arXiv subjects

LHAASO Collaboration

Publications and source records attributed to LHAASO Collaboration.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Precise Measurement of the Cosmic Ray Helium Spectrum above 0.1 PeV

We report a measurement of the cosmic ray helium energy spectrum in the energy interval 0.16 -- 13~PeV, derived by subtracting the proton spectrum from the light component~(proton and helium) spectrum obtained with observations made by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory~(LHAASO) under a consistent energy scale. The helium spectrum shows a significant hardening centered at $E \simeq$ 1.1~PeV, followed by a softening at $\sim$ 7 PeV, indicating the appearance of a helium `knee'. Comparing the proton and helium spectra in the LHAASO energy range reveals some remarkable facts. In the lower part of this range, in contrast to the behavior at lower energies, the helium spectrum is significantly softer than the proton spectrum. This results in protons overtaking helium nuclei and becoming the largest cosmic ray component at $E \simeq$ 0.7 PeV. A second crossing of the two spectra is observed at $E \simeq$ 5 PeV, above the proton knee, when helium nuclei overtake protons to become the largest cosmic ray component again. These results have important implications for our understanding of the Galactic cosmic ray sources.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

A tera-electronvolt afterglow from a narrow jet in an extremely bright gamma-ray burst 221009A

Some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have an afterglow in the tera-electronvolt (TeV) band, but the early onset of this afterglow has not been observed. We report observations with the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory of the bright GRB 221009A, which serendipitously occurred within the instrument field of view. More than 64,000 photons (above 0.2~TeV) were detected within the first 3000 seconds. The TeV photon flux began several minutes after the GRB trigger, then rose to a flux peak about 10 seconds later. This was followed by a decay phase, which became more rapid at $\sim 650\,{\rm s}$ after the peak. The emission can be explained with a relativistic jet model with half-opening angle $\sim 0.8^\circ$, consistent with the core of a structured jet. This interpretation could explain the high isotropic energy of this GRB.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Flux Variations of Cosmic Ray Air Showers Detected by LHAASO-KM2A During a Thunderstorm on 10 June 2021

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) has three sub-arrays, KM2A, WCDA and WFCTA. The flux variations of cosmic ray air showers were studied by analyzing the KM2A data during the thunderstorm on 10 June 2021. The number of shower events that meet the trigger conditions increases significantly in atmospheric electric fields, with maximum fractional increase of 20%. The variations of trigger rates (increases or decreases) are found to be strongly dependent on the primary zenith angle. The flux of secondary particles increases significantly, following a similar trend with that of the shower events. To better understand the observed behavior, Monte Carlo simulations are performed with CORSIKA and G4KM2A (a code based on GEANT4). We find that the experimental data (in saturated negative fields) are in good agreement with simulations, assuming the presence of a uniform upward electric field of 700 V/cm with a thickness of 1500 m in the atmosphere above the observation level. Due to the acceleration/deceleration and deflection by the atmospheric electric field, the number of secondary particles with energy above the detector threshold is modified, resulting in the changes in shower detection rate.

astro-ph.HE↗