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M. Zotov

Publications and source records attributed to M. Zotov.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

First Detection of Extensive Air Showers Using a Small-Aperture Fluorescence Telescope

We report on the detection of extensive air showers (EAS) generated by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays using a small-aperture fluorescence telescope (FT) deployed at the Mount Aragats high-altitude research station. The instrument is equipped with two Fresnel lenses with a diameter of 25 cm and operates with a 2.625 $\mu$s time resolution. To our knowledge, this represents the first-ever observation of EAS achieved with an FT of such a compact aperture. To isolate shower events from the observational data, we implemented two independent event selection pipelines: a conventional cut-based analysis and a deep learning approach utilizing neural networks. Both algorithms successfully identified over 15 high-confidence EAS tracks from data acquired during clear, moonless nights. We present selected event topologies and detail the background rejection methodology employed to discriminate true shower tracks from spurious signals mimicking EAS signatures. These results provide an important proof-of-concept for the advancement of fluorescence detection techniques, demonstrating their viability for forthcoming ground-based and space-borne missions. Future efforts will focus on primary energy reconstruction utilizing a previously developed neural-network framework.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2023

Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays: The Intersection of the Cosmic and Energy Frontiers

The present white paper is submitted as part of the "Snowmass" process to help inform the long-term plans of the United States Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation for high-energy physics. It summarizes the science questions driving the Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic-Ray (UHECR) community and provides recommendations on the strategy to answer them in the next two decades.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2022

Status of the K-EUSO Orbital Detector of Ultra-high Energy Cosmic Rays

K-EUSO (KLYPVE-EUSO) is a planned orbital mission aimed at studying ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) by detecting fluorescence and Cherenkov light emitted by extensive air showers in the nocturnal atmosphere of Earth in the ultraviolet (UV) range. The observatory is being developed within the JEM-EUSO collaboration and is planned to be deployed on the International Space Station after 2025 and operated for at least two years. The telescope, consisting of $\sim10^{5}$ independent pixels, will allow a spatial resolution of $\sim0.6$ km on the ground, and, from a 400 km altitude, it will achieve a large and full sky exposure to sample the highest energy range of the UHECR spectrum. We provide a comprehensive review of the current status of the development of the K-EUSO experiment, paying special attention to its hardware parts and expected performance. We demonstrate how results of the K-EUSO mission can complement the achievements of the existing ground-based experiments and push forward the intriguing studies of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, as well as bring new knowledge about other phenomena manifesting themselves in the atmosphere in the UV range.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2021

The POEMMA (Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics) Observatory

The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) is designed to accurately observe ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and cosmic neutrinos from space with sensitivity over the full celestial sky. POEMMA will observe the extensive air showers (EASs) from UHECRs and UHE neutrinos above 20 EeV via air fluorescence. Additionally, POEMMA will observe the Cherenkov signal from upward-moving EASs induced by Earth-interacting tau neutrinos above 20 PeV. The POEMMA spacecraft are designed to quickly re-orientate to follow up transient neutrino sources and obtain unparalleled neutrino flux sensitivity. Developed as a NASA Astrophysics Probe-class mission, POEMMA consists of two identical satellites flying in loose formation in 525 km altitude orbits. Each POEMMA instrument incorporates a wide field-of-view (45$^\circ$) Schmidt telescope with over 6 m$^2$ of collecting area. The hybrid focal surface of each telescope includes a fast (1~$μ$s) near-ultraviolet camera for EAS fluorescence observations and an ultrafast (10~ns) optical camera for Cherenkov EAS observations. In a 5-year mission, POEMMA will provide measurements that open new multi-messenger windows onto the most energetic events in the universe, enabling the study of new astrophysics and particle physics at these otherwise inaccessible energies.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2020

Snowmass 2021 Letter of Interest: The Probe Of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA)

The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) is designed to identify the sources of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) and to observe cosmic neutrinos, both with full-sky coverage. Developed as a NASA Astrophysics Probe-class mission, POEMMA consists of two spacecraft flying in a loose formation at 525 km altitude, 28.5 deg inclination orbits. Each spacecraft hosts a Schmidt telescope with a large collecting area and wide field of view. A novel focal plane is optimized to observe both the UV fluorescence signal from extensive air showers (EASs) and the beamed optical Cherenkov signals from EASs. In POEMMA-stereo fluorescence mode, POEMMA will measure the spectrum, composition, and full-sky distribution of the UHECRs above 20 EeV with high statistics along with remarkable sensitivity to UHE neutrinos. The spacecraft are designed to quickly re-orient to a POEMMA-limb mode to observe neutrino emission from Target-of-Opportunity (ToO) transient astrophysical sources viewed just below the Earth's limb. In this mode, POEMMA will have unique sensitivity to cosmic neutrino tau events above 20 PeV by measuring the upward-moving EASs induced by the decay of the emerging tau leptons following the interactions of neutrino tau inside the Earth.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2019

Prospects of detecting a large-scale anisotropy of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays from a nearby source with the K-EUSO orbital telescope

KLYPVE-EUSO (K-EUSO) is a planned orbital detector of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), which is to be deployed on board the International Space Station. K-EUSO is expected to have a uniform exposure over the celestial sphere and register from 120 to 500 UHECRs at energies above 57 EeV in a 2-year mission. We employed the TransportCR and CRPropa 3 packages to estimate prospects of detecting a large-scale anisotropy of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays from a nearby source with K-EUSO. Nearby active galactic nuclei Centaurus A, M82, NGC 253, M87 and Fornax A were considered as possible sources of UHECRs. A minimal model for extragalactic cosmic rays and neutrinos by Kachelriess, Kalashev, Ostapchenko and Semikoz (2017) was chosen for definiteness. We demonstrate that an observation of $\gtrsim300$ events will allow detecting a large-scale anisotropy with a high confidence level providing the fraction of from-source events is $\simeq$10-15%, depending on a particular source. The threshold fraction decreases with an increasing sample size. We also discuss if an overdensity originating from a nearby source can be observed at around the ankle in case a similar anisotropy is found beyond 57 EeV. The results are generic and hold for other future experiments with a uniform exposure of the celestial sphere.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2016

Detection prospects of the Telescope Array hotspot by space observatories

In the present-day cosmic ray data, the strongest indication of anisotropy of the ultrahigh energy cosmic rays is the 20-degree hotspot observed by the Telescope Array with the statistical significance of 3.4σ. In this work, we study the possibility of detecting such a spot by space-based all-sky observatories. We show that if the detected luminosity of the hotspot is attributed to a physical effect and not a statistical fluctuation, the KLYPVE and JEM-EUSO experiments would need to collect ~300 events with E>57 EeV in order to detect the hotspot at the 5σ confidence level with the 68% probability. We also study the dependence of the detection prospects on the hotspot luminosity.

astro-ph.HE↗