arXiv subjects

I. C. Maris

Publications and source records attributed to I. C. Maris.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

An analytical model for the magnetic field in the thick shell of Galactic bubbles with uniform initial conditions

Bubbles and super-bubbles are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium and influence their local magnetic field. Starting from the assumption that bubbles result from violent explosions that sweep matter away in a thick shell, we derive the analytical equations for the divergence-free, regular magnetic field in the shell. The explosion velocity field is assumed to be radial but not necessarily spherical, making it possible to model various-shaped bubbles. Assuming an explosion center, the magnetic field at the present time is fully determined by the initial uniform magnetic field, the present-time geometry of the bubble shell, and a radial vector field that encodes the explosion-induced displacement of matter, from its original location to its present-time location. We present the main characteristics of our magnetic-field model using a simple linear model for the radial displacements. Next, we use our analytical prescription, informed by a three-dimensional dust density map, to estimate the expected contribution of the shell of the Local Bubble, the super-bubbles in which the Sun resides, to the integrated Faraday rotation measures and synchrotron emission and compare these to full-sky observational data. We find that, while the contribution to the former is minimal, the contribution to the latter is very significant at Galactic latitudes $|b|>45^\circ$. Our results underline the need to take the Local Bubble into account in large-scale Galactic magnetic field studies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

The AMY (Air Microwave Yield) experiment to measure the GHz emission from air shower plasma

The aim of the Air Microwave Yield (AMY) experiment is to investigate the Molecular Bremsstrahlung Radiation (MBR) emitted from an electron beam induced air-shower. The measurements have been performed with a 510 MeV electron beam at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of Frascati INFN National Laboratories in a wide frequency range between 1 and 20 GHz. We present the experimental apparatus and the first results of the measurements. Contrary to what have been reported in a previous similar experiment~\cite{Gorham-SLAC}, we have found that the intensity of the emission is strongly influenced by the particular time structure of the accelerator beam. This makes very difficult the interpretation of the emission process and a realistic extrapolation of the emission yield to the plasma generated during the development of an atmospheric shower.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2009

Influence of Low Energy Hadronic Interactions on Air-shower Simulations

Experiments measuring cosmic rays above an energy of 10^14 eV deduce the energy and mass of the primary cosmic ray particles from air-shower simulations. We investigate the importance of hadronic interactions at low and high energies on the distributions of muons and electrons in showers on ground. In air shower simulation programs, hadronic interactions below an energy threshold in the range from 80 GeV to 500 GeV are simulated by low energy interaction models, like Fluka or Gheisha, and above that energy by high energy interaction models, e.g. Sibyll or QGJSJet. We find that the impact on shower development obtained by switching the transition energy from 80 GeV to 500 GeV is comparable to the difference obtained by switching between Fluka and Gheisha.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

Active Galactic Nuclei with Starbursts: Sources for Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays

Ultra high energy cosmic ray events presently show a spectrum, which we interpret here as galactic cosmic rays due to a starburst in the radio galaxy Cen A pushed up in energy by the shock of a relativistic jet. The knee feature and the particles with energy immediately higher in galactic cosmic rays then turn into the bulk of ultra high energy cosmic rays. This entails that all ultra high energy cosmic rays are heavy nuclei. This picture is viable if the majority of the observed ultra high energy events come from the radio galaxy Cen A, and are scattered by intergalactic magnetic fields across most of the sky.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2008

Active Galactic Nuclei: Sources for ultra high energy cosmic rays?

The origin of ultra high energy cosmic rays promises to lead us to a deeper understanding of the structure of matter. This is possible through the study of particle collisions at center-of-mass energies in interactions far larger than anything possible with the Large Hadron Collider, albeit at the substantial cost of no control over the sources and interaction sites. For the extreme energies we have to identify and understand the sources first, before trying to use them as physics laboratories. Here we describe the current stage of this exploration. The most promising contenders as sources are radio galaxies and gamma ray bursts. The sky distribution of observed events yields a hint favoring radio galaxies. Key in this quest are the intergalactic and galactic magnetic fields, whose strength and structure are not yet fully understood. Current data and statistics do not yet allow a final judgment. We outline how we may progress in the near future.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Measurement of the Lateral Distribution Function of UHECR Air Showers with the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is being used to study cosmic rays with energies larger than 10 EeV. An essential quantity that must be deduced from data is the lateral distribution function (LDF). Knowledge of the LDF is important for the reconstruction of the shower core and the shower direction. Here we describe how the LDF is measured using the large sample of events recorded with the surface detector (SD) array and with a small sample observed with the fluorescence detectors (FD). For hybrid events, in which SD and FD measurements of the same shower are available, the core position is much better constrained than for SD-only events, thus providing an important cross-check on the LDF determined from SD measurements alone.

astro-ph↗