0000000000173531
AUTHOR
Sasa Micanovic
Measurement of the energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 10^18 eV using the Pierre Auger Observatory
We report a measurement of the flux of cosmic rays with unprecedented precision and Statistics using the Pierre Auger Observatory Based on fluorescence observations in coincidence with at least one Surface detector we derive a spectrum for energies above 10(18) eV We also update the previously published energy spectrum obtained with the surface detector array The two spectra are combined addressing the systematic uncertainties and, in particular. the influence of the energy resolution on the spectral shape The spectrum can be described by a broken power law E-gamma with index gamma = 3 3 below the ankle which is measured at log(10)(E-ankle/eV) = 18 6 Above the ankle the spectrum is describe…
Constraints on the origin of cosmic rays above 10^18 eV from large-scale anisotropy searches in data of the Pierre Auger Observatory
A thorough search for large-scale anisotropies in the distribution of arrival directions of cosmic rays detected above 10(18) eV at the Pierre Auger Observatory is reported. For the first time, these large-scale anisotropy searches are performed as a function of both the right ascension and the declination and expressed in terms of dipole and quadrupole moments. Within the systematic uncertainties, no significant deviation from isotropy is revealed. Upper limits on dipole and quadrupole amplitudes are derived under the hypothesis that any cosmic ray anisotropy is dominated by such moments in this energy range. These upper limits provide constraints on the production of cosmic rays above 10(…
Coherent photoproduction of η-mesons off 3He – search for η-mesic nuclei
Coherent photoproduction of $\eta$-mesons off $^3$He, i.e. the reaction $\gamma ^3{He}\rightarrow \eta ^3{He}$, has been investigated in the near-threshold region. The experiment was performed at the Glasgow tagged photon facility of the Mainz MAMI accelerator with the combined Crystal Ball - TAPS detector. Angular distributions and the total cross section were measured using the $\eta\rightarrow \gamma\gamma$ and $\eta\rightarrow 3\pi^0\rightarrow 6\gamma$ decay channels. The observed extremely sharp rise of the cross section at threshold and the behavior of the angular distributions are evidence for a strong $\eta {^3{He}}$ final state interaction, pointing to the existence of a resonant …
Photoproduction of $\eta$ $\pi$ pairs off nucleons and deuterons
Quasi-free photoproduction of $\pi\eta$-pairs has been investigated from threshold up to incident photon energies of 1.4 GeV, respectively up to photon-nucleon invariant masses up to 1.9 GeV. Total cross sections, angular distributions, invariant-mass distributions of the $\pi\eta$ and meson-nucleon pairs, and beam-helicity asymmetries have been measured for the reactions $\gamma p\rightarrow p\pi^0\eta$, $\gamma n\rightarrow n\pi^0\eta$, $\gamma p\rightarrow n\pi^+\eta$, and $\gamma n\rightarrow p\pi^-\eta$ from nucleons bound inside the deuteron. For the $\gamma p$ initial state data for free protons have also been analyzed. Finally, the total cross sections for quasi-free production of $…
The isospin structure of photoproduction of πη pairs from the nucleon in the threshold region
Abstract Photoproduction of πη-pairs from nucleons has been investigated from threshold up to incident photon energies of ≈ 1.4 GeV. The quasi-free reactions γ p → p π 0 η , γ n → n π 0 η , γ p → n π + η , and γ n → p π − η were for the first time measured from nucleons bound in the deuteron. The corresponding reactions from a free-proton target were also studied to investigate final-state interaction effects (for neutral pions the free-proton results could be compared to previous measurements; the γ p → n π + η reaction was measured for the first time). For the π 0 η final state coherent production via the γ d → d π 0 η reaction was also investigated. The experiments were performed at the …
Search for the charge-conjugation-forbidden decayω→ηπ0
A new upper limit of 2.3x10{sup -4} on the branching ratio of the decay {omega}{yields}{eta}{pi}{sup 0} has been obtained using the Crystal Ball multiphoton spectrometer at the Mainz Microtron MAMI. This decay is forbidden by charge-conjugation invariance of the strong and electromagnetic interactions. We have also obtained the upper limit of 2.3x10{sup -4} for the forbidden decay {omega}{yields}3{pi}{sup 0} and the upper limit of 2.4x10{sup -4} for {omega}{yields}2{pi}{sup 0}.
Techniques for measuring aerosol attenuation using the Central Laser Facility at the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory in Malargue, Argentina, is designed to study the properties of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with energies above 10(18) eV. It is a hybrid facility that employs a Fluorescence Detector to perform nearly calorimetric measurements of Extensive Air Shower energies. To obtain reliable calorimetric information from the FD, the atmospheric conditions at the observatory need to be continuously monitored during data acquisition. In particular, light attenuation due to aerosols is an important atmospheric correction. The aerosol concentration is highly variable, so that the aerosol attenuation needs to be evaluated hourly. We use light from the Central Laser Facility, lo…
Determination of the η-transition form factor in the γp→pη→pγe+e− reaction
The Dalitz decay η→γe+e− has been measured using the combined Crystal Ball and TAPS photon detector setup at the electron accelerator MAMI-C. Compared to the most recent transition form-factor measurement in the e+e− channel, statistics have been improved by one order of magnitude. The e+e− invariant mass distribution shows a deviation from the QED prediction for a point-like particle, which can be described by a form-factor. Using the usual monopole transition form-factor parameterization, F(m2)=(1−m2/Λ2)−1, a value of Λ−2=(1.92±0.35(stat)±0.13(syst)) GeV−2 has been determined. This value is in good agreement with a recent measurement of the η Dalitz decay in the μ+μ− channel and with rece…
Probing the radio emission from air showers with polarization measurements
The emission of radio waves from air showers has been attributed to the so-called geomagnetic emission process. At frequencies around 50 MHz this process leads to coherent radiation which can be observed with rather simple setups. The direction of the electric field induced by this emission process depends only on the local magnetic field vector and on the incoming direction of the air shower. We report on measurements of the electric field vector where, in addition to this geomagnetic component, another component has been observed which cannot be described by the geomagnetic emission process. The data provide strong evidence that the other electric field component is polarized radially wit…
Measurement of the Proton-Air Cross Section ats=57 TeVwith the Pierre Auger Observatory
We report a measurement of the proton-air cross section for particle production at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon of 57 TeV. This is derived from the distribution of the depths of shower maxima observed with the Pierre Auger Observatory: systematic uncertainties are studied in detail. Analyzing the tail of the distribution of the shower maxima, a proton-air cross section of [505 +/- 22(stat)(-36)(+28)(syst)] mb is found.
Search for point-like sources of ultra-high energy neutrinos at the pierre auger observatory and improved limit on the diffuse flux of tau neutrinos
The surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory can detect neutrinos with energy Eν between 1017 eV and 1020 eV from point-like sources across the sky south of +55º and north of −65º declinations. A search has been performed for highly inclined extensive air showers produced by the interaction of neutrinos of all flavors in the atmosphere (downward-going neutrinos), and by the decay of tau leptons originating from tau neutrino interactions in Earth’s crust (Earth-skimming neutrinos). No candidate neutrinos have been found in data up to 2010 May 31. This corresponds to an equivalent exposure of ∼3.5 years of a full surface detector array for the Earth-skimming channel and ∼2 years…
Accurate Test of Chiral Dynamics in theγ→p→π0pReaction
A precision measurement of the differential cross sections dσ/dΩ and the linearly polarized photon asymmetry Σ≡(dσ⊥-dσ∥)/(dσ⊥+dσ∥) for the γp→π0p reaction in the near-threshold region has been performed with a tagged photon beam and almost 4π detector at the Mainz Microtron. The Glasgow-Mainz photon tagging facility along with the Crystal Ball/TAPS multiphoton detector system and a cryogenic liquid hydrogen target were used. These data allowed for a precise determination of the energy dependence of the real parts of the S- and all three P-wave amplitudes for the first time and provide the most stringent test to date of the predictions of chiral perturbation theory and its energy region of a…
Photoproduction of $ \pi^{0}$ -pairs off protons and off neutrons
Total cross sections, angular distributions, and invariant-mass distributions have been measured for the photoproduction of $\pi^0\pi^0$ pairs off free protons and off nucleons bound in the deuteron. The experiments were performed at the MAMI accelerator facility in Mainz using the Glasgow photon tagging spectrometer and the Crystal Ball/TAPS detector. The accelerator delivered electron beams of 1508 and 1557~MeV, which produced bremsstrahlung in thin radiator foils. The tagged photon beam covered energies up to 1400~MeV. The data from the free proton target are in good agreement with previous measurements and were only used to test the analysis procedures. The results for differential cros…
Large-scale distribution of arrival directions of cosmic rays detected above 1018 eV at the Pierre Auger Observatory
A thorough search for large-scale anisotropies in the distribution of arrival directions of cosmic rays detected above 1018 eV at the Pierre Auger Observatory is presented. This search is performed as a function of both declination and right ascension in several energy ranges above 1018 eV, and reported in terms of dipolar and quadrupolar coefficients. Within the systematic uncertainties, no significant deviation from isotropy is revealed. Assuming that any cosmic-ray anisotropy is dominated by dipole and quadrupole moments in this energy range, upper limits on their amplitudes are derived. These upper limits allow us to test the origin of cosmic rays above 1018 eV from stationary Galactic …
Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array for probing cosmology and fundamental physics with gamma-ray propagation
Full list of authors: Abdalla, H.; Abe, H.; Acero, F.; Acharyya, A.; Adam, R.; Agudo, I; Aguirre-Santaella, A.; Alfaro, R.; Alfaro, J.; Alispach, C.; Aloisio, R.; Batista, R. Alves; Amati, L.; Amato, E.; Ambrosi, G.; Anguner, E. O.; Araudo, A.; Armstrong, T.; Arqueros, F.; Arrabito, L.; Asano, K.; Ascasibar, Y.; Ashley, M.; Backes, M.; Balazs, C.; Balbo, M.; Balmaverde, B.; Baquero Larriva, A.; Martins, V. Barbosa; Barkov, M.; Baroncelli, L.; de Almeida, U. Barres; Barrio, J. A.; Batista, P-, I; Becerra Gonzalez, J.; Becherini, Y.; Beck, G.; Tjus, J. Becker; Belmont, R.; Benbow, W.; Bernardini, E.; Berti, A.; Berton, M.; Bertucci, B.; Beshley, V; Bi, B.; Biasuzzi, B.; Biland, A.; Bissaldi, …
Measurement of the beam-helicity asymmetry I⊙ in the photoproduction of π0-pairs off the proton and off the neutron
Abstract Beam-helicity asymmetries have been measured at the MAMI accelerator in Mainz for the photoproduction of neutral pion pairs in the reactions γ → p → p π 0 π 0 and γ → d → ( n ) p π 0 π 0 , γ → d → ( p ) n π 0 π 0 off free protons and off quasi-free nucleons bound in the deuteron for incident photon energies up to 1.4 GeV. Circularly polarized photons were produced from bremsstrahlung of longitudinally polarized electrons and tagged with the Glasgow magnetic spectrometer. Decay photons from the π 0 mesons, recoil protons, and recoil neutrons were detected in the 4π covering electromagnetic calorimeter composed of the Crystal Ball and TAPS detectors. After kinematic reconstruction of…
Muons in air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory
We present the first hybrid measurement of the average muon number in air showers at ultrahigh energies, initiated by cosmic rays with zenith angles between 62° and 80°. The measurement is based on 174 hybrid events recorded simultaneously with the surface detector array and the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The muon number for each shower is derived by scaling a simulated reference profile of the lateral muon density distribution at the ground until it fits the data. A 1019eV shower with a zenith angle of 67°, which arrives at the surface detector array at an altitude of 1450 m above sea level, contains on average (2.68±0.04±0.48(sys))×107 muons with energies large…
Search for patterns by combining cosmic-ray energy and arrival directions at the Pierre Auger Observatory
Energy-dependent patterns in the arrival directions of cosmic rays are searched for using data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. We investigate local regions around the highest-energy cosmic rays with E ≥ 6×1019 eV by analyzing cosmic rays with energies above E ≥ 5×1018 eV arriving within an angular separation of approximately 15∘. We characterize the energy distributions inside these regions by two independent methods, one searching for angular dependence of energy-energy correlations and one searching for collimation of energy along the local system of principal axes of the energy distribution. No significant patterns are found with this analysis. The comparison of these measurements with …
Advanced functionality for radio analysis in the Offline software framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The advent of the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) necessitates the development of a powerful framework for the analysis of radio measurements of cosmic ray air showers. As AERA performs ‘‘radio- hybrid’’ measurements of air shower radio emission in coincidence with the surface particle detectors and fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the radio analysis functionality had to be incorporated in the existing hybrid analysis solutions for fluorescence and surface detector data. This goal has been achieved in a natural way by extending the existing Auger Offline software framework with radio functionality. In this article, we lay out the design, highlights and features …
Experimental study of theγp→ηpreaction with the Crystal Ball detector at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI-C)
The gamma p - = W >= 1.87 GeV). Bremsstrahlung photons produced by the 1.5-GeV electron beam of the Mainz Microtron MAMI-C and momentum analyzed by the Glasgow tagging spectrometer were used for the eta-meson production. Our accumulation of 3.8 x 10(6) gamma p -< eta p -< 3 pi(0) p -< 6 gamma p events allows a detailed study of the reaction dynamics. The gamma p -< eta p differential cross sections were determined for 120 energy bins and the full range of the production angles. Our data show a dip near W = 1680 MeV in the total cross section caused by a substantial dip in eta production at forward angles. The data are compared to predictions of previous SAID and MAID partial-wave analyses a…
A search for anisotropy in the arrival directions of ultra high energy cosmic rays recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory
Observations of cosmic ray arrival directions made with the Pierre Auger Observatory have previously provided evidence of anisotropy at the 99% CL using the correlation of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with objects drawn from the Véron-Cetty Véron catalog. In this paper we report on the use of three catalog independent methods to search for anisotropy. The 2pt–L, 2pt+ and 3pt methods, each giving a different measure of selfclustering in arrival directions, were tested on mock cosmic ray data sets to study the impacts of sample size and magnetic smearing on their results, accounting for both angular and energy resolutions. If the sources of UHECRs follow the same large scale structu…
Searches for anisotropies in the arrival directions of the highest energy cosmic rays detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory
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 $80^\circ$, thus covering from $-90^\circ$ to $+45^\circ$ in declination. After updating the fraction of events correlating with the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the V��ron-Cetty and V��ron 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 t…
Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter
Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, 6 x 10(19) eV. The anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less than 3.1 degrees from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc (using the Veron-Cetty and Veron 12th catalog). An updated measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009. The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more precise measurement. The correlating…
Measurement of theH1(γ⃗, p⃗)π0Reaction Using a Novel Nucleon Spin Polarimeter
We report the first large-acceptance measurement of polarization transfer from a polarized photon beam to a recoiling nucleon. The measurement pioneers a novel polarimetry technique, which can be applied to many other nuclear and hadron physics experiments. The commissioning reaction of $^{1}H(\mathrm{\ensuremath{\gamma}P\vec},\text{ }\mathrm{pP\vec}){\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ in the range $0.4l{E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}l1.4\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}$ validates the technique and provides essential new data to constrain the excitation spectrum of the nucleon.
Photoproduction ofπ0Mesons off Neutrons in the Nucleon Resonance Region
Precise angular distributions have been measured for the first time for the photoproduction of π0 mesons off neutrons bound in the deuteron. The effects from nuclear Fermi motion have been eliminated by a complete kinematic reconstruction of the final state. The influence of final-state-interaction effects has been estimated by a comparison of the reaction cross section for quasifree protons bound in the deuteron to the results for free protons and then applied as a correction to the quasifree neutron data. The experiment was performed at the tagged photon facility of the Mainz Microtron MAMI with the Crystal Ball and TAPS detector setup for incident photon energies between 0.45 and 1.4 GeV…
First measurement of the circular beam asymmetry in the γ→p→π0ηp reaction
Abstract The circular photon asymmetry for π 0 η photoproduction on the proton was measured for the first time at the tagged photon facility of the MAMI C accelerator using the Crystal Ball/TAPS photon spectrometer. The experimental results are interpreted within a phenomenological isobar model that confirms the dominant role of the Δ ( 1700 ) D 33 resonance. The measured asymmetry allows us to identify small contributions from positive-parity resonances via interference terms with the dominant D 33 amplitude.
Muons in air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory: Measurement of atmospheric production depth
The surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory provides information about the longitudinal development of the muonic component of extensive air showers. Using the timing information from the flash analog-to-digital converter traces of surface detectors far from the shower core, it is possible to reconstruct a muon production depth distribution. We characterize the goodness of this reconstruction for zenith angles around 60° and different energies of the primary particle. From these distributions, we define Xμmax as the depth along the shower axis where the production of muons reaches maximum. We explore the potentiality of Xμmax as a useful observable to infer the mass compositi…