arXiv subjects

Brían Ó Fearraigh

Publications and source records attributed to Brían Ó Fearraigh.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Cosmic Ray Physics with the KM3NeT Telescopes

The KM3NeT research infrastructure instruments a large volume of seawater using photomultiplier tubes, which are sensitive to the Cherenkov radiation stimulated by the products of neutrino interactions in the water, as well as that stimulated by atmospheric muons which penetrate the sea depths. The KM3NeT/ARCA and KM3NeT/ORCA detectors are situated at different depths in the Mediterranean Sea, with different extension and densities of the photo-detection elements. Although operating independently, taken as a whole the two detectors provide a wide energy coverage for the atmospheric muons flux. Through the detection and analysis of these atmospheric muons, a variety of physics studies are possible with the KM3NeT telescope. A measurement of the atmospheric muon neutrino flux has been carried out with data from the initial six detection units of the KM3NeT/ORCA detector. Relatedly to the atmospheric muon flux, the recent atmospheric lepton model `Daemonflux' has been incorporated into the KM3NeT Monte Carlo event generator for atmospheric muon bundles. This has resulted in a stark alleviation of the atmospheric muon data-Monte Carlo simulation discrepancy - a systemic issue in cosmic ray experiments referred to as the `Muon Puzzle' - and a comprehensive description of the atmospheric muon data in KM3NeT. These atmospheric muons are also used in the calibration of the detectors, as well as constraining systematic uncertainties in the detectors such as the optical properties of the instrumented seawater. An overview of these topics, and other cosmic ray analyses, is presented.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

Direct comparison of sterile neutrino constraints from cosmological data, $ν_{e}$ disappearance data and $ν_μ\rightarrowν_{e}$ appearance data in a $3+1$ model

We present a quantitative, direct comparison of constraints on sterile neutrinos derived from neutrino oscillation experiments and from Planck data, interpreted assuming standard cosmological evolution. We extend a $1+1$ model, which is used to compare exclusions contours at the 95% CL derived from Planck data to those from $ν_{e}$-disappearance measurements, to a $3+1$ model. This allows us to compare the Planck constraints with those obtained through $ν_μ\rightarrowν_{e}$ appearance searches, which are sensitive to more than one active-sterile mixing angle. We find that the cosmological data fully exclude the allowed regions published by the LSND, MiniBooNE and Neutrino-4 collaborations, and those from the gallium and rector anomalies, at the 95% CL. Compared to the exclusion regions from the Daya Bay $ν_{e}$-disappearance search, the Planck data are more strongly excluding above $|Δm^{2}_{41}|\approx 0.1\, \mathrm{eV}^{2}$ and $m_\mathrm{eff}^\mathrm{sterile}\approx 0.2\, \mathrm{eV}$, with the Daya Bay exclusion being stronger below these values. Compared to the combined Daya Bay/Bugey/MINOS exclusion region on $ν_μ\rightarrowν_{e}$ appearance, the Planck data is more strongly excluding above $Δm^{2}_{41}\approx 5\times 10^{-2}\,\mathrm{eV}^{2}$, with the exclusion strengths of the Planck data and the Daya Bay/Bugey/MINOS combination becoming comparable below this value.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Estimation of a Coronal Mass Ejection Magnetic Field Strength using Radio Observations of Gyrosynchrotron Radiation

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large eruptions of plasma and magnetic field from the low solar corona into interplanetary space. These eruptions are often associated with the acceleration of energetic electrons which produce various sources of high intensity plasma emission. In relatively rare cases, the energetic electrons may also produce gyrosynchrotron emission from within the CME itself, allowing for a diagnostic of the CME magnetic field strength. Such a magnetic field diagnostic is important for evaluating the total magnetic energy content of the CME, which is ultimately what drives the eruption. Here we report on an unusually large source of gyrosynchrotron radiation in the form of a type IV radio burst associated with a CME occurring on 2014-September-01, observed using instrumentation from the Nançay Radio Astronomy Facility. A combination of spectral flux density measurements from the Nançay instruments and the Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN) from 300MHz to 5 GHz reveals a gyrosynchrotron spectrum with a peak flux density at $>$1 GHz. Using this radio analysis, a model for gyrosynchrotron radiation, a non-thermal electron density diagnostic using the Fermi Gamma Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and images of the eruption from the GOES Soft X-ray Imager (SXI), we are able to calculate both the magnetic field strength and the properties of the X-ray and radio emitting energetic electrons within the CME. We find the radio emission is produced by non-thermal electrons of energies >1MeV with a spectral index of $δ$$\sim$3 in a CME magnetic field of 4.4 G at a height of 1.3 R$_{\odot}$, while the X-ray emission is produced from a similar distribution of electrons but with much lower energies on the order of 10 keV. We conclude by comparing X-ray and radio-emitting electron distributions and how such an analysis can be used to define the plasma properties of a CME.

astro-ph.SR↗