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arXiv · 1908.01356

Telescope Array 10 Year Composition

William Hanlon
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Abstract

Estimates of the composition of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) can be inferred by recording the depth of air shower maximum, $X_{\mathrm{max}}$, for many showers and comparing the distributions to those predicted by Monte Carlo simulations. Traditionally, UHECR composition has relied upon comparison of the first and second moments of the $X_{\mathrm{max}}$ distributions to estimate the compatibility between data and simulations, but with the large UHECR datasets being built the current generation experiments better tests which compare full distributions can be employed. Such tests can be used to understand the accuracy with which UHECR composition can actually be understood at the current level of statistics and quantitatively measure the significance of agreement or disagreement with models in order to reject them. In this paper we present the most recent results of 10 years of Telescope Array hybrid $X_{\mathrm{max}}$ measurements which is found to agree with a predominantly light composition. In previously published results we have demonstrated the agreement of Telescope Array hybrid $X_{\mathrm{max}}$ data with single element models using systematic shifting of the data in order to ensure the shapes of the distributions are being compared. Here we present multi-component source models fit to hybrid $X_{\mathrm{max}}$ data and report on the relative fractions of those sources that best fit the data. Below $10^{19.1}$ eV TA hybrid data is found to be compatible with mixtures composed of predominantly light elements such as protons and helium.

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William Hanlon. 2019-08-04. Telescope Array 10 Year Composition. https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.01356

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