arXiv subjects

S. A. Sharakin

Publications and source records attributed to S. A. Sharakin.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Elveslocation: A new approach for studying thunderstorm atmosphere

Thunderstorm electrical discharges, which vary in their type of initiation and development (including compact intracloud discharges and initial breakdown pulses), also manifest differently as recorded electromagnetic signals in both the radio and optical ranges. A unique ionospheric optical imprint of a discharge is an ELVES - a sub-millisecond glow at altitudes around 90 km with a characteristic spatiotemporal pattern in the form of an expanding ring, reaching a diameter of several hundred or even a thousand kilometers. The position of the elve, its expansion velocity, the azimuthal and radial distribution of the glow intensity (and their temporal dynamics) contain information about the location and orientation of the discharge, as well as its current function. This information is most fully represented in the data recorded by orbital detectors of dynamic images with a wide field of view and microsecond temporal resolution, such as the TUS and Mini-EUSO. Recovering the parameters of a discharge from orbital detector data is associated with solving a complex inverse problem, since the phenomenon of interest is mediated by several processes, including the interaction of the discharge's electromagnetic pulse with the ionosphere and the non-trivial instrument response function of the detector. These additional sources of uncertainty are most consistently accounted for within the Bayesian paradigm. The application of simulation-based inference (SBI) allows for the reconstruction of discharge parameters within a dynamic model, thereby taking a step towards creating a new method for studying the thunderstorm atmosphere -- elveslocation. This work presents a dynamic model of an elve, which enables both the identification of characteristic spatiotemporal patterns of an event (generator mode) and the reconstruction of discharge parameters (SBI simulator mode).

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2024

Probabilistic programming methods for reconstruction of multichannel imaging detector events: ELVES and TRACK

This paper proposes new methods for analyzing dynamic images registered by multichannel, highly sensitive detectors with low spatial but high temporal resolution. The principal characteristic of the approach is the absence of factorization of different types of information within the data set. For a number of rapidly changing (transient) phenomena in the Earth's atmosphere, a probabilistic model can be formulated, and the parameters of this model can be reconstructed using probabilistic programming methods (Bayesian inference based on Markov chain Monte Carlo). This paper demonstrates the aforementioned approach on a number of examples, both simulated and actually registered by the detectors of the SINP MSU. In the case of submillisecond ELVES events registered by the orbital Mini-EUSO detector on board the ISS, the probabilistic model includes the coordinates and orientation of the lightning discharge that generated the glow, as well as the height of the ionized layer in which the glow is registered, among its parameters. Bayesian inference, implemented by means of the PyMC library, allows us to calculate posterior distributions for these parameters based on the times of signal peaks in individual detector channels. In addition to studying different types of aurora, the circumpolar system of ground-based multichannel PAIPS detectors also serves as a test-bench for probabilistic reconstruction algorithms. A wide class of track events is used for this purpose - meteors, satellite and aircraft passes, and the movement of stars across the sky. The Bayesian model includes both the parameters of the track event itself and the peculiarities of its registration. These methods can be generalized to stereo events (track registration by two detectors with overlapping fields of view) or applied to the reconstruction of extremely high energy cosmic rays in orbital fluorescence detectors.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

Relativistic dust grains: a new subject of research with orbital fluorescence detectors

TUS (Tracking Ultraviolet Set-up) was the world's first orbital detector aimed at testing the principle of observing ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with a space-based fluorescence telescope. TUS was launched into orbit on 28th April 2016 as a part of the scientific payload of the Lomonosov satellite, and its mission continued for 1.5 years. During this time, its exposure reached $\sim1550$ km$^2$ sr yr for primary energy $\gtrsim400$ EeV, and a number of extensive air showers-like events were registered. The shape and kinematics of the signal in these events closely resembled those expected from UHECRs but amplitudes of the signal and some other features were in contradiction with this assumption. A detailed analysis of one of EAS-like events (TUS161003) revealed that a primary cosmic ray would need to have an energy $\gtrsim1$ ZeV in order to produce a light curve of the observed amplitude, which is incompatible with the cosmic ray spectrum obtained with ground-based experiments. More than this, the slant depth of the shower maximum be the signal produced by a cosmic particle, was estimated as $\lesssim500$ g/cm$^2$, which corresponds to cosmic rays around 1 PeV. We present a preliminary discussion of a hypothesis that the TUS161003 event and perhaps some other bright EAS-like events could be produced by relativistic dust grains, which were considered a possible component of the cosmic ray flux beyond the GZK cut-off some time ago.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

An extensive-air-shower-like event registered with the TUS orbital detector

TUS (Tracking Ultraviolet Set-up) is the world's first orbital detector of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). It was launched into orbit on 28th April 2016 as a part of the scientific payload of the Lomonosov satellite. The main aim of the mission was to test the technique of measuring the ultraviolet fluorescence and Cherenkov radiation of extensive air showers generated by primary cosmic rays with energies above ~100 EeV in the Earth atmosphere from space. During its operation for 1.5 years, TUS registered almost 80,000 events with a few of them satisfying conditions anticipated for extensive air showers (EASs) initiated by UHECRs. Here we discuss an event registered on 3rd October 2016. The event was measured in perfect observation conditions as an ultraviolet track in the nocturnal atmosphere of the Earth, with the kinematics and the light curve similar to those expected from an EAS. A reconstruction of parameters of a primary particle gave the zenith angle around 44$^\circ$ but an extreme energy not compatible with the cosmic ray energy spectrum obtained with ground-based experiments. We discuss in details all conditions of registering the event, explain the reconstruction procedure and its limitations and comment on possible sources of the signal, both of anthropogenic and astrophysical origin. We believe this detection represents a significant milestone in the space-based observation of UHECRs because it proves the capability of an orbital telescope to detect light signals with the apparent motion and light shape similar to what are expected from EASs. This is important for the on-going development of the future missions KLYPVE-EUSO and POEMMA, aimed for studying UHECRs from space.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

The TUS detector of extreme energy cosmic rays on board the Lomonosov satellite

The origin and nature of extreme energy cosmic rays (EECRs), which have energies above the 50 EeV, the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) energy limit, is one of the most interesting and complicated problems in modern cosmic-ray physics. Existing ground-based detectors have helped to obtain remarkable results in studying cosmic rays before and after the GZK limit, but have also produced some contradictions in our understanding of cosmic ray mass composition. Moreover, each of these detectors covers only a part of the celestial sphere, which poses problems for studying the arrival directions of EECRs and identifying their sources. As a new generation of EECR space detectors, TUS (Tracking Ultraviolet Set-up), KLYPVE and JEM-EUSO, are intended to study the most energetic cosmic-ray particles, providing larger, uniform exposures of the entire celestial sphere. The TUS detector, launched on board the Lomonosov satellite on April 28, 2016, from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia, is the first of these. It employs a single-mirror optical system and a photomultiplier tube matrix as a photo-detector and will test the fluorescent method of measuring EECRs from space. Utilizing the Earth's atmosphere as a huge calorimeter, it is expected to detect EECRs with energies above 100 EeV. It will also be able to register slower atmospheric transient events: atmospheric fluorescence in electrical discharges of various types including precipitating electrons escaping the magnetosphere and from the radiation of meteors passing through the atmosphere. We describe the design of the TUS detector and present results of different ground-based tests and simulations.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

First results from the TUS orbital detector in the extensive air shower mode

TUS (Tracking Ultraviolet Set-up), the first orbital detector of extreme energy cosmic rays (EECRs), those with energies above 50 EeV, was launched into orbit on April 28, 2016, as a part of the Lomonosov satellite scientific payload. The main aim of the mission is to test a technique of registering fluorescent and Cherenkov radiation of extensive air showers generated by EECRs in the atmosphere with a space telescope. We present preliminary results of its operation in a mode dedicated to registering extensive air showers in the period from August 16, 2016, to November 4, 2016. No EECRs have been conclusively identified in the data yet, but the diversity of ultraviolet emission in the atmosphere was found to be unexpectedly rich. We discuss typical examples of data obtained with TUS and their possible origin. The data is important for obtaining more accurate estimates of the nocturnal ultraviolet glow of the atmosphere, necessary for successful development of more advanced orbital EECR detectors including those of the KLYPVE (K-EUSO) and JEM-EUSO missions.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

Search for extreme energy cosmic ray candidates in the TUS orbital experiment data

TUS (Track Ultraviolet Setup) is the first space experiment aimed to check the possibility of registering extreme energy cosmic rays (EECRs) at E>50 EeV by measuring the fluorescence signal of extensive air showers in the atmosphere. The detector operates as a part of the scientific payload of the Lomonosov satellite for more than a year. We describe an algorithm of searching for EECR events in the TUS data and briefly discuss a number of candidates selected by formal criteria.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

First results of the Lomonosov TUS and GRB experiments

On April 28, 2016, the Lomonosov satellite, equipped with a number of scientific instruments, was launched into orbit. Here we present briefly some of the results obtained with the first orbital telescope of extreme energy cosmic rays TUS and by a group of detectors aimed at multi-messenger observations of gamma-ray bursts.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

The current status of orbital experiments for UHECR studies

Two types of orbital detectors of extreme energy cosmic rays are being developed nowadays: (i) TUS and KLYPVE with reflecting optical systems (mirrors) and (ii) JEM-EUSO with high-transmittance Fresnel lenses. They will cover much larger areas than existing ground-based arrays and almost uniformly monitor the celestial sphere. The TUS detector is the pioneering mission developed in SINP MSU in cooperation with several Russian and foreign institutions. It has relatively small field of view (+/-4.5 deg), which corresponds to a ground area of 6.4x10^3 sq.km. The telescope consists of a Fresnel-type mirror-concentrator (~2 sq.m) and a photo receiver (a matrix of 16x16 photomultiplier tubes). It is to be deployed on the Lomonosov satellite, and is currently at the final stage of preflight tests. Recently, SINP MSU began the KLYPVE project to be installed on board of the Russian segment of the ISS. The optical system of this detector contains a larger primary mirror (10 sq.m), which allows decreasing the energy threshold. The total effective field of view will be at least +/-14 degrees to exceed the annual exposure of the existing ground-based experiments. Several configurations of the detector are being currently considered. Finally, JEM-EUSO is a wide field of view (+/-30 deg) detector. The optics is composed of two curved double-sided Fresnel lenses with 2.65 m external diameter, a precision diffractive middle lens and a pupil. The ultraviolet photons are focused onto the focal surface, which consists of nearly 5000 multi-anode photomultipliers. It is developed by a large international collaboration. All three orbital detectors have multi-purpose character due to continuous monitoring of various atmospheric phenomena. The present status of development of the TUS and KLYPVE missions is reported, and a brief comparison of the projects with JEM-EUSO is given.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv1996

Matrix Ernst potentials for EMDA with multiple vector fields

We show that the Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton-Axion system with multiple vector fields (bosonic sector of the D=4, N=4 supergravity) restricted to spacetimes possessing a non-null Killing vector field admits a concise representation in terms of the Ernst-type matrix valued potentials. A constructive derivation of the SWIP solutions is given and a colliding waves counterpart of the DARN-NUT solution is obtained. SU(m,m) chiral representation of the two-dimensionally reduced system is derived and the corresponding Kramer-Neugebauer-type map is presented.

hep-th↗