arXiv subjects

Eric Mayotte

Publications and source records attributed to Eric Mayotte.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

NASA ASTRA Initiative White Paper: Space-Based Mission for Ultrahigh Energy Particles

Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays ($E_{\rm CR} \gtrsim 1$ EeV) are the highest-energy particles known, signaling extreme particle processes at work in the universe. However, many aspects of their nature remain largely unknown, even after more than a century of study. Very-high-energy ($E_\nu \gtrsim 1$ PeV neutrinos associated with cosmic-ray interactions, both during the acceleration process and propagation, would provide new insight into these extreme particles, as we have seen at lower energies with the dawn of TeV neutrino astronomy. Nevertheless, only a handful of such neutrinos have been observed thus far. A space-based observatory dedicated to studying cosmic rays, neutrinos, and photons would provide an unprecedented platform for observations of these extreme-energy messengers.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

Simulation of Muon-induced Backgrounds for the Colorado Underground Research Institute (CURIE)

We present a comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation of muon-induced backgrounds for the Colorado Underground Research Institute (CURIE), a shallow-underground facility with $\approx 415$~m.w.e. overburden. Using coupled \textsc{mute} and \textsc{geant4} frameworks, we characterize the production and transport of muon-induced secondaries through site-specific rock compositions and geometries, establishing a proof-of-concept for high-precision, end-to-end simulations. Our simulations employ angular-dependent muon energy distributions, which improve secondary flux accuracy. For the Subatomic Particle Hideout and Cryolab I research spaces, we predict total muon-induced neutron fluxes of $(8.52 \pm 1.30_{\text{sys}}) \times 10^{-3}$~m$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ and $(8.86 \pm 1.62_{\text{sys}}) \times 10^{-3}$~m$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$, respectively. Additionally, we develop a Depth-Intensity Relation (DIR) to predict the muon-induced neutron flux as a function of facility depth, which is consistent with measurements across a broad range of underground depths. These results provide quantitative background predictions for experimental design and sensitivity projections at shallow- and deep-underground facilities. They further demonstrate that local geology and overburden geometry influence muon-induced secondary yields and energy spectra, emphasizing the need for site-specific simulations for accurate underground background characterization. Therefore, the simulation framework has been made publicly available at \href{https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17196581}{https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17196581}, for the broader low-background physics community to enable meaningful inter-facility comparisons.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

The Optical and Mechanical Design of POEMMA Balloon with Radio

POEMMA Balloon with Radio (PBR) is a NASA super-pressure balloon mission building toward the proposed Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) dual satellite mission. In its planned 2027 launch, PBR will study Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays, Neutrinos, and High-Altitude Horizontal Airshowers from 33 km above the Earth. By operating at balloon altitudes, PBR will provide a novel vantage point to study air-shower physics while offering competitive instantaneous exposure to neutrinos from transient astrophysical phenomena. The payload's optical instrument is a 0.95 m$^2$ aperture hybrid Schmidt telescope with a 3.81 m$^2$ segmented mirror focusing light onto a Fluorescence Camera and a bi-focalized Cherenkov Camera. The payload will also feature a Radio Instrument consisting of two sinuous antennas based on the Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations (PUEO) low-frequency instrument. A combined gamma ray/x-ray detector and IR cloud camera round out the instrumentation package, meaning PBR will be the first multi-hybrid balloon-borne multi-messenger observatory flown. This extensive instrumentation must be combined into a radio quiet payload that satisfies the scientific needs and can operate in near vacuum at extreme temperatures, all while meeting NASA safety requirements and weighing no more than 3000 lbs (1361 kg). Accomplishing these tasks together will mark a significant step toward establishing technological readiness for the POEMMA satellite mission. We present an overview of PBR's mechanical and optical systems, additionally detailing our strategies to mitigate electromagnetic interference for the radio instrument and prepare for the harsh near-space environment.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

Prospects for Deep-Learning-Based Mass Reconstruction of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays using Simulated Air-Shower Profiles

Knowledge of the mass composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is crucial to understanding their origins; however, current approaches have limited event-by-event resolution. With fluorescence telescope measurements of the longitudinal shower profile, there are opportunities to improve this situation by applying Machine Learning (ML) to leverage more information beyond $X_{max}$ alone. To our knowledge, we present the first study of a deep-learning neural-network approach to predict a primary's mass ($\ln{A}$) directly from the longitudinal energy-deposit profile of simulated extensive air showers. We train and validate our model on simulated showers, generated with CONEX and EPOS-LHC, covering nuclei from $A = 1$ to 61, sampled uniformly in $\ln{A}$. After rescaling, our network achieves a maximum bias better than 0.4 in $\ln{A}$ with a resolution between 1.5 for protons and 1 for iron, corresponding to a proton-iron Merit Factor of 2.19 (AUC = 0.976). We benchmark this against simpler ML models trained on profile-shape parameters ($X_{ max}$, $E_{cal}$, $R$, and $L$) extracted from the same data. We find that even simple models can substantially exceed published benchmarks for combinations of these observables, demonstrating that ML methods applied even to standard profile-shape parameters can significantly improve available mass sensitivity. The CNN outperforms this strong baseline, and this performance is only mildly degraded when cross-predicting on simulations made with the Sibyll-2.3d hadronic interaction model, showing robustness against model choice. The network also maintains its performance across a wide range of noise conditions. An ablation study further demonstrates that the full profile contains composition-sensitive structure not captured by the GH parameterization, while the strong performance of the CNN suggests this information should be resolvable in real events.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Measurement and Interpretation of UHECR Mass Composition at the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory has driven the field of ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) physics, producing several groundbreaking observations over the last 20 years. One of the most striking findings has been the complex evolution of UHECR mass composition, as revealed by detailed analyses of observables such as the depth of shower maximum ($X_{\rm max}$) and the muon content of showers. As more data are collected and sophisticated analyses are undertaken, not only are new fine details emerging, but the general picture of UHECR mass composition is becoming increasingly robust. This contribution presents recent results on the mass composition of UHECRs derived from surface, fluorescence, and radio detectors. Together with other key findings from the Observatory, these results converge to present a coherent picture of UHECR mass composition, effectively ruling out proton dominance and challenging the interpretation of the observed flux features as purely proton-induced propagation effects. To finish the contribution, we compare the $X_{\rm max}$ data from the southern and northern equatorial bands of the exposure of the Pierre Auger Observatory fluorescence detector to evaluate the possibility of changes in composition as a function of declination.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Ideas and Requirements for the Global Cosmic-Ray Observatory (GCOS)

After a successful kick-off meeting in 2021. two workshops in 2022 and 2023 on the future Global Cosmic-Ray Observatory (GCOS) focused mainly on a straw man design of the detector and science possibilities for astro- and particle physics. About 100 participants gathered for in-person and hybrid panel discussions. In this report, we summarize these discussions, present a preliminary straw-man design for GCOS and collect short write-ups of the flash talks given during the focus sessions.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2024

Cosmogenic Muon Background Characterization for the Colorado Underground Research Institute (CURIE)

We present the characterization of cosmogenic muon backgrounds for the Colorado Underground Research Institute (CURIE), located in the Edgar Experimental Mine (EEM) in Idaho Springs, Colorado. The CURIE facility at the EEM offers a versatile shallow underground environment, with accessible horizontal tunnel access and stable rock formations ideal for low-background physics experiments. We have measured the total underground muon flux in two locations, Site 0 and Site 1, yielding values of $\phi$ = 0.246 $\pm$ 0.020$_{sys.}$ $\pm$ 0.012$_{stat.}$ and 0.239 $\pm$ 0.025$_{sys.}$ $\pm$ 0.010$_{stat.}$ $\mu\text{/}m^{2}\text{/}s$, respectively. We have utilized GEANT4 and PROPOSAL Monte Carlo simulations with Daemonflux and MUTE to model the muon flux at both sites, as well as an additional future location. We find good agreement between measurement and simulations, demonstrating the first instance of this computational framework being successfully used for depths $<$ 1 km.w.e. The measured underground flux corresponds to a factor of 700 reduction compared to the sea level flux. Additionally, we present a new depth-intensity relationship to normalize the mountain overburden to an equivalent flat depth, enabling direct comparison with other underground facilities. We report an average equivalent vertical depth of 0.415 $\pm$ 0.027 km.w.e. Based on our measurements, this work highlights the facility's capability for hosting low-background experiments, addressing the demand for shallow underground research spaces.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2023

Neutrino propagation through Earth: modeling uncertainties using nuPyProp

Using the Earth as a neutrino converter, tau neutrino fluxes from astrophysical point sources can be detected by tau-lepton-induced extensive air showers (EASs). Both muon neutrino and tau neutrino induced upward-going EAS signals can be detected by terrestrial, sub-orbital and satellite-based instruments. The sensitivity of these neutrino telescopes can be evaluated with the nuSpaceSim package, which includes the nuPyProp simulation package. The nuPyProp package propagates neutrinos ($\nu_\mu$, $\nu_\tau$) through the Earth to produce the corresponding charged leptons (muons and tau-leptons). We use nuPyProp to quantify the uncertainties from Earth density models, tau depolarization effects and photo-nuclear electromagnetic energy loss models in the charged lepton exit probabilities and their spectra. The largest uncertainties come from electromagnetic energy loss modeling, with as much as a 20-50% difference between the models. We compare nuPyProp results with other simulation package results.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Update on the indication of a mass-dependent anisotropy above $10^{18.7}\,$eV in the hybrid data of the Pierre Auger Observatory

We test for an anisotropy in the mass of arriving cosmic-ray primaries associated with the galactic plane. The sensitivity to primary mass is obtained through the depth of shower maximum, $X_{\rm max}$, extracted from hybrid events measured over a 14-year period at the Pierre Auger Observatory. The sky is split into distinct on- and off-plane regions using the galactic latitude of each arriving cosmic ray to form two distributions of $X_{\rm max}$, which are compared using an Anderson-Darling 2-samples test. A scan over roughly half of the data is used to select a lower threshold energy of $10^{18.7}\,$eV and a galactic latitude splitting at $|b| = 30^\circ$, which are set as a prescription for the remaining data. With these thresholds, the distribution of $X_{\rm max}$ from the on-plane region is found to have a $9.1 \pm 1.6^{+2.1}_{-2.2}\,$g$\,$cm$^-2$ shallower mean and a $5.9\pm2.1^{+3.5}_{-2.5}\,$g$\,$cm$^-2$ narrower width than that of the off-plane region and is observed in all telescope sites independently. These differences indicate that the mean mass of primary particles arriving from the on-plane region is greater than that of those from the off-plane region. Monte Carlo studies yield a $5.9\times10^{-6}$ random chance probability for the result in the independent data, lowering to a $6.0\times10^{-7}$ post-penalization random chance probability when the scanned data is included. Accounting for systematic uncertainties leads to an indication for anisotropy in mass composition above $10^{18.7}\,$eV with a $3.3\,\sigma$ significance. Furthermore, the result has been newly tested using additional FD data recovered from the selection process. This test independently disfavors the on- and off-plane regions being uniform in composition at the $2.2\,\sigma$ level, which is in good agreement with the expected sensitivity of the dataset used for this test.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Neutrino propagation in the Earth and emerging charged leptons with $\texttt{nuPyProp}$

Ultra-high-energy neutrinos serve as messengers of some of the highest energy astrophysical environments. Given that neutrinos are neutral and only interact via weak interactions, neutrinos can emerge from sources, traverse astronomical distances, and point back to their origins. Their weak interactions require large target volumes for neutrino detection. Using the Earth as a neutrino converter, terrestrial, sub-orbital, and satellite-based instruments are able to detect signals of neutrino-induced extensive air showers. In this paper, we describe the software code $\texttt{nuPyProp}$ that simulates tau neutrino and muon neutrino interactions in the Earth and predicts the spectrum of the $τ$-lepton and muons that emerge. The $\texttt{nuPyProp}$ outputs are lookup tables of charged lepton exit probabilities and energies that can be used directly or as inputs to the $\texttt{nuSpaceSim}$ code designed to simulate optical and radio signals from extensive air showers induced by the emerging charged leptons. We describe the inputs to the code, demonstrate its flexibility and show selected results for $τ$-lepton and muon exit probabilities and energy distributions. The $\texttt{nuPyProp}$ code is open source, available on Github.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Report of the Topical Group on Cosmic Probes of Fundamental Physics for for Snowmass 2021

Cosmic Probes of Fundamental Physics take two primary forms: Very high energy particles (cosmic rays, neutrinos, and gamma rays) and gravitational waves. Already today, these probes give access to fundamental physics not available by any other means, helping elucidate the underlying theory that completes the Standard Model. The last decade has witnessed a revolution of exciting discoveries such as the detection of high-energy neutrinos and gravitational waves. The scope for major developments in the next decades is dramatic, as we detail in this report.

hep-ph↗