The Cosmic Ray Energy Spectrum and Related Measurements with the Pierre Auger Observatory
Studies of the cosmic ray energy spectrum at the highest energies with the Pierre Auger Observatory.
astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv subjects
J. Chauvin
Publications and source records attributed to J. Chauvin.
Astrophysical Sources of Cosmic Rays and Related Measurements with the Pierre Auger Observatory
Studies of the correlations of ultra-high energy cosmic ray directions with extra-Galactic objects, of general anisotropy, of photons and neutrinos, and of other astrophysical effects, with the Pierre Auger Observatory. Contributions to the 31st ICRC, Lodz, Poland, July 2009.
astro-ph.HE↗
Operations of and Future Plans for the Pierre Auger Observatory
Technical reports on operations and features of the Pierre Auger Observatory, including ongoing and planned enhancements and the status of the future northern hemisphere portion of the Observatory. Contributions to the 31st International Cosmic Ray Conference, Lodz, Poland, July 2009.
astro-ph.IM↗
Radio emission of extensive air shower at CODALEMA: Polarization of the radio emission along the v*B vector
Cosmic rays extensive air showers (EAS) are associated with transient radio emission, which could provide an efficient new detection method of high energy cosmic rays, combining a calorimetric measurement with a high duty cycle. The CODALEMA experiment, installed at the Radio Observatory in Nancay, France, is investigating this phenomenon in the 10^17 eV region. One challenging point is the understanding of the radio emission mechanism. A first observation indicating a linear relation between the electric field produced and the cross product of the shower axis with the geomagnetic field direction has been presented (B. Revenu, this conference). We will present here other strong evidences for this linear relationship, and some hints on its physical origin.
astro-ph.HE↗
Calibration and Monitoring of the Pierre Auger Observatory
Reports on the atmospheric monitoring, calibration, and other operating systems of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Contributions to the 31st International Cosmic Ray Conference, Lodz, Poland, July 2009.
astro-ph.IM↗
Studies of Cosmic Ray Composition and Air Shower Structure with the Pierre Auger Observatory
Studies of the composition of the highest energy cosmic rays with the Pierre Auger Observatory, including examination of hadronic physics effects on the structure of extensive air showers. Submissions to the 31st ICRC, Lodz, Poland (July 2009).
astro-ph.CO↗
Upper limit on the cosmic-ray photon fraction at EeV energies from the Pierre Auger Observatory
From direct observations of the longitudinal development of ultra-high energy air showers performed with the Pierre Auger Observatory, upper limits of 3.8%, 2.4%, 3.5% and 11.7% (at 95% c.l.) are obtained on the fraction of cosmic-ray photons above 2, 3, 5 and 10 EeV (1 EeV = 10^18 eV) respectively. These are the first experimental limits on ultra-high energy photons at energies below 10 EeV. The results complement previous constraints on top-down models from array data and they reduce systematic uncertainties in the interpretation of shower data in terms of primary flux, nuclear composition and proton-air cross-section.
astro-ph.HE↗
Geomagnetic origin of the radio emission from cosmic ray induced air showers observed by CODALEMA
The new setup of the CODALEMA experiment installed at the Radio Observatory in Nancay, France, is described. It includes broadband active dipole antennas and an extended and upgraded particle detector array. The latter gives access to the air shower energy, allowing us to compute the efficiency of the radio array as a function of energy. We also observe a large asymmetry in counting rates between showers coming from the North and the South in spite of the symmetry of the detector. The observed asymmetry can be interpreted as a signature of the geomagnetic origin of the air shower radio emission. A simple linear dependence of the electric field with respect to vxB is used which reproduces the angular dependencies of the number of radio events and their electric polarity.
astro-ph.HE↗
Detection of the Cherenkov light diffused by Sea Water with the ULTRA Experiment
The study of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays represents one of the most challenging topic in the Cosmic Rays and in the Astroparticle Physics fields. The interaction of primary particles with atmospheric nuclei produces a huge Extensive Air Shower together with isotropic emission of UV fluorescence light and highly directional Cherenkov photons, that are reflected/diffused isotropically by the impact on the Earth's surface or on high optical depth clouds. For space-based observations, detecting the reflected Cherenkov signal in a delayed coincidence with the fluorescence light improves the accuracy of the shower reconstruction in space and in particular the measurement of the shower maximum, giving a strong signature for discriminating hadrons and neutrinos, and helping to estimate the primary chemical composition. Since the Earth's surface is mostly covered by water, the ULTRA (UV Light Transmission and Reflection in the Atmosphere)experiment has been designed to provide the diffusing properties of sea water, overcoming the lack of information in this specific field. A small EAS array, made up of 5 particle detectors, and an UV optical device, have been coupled to detect in coincidence both electromagnetic and UV components. The detector was in operation from May to December, 2005, in a small private harbor in Capo Granitola (Italy); the results of these measurements in terms of diffusion coefficient and threshold energy are presented here.
astro-ph↗
Observation of a resonance in the K$_s$p decay channel at a mass of 1765 MeV/c$^2$
We report on the observation of a K$_s$p resonance signal at a mass of 1765$\pm$5 MeV/c$^2$, with intrinsic width $Γ= 108\pm 22$ MeV/c$^2$, produced inclusively in $Σ^-$-nucleus interactions at 340 GeV/c in the hyperon beam experiment WA89 at CERN. The signal was observed in the kinematic region $x_F>0.7$, in this region its production cross section rises approximately linearly with $(1-x_F)$, reaching $BR(X\to K_S p)\cdot dσ/dx_F = (5.2\pm 2.3) μb $ per nucleon at $x_F=0.8$. The hard \xf spectrum suggests the presence of a strong leading particle effect in the production and hence the identification as a $Σ^{*+}$ state. No corresponding peaks were observed in the $K^- p$ and $Λπ^{\pm}$ mass spectra.
hep-ex↗
Results from the ULTRA experiment in the framework of the EUSO project
The detection of Cerenkov light from EAS in a delayed coincidence with fluorescence light gives a strong signature to discriminate protons and neutrinos in cosmic rays. For this purpose, the ULTRA experiment has been designed with 2 detectors: a small EAS array (ETscope) and an UV optical device including wide field (Belenos) and narrow field (UVscope) Cerenkov light detectors. The array measures the shower size and the arrival direction of the incoming EAS, while the UV devices, pointing both to zenith and nadir, are used to determine the amount of direct and diffused coincident Cerenkov light. This information, provided for different diffusing surfaces, will be used to verify the possibility of detecting from Space the Cerenkov light produced by UHECRs with the EUSO experiment, on board the ISS.
astro-ph↗