efficient in detecting UHE photons and neutrinos. These performances make possible follow-up searches for events detected by gravitational waves, such as the binary mergers observed by the LIGO/Virgo detectors, or any other energetic sources of particles.

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