Ultrahigh energy cosmic ray air showers probe particle physics at energies beyond the reach of accelerators. Here we introduce a new method to test hadronic interaction models without relying on the ...absolute energy calibration, and apply it to events with primary energy 6-16 EeV (E_{CM}=110-170 TeV), whose longitudinal development and lateral distribution were simultaneously measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory. The average hadronic shower is 1.33±0.16 (1.61±0.21) times larger than predicted using the leading LHC-tuned models EPOS-LHC (QGSJetII-04), with a corresponding excess of muons.
ABSTRACT
Bright debris discs can contain large amounts of CO gas. This gas was thought to be a protoplanetary remnant until it was recently shown that it could be released in collisions of ...volatile-rich solids. As CO is released, interstellar UV radiation photodissociates CO producing CI, which can shield CO allowing a large CO mass to accumulate. However, this picture was challenged because CI is inefficient at shielding if CO and CI are vertically mixed. Here, we study for the first time the vertical evolution of gas to determine how vertical mixing affects the efficiency of shielding by CI. We present a 1D model that accounts for gas release, photodissociation, ionization, viscous evolution, and vertical mixing due to turbulent diffusion. We find that if the gas surface density is high and the vertical diffusion weak (αv/α < H/r2) CO photodissociates high above the mid-plane, forming an optically thick CI layer that shields the CO underneath. Conversely, if diffusion is strong (αv/α > H/r2) CI and CO become well mixed, shortening the CO lifetime. Moreover, diffusion could also limit the amount of dust settling. High-resolution ALMA observations could resolve the vertical distribution of CO and CI, and thus constrain vertical mixing and the efficiency of CI shielding. We also find that the CO and CI scale heights may not be good probes of the mean molecular weight, and thus composition, of the gas. Finally, we show that if mixing is strong the CO lifetime might not be long enough for CO to spread interior to the planetesimal belt where gas is produced.
We present the first measurement of the fluctuations in the number of muons in extensive air showers produced by ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. We find that the measured fluctuations are in good ...agreement with predictions from air shower simulations. This observation provides new insights into the origin of the previously reported deficit of muons in air shower simulations and constrains models of hadronic interactions at ultrahigh energies. Our measurement is compatible with the muon deficit originating from small deviations in the predictions from hadronic interaction models of particle production that accumulate as the showers develop.
Abstract
A promising energy range to look for angular correlations between cosmic rays of extragalactic origin and their sources is at the highest energies, above a few tens of EeV (1 EeV ≡ 10
18
...eV). Despite the flux of these particles being extremely low, the area of ∼3000 km
2
covered at the Pierre Auger Observatory, and the 17 yr data-taking period of the
Phase
1
of its operations, have enabled us to measure the arrival directions of more than 2600 ultra-high-energy cosmic rays above 32 EeV. We publish this data set, the largest available at such energies from an integrated exposure of 122,000 km
2
sr yr, and search it for anisotropies over the 3.4
π
steradians covered with the Observatory. Evidence for a deviation in excess of isotropy at intermediate angular scales, with ∼15° Gaussian spread or ∼25° top-hat radius, is obtained at the 4
σ
significance level for cosmic-ray energies above ∼40 EeV.
We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we ...obtain a radiation energy of 15.8±0.7(stat)±6.7(syst) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principles calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.
Context. The debris disk surrounding β Pictoris has been observed with ALMA to contain a belt of CO gas with a distinct peak at ~85 au. This CO clump is thought to be the result of a region of ...enhanced density of solids that collide and release CO through vaporisation. The parent bodies are thought to be comparable to solar system comets, in which CO is trapped inside a water ice matrix. Aims. Since H2O should be released along with CO, we aim to put an upper limit on the H2O gas mass in the disk of β Pictoris. Methods. We used archival data from the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) aboard the Herschel Space Observatory to study the ortho-H2O 110–101 emission line. The line is undetected. Using a python implementation of the radiative transfer code RADEX, we converted upper limits on the line flux to H2O gas masses. The resulting lower limits on the CO/H2O mass ratio are compared to the composition of solar system comets. Results. Depending on the assumed gas spatial distribution, we find a 95% upper limit on the ortho-H2O line flux of 7.5 × 10−20 W m−2 or 1.2 × 10−19 W m−2. These translate into an upper limit on the H2O mass of 7.4 × 1016–1.1 × 1018 kg depending on both the electron density and gas kinetic temperature. The range of derived gas-phase CO/H2O ratios is marginally consistent with low-ratio solar system comets.
We present a measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum above 100 PeV using the part of the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory that has a spacing of 750 m. An inflection of the spectrum is ...observed, confirming the presence of the so-called
second-knee
feature. The spectrum is then combined with that of the 1500 m array to produce a single measurement of the flux, linking this spectral feature with the three additional breaks at the highest energies. The combined spectrum, with an energy scale set calorimetrically via fluorescence telescopes and using a single detector type, results in the most statistically and systematically precise measurement of spectral breaks yet obtained. These measurements are critical for furthering our understanding of the highest energy cosmic rays.
Context. The dusty debris disk around the ~20 Myr old main-sequence A-star β Pictoris is known to contain gas. Evidence points towards a secondary origin of the gas as opposed to being a direct ...remnant from the initial protoplanetary disk, although the dominant gas production mechanism is so far not identified. The origin of the observed overabundance of C and O compared with solar abundances of metallic elements such as Na and Fe is also unclear. Aims. Our goal is to constrain the spatial distribution of C in the disk, and thereby the gas origin and its abundance pattern. Methods. We used the HIFI instrument on board the Herschel Space Observatory to observe and spectrally resolve C ii emission at 158 μm from the β Pic debris disk. Assuming a disk in Keplerian rotation and a model for the line emission from the disk, we used the spectrally resolved line profile to constrain the spatial distribution of the gas. Results. We detect the C ii 158 μm emission. Modelling the shape of the emission line shows that most of the gas is located at about ~100 AU or beyond. We estimate a total C gas mass of 1.3-0.5+1.3 × 10-2 M⊕ (central 90% confidence interval). The data suggest that more gas is located on the south-west side of the disk than on the north-east side. The shape of the emission line is consistent with the hypothesis of a well mixed gas (constant C/Fe ratio throughout the disk). Assuming instead a spatial profile expected from a simplified accretion disk model, we found it to give a significantly poorer fit to the observations. Conclusions. Since the bulk of the gas is found outside 30 AU, we argue that the cometary objects known as “falling evaporating bodies” are probably not the dominant source of gas; production from grain-grain collisions or photodesorption seems more likely. The incompatibility of the observations with a simplified accretion disk model might favour a preferential depletion explanation for the overabundance of C and O, although it is unclear how much this conclusion is affected by the simplifications made. More stringent constraints on the spatial distribution will be available from ALMA observations of C i emission at 609 μm.
We report a measurement of the proton-air cross section for particle production at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon of 57 TeV. This is derived from the distribution of the depths of shower ...maxima observed with the Pierre Auger Observatory: systematic uncertainties are studied in detail. Analyzing the tail of the distribution of the shower maxima, a proton-air cross section of 505±22(stat)(-36)(+28)(syst) mb is found.
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