Context.The detection of radio pulses from cosmic ray air showers is a potentially powerful new detection mechanism for studying spectrum and composition of ultra high energy cosmic rays that needs ...to be understood in greater detail. The radiation consists in large part of geosynchrotron radiation. The intensity of this radiation depends, among other factors, on the energy of the primary particle and the angle of the shower axis with respect to the geomagnetic field. Aims.Since the radiation mechanism is based on particle acceleration, the atmospheric electric field can play an important role. Especially inside thunderclouds large electric fields can be present. In this paper we examine the contribution of an electric field to the emission mechanism theoretically and experimentally. Methods.Two mechanisms of amplification of radio emission are considered: the acceleration radiation of the shower particles and the radiation from the current that is produced by ionization electrons moving in the electric field. For both mechanisms analytical estimates are made of their effects on the radio pulse height. We selected lopes data recorded during thunderstorms, periods of heavy cloudiness and periods of cloudless weather. We tested whether the correlations with geomagnetic angle and primary energy vary with atmospheric conditions. Results.We find that during thunderstorms the radio emission can be strongly enhanced. The present data suggests that the observed amplification is caused by acceleration of the shower electrons and positrons. In the near future, extensions of lopes and the construction of lofar will help to identify the mechanism in more detail. No amplified pulses were found during periods of cloudless sky or heavy cloudiness, suggesting that the electric field effect for radio air shower measurements can be safely ignored during non-thunderstorm conditions.
The characteristic dependence of the intensity of transition radiation (TR) on the Lorentz factor
γ=
E/
mc
2 of a primary particle is key to a number of practical applications. In particular, one may ...use TR detectors for energy measurements of heavy cosmic-ray nuclei in a region where alternate techniques are difficult to apply. However, a serious constraint can be the saturation of the TR yield at high
γ-values. We investigate how the onset of saturation can be pushed to as high a Lorentz factor as possible. We then describe the results of test measurements at CERN, which demonstrate the possibility of practical configurations for measurements over the Lorentz factor range of a few hundred to about 10
5.
The nature of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) at energies >1020 eV remains a mystery. They are likely to be of extragalactic origin, but should be absorbed within ∼50 Mpc through interactions ...with the cosmic microwave background. As there are no sufficiently powerful accelerators within this distance from the Galaxy, explanations for UHECRs range from unusual astrophysical sources to exotic string physics. Also unclear is whether UHECRs consist of protons, heavy nuclei, neutrinos or γ-rays. To resolve these questions, larger detectors with higher duty cycles and which combine multiple detection techniques are needed. Radio emission from UHECRs, on the other hand, is unaffected by attenuation, has a high duty cycle, gives calorimetric measurements and provides high directional accuracy. Here we report the detection of radio flashes from cosmic-ray air showers using low-cost digital radio receivers. We show that the radiation can be understood in terms of the geosynchrotron effect. Our results show that it should be possible to determine the nature and composition of UHECRs with combined radio and particle detectors, and to detect the ultrahigh-energy neutrinos expected from flavour mixing.
AbstractKASCADE (KArlsruhe Shower Core and Array DEtector) is determining flux spectra for different primary mass groups to disentangle the knee feature of the primary cosmic-ray energy spectrum. The ...energy spectra of the light element groups result in a knee-like bending and a steepening above the knee. The topology of the individual knee positions suggests a rigidity dependence. To proof the rigidity dependence the KASCADE array is now extended by a factor 10 in area. The major goal of KASCADE-Grande is the observation of the ’iron-knee’ in the cosmic-ray spectrum at around 100 PeV which is expected following the KASCADE observations. PACS: 98.70.Sa Cosmic rays
The KASCADE-grande experiment Blümer, J; Apel, W D; Arteaga, J C ...
Journal of physics. Conference series,
07/2008, Letnik:
120, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
KASCADE-Grande is an extensive air shower array co-located with the original KASCADE air shower experiment at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany. The multi-detector system allows to investigate the ...energy spectrum, composition, and anisotropies of cosmic rays in the energy range extended up to 1018 eV. An overview on the performance of the apparatus and first results are presented.
Recent results from the multi-detector set-up KASCADE on measurements of cosmic rays in the energy range of the so called "first" knee (at ≈ 3 PeV) indicate a distinct knee in the energy spectra of ...light primary cosmic rays and an increasing dominance of heavy ones towards higher energies. This leads to the expectation of knee-like features of the heavy primaries at around 100 PeV. To investigate this energy region KASCADE has recently been extended by a factor 10 in area to the new experiment KASCADE-Grande. Main results of KASCADE as well as set-up, capabilities, and status of KASCADE-Grande are presented.
Data taken during half a year of operation of 10 LOPES antennas (LOPES-10), triggered by EAS observed with KASCADE-Grande have been analysed. We report about the analysis of correlations of radio ...signals measured by LOPES-10 with extensive air shower events reconstructed by KASCADE-Grande, including shower cores at large distances. The efficiency of detecting radio signals induced by air showers up to distances of 700m from the shower axis has been investigated. The results are discussed with special emphasis on the effects of the reconstruction accuracy for shower core and arrival direction on the coherence of the measured radio signal. In addition, the correlations of the radio pulse amplitude with the primary cosmic ray energy and with the lateral distance from the shower core are studied.
A sampling calorimeter with warm-liquid ionization chambers Plewnia, S.; Berghöfer, Th; Blümer, J. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
10/2006, Letnik:
566, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
An iron sampling calorimeter with warm-liquid ionization chambers has been tested at the CERN SPS in order to study the signal development and to verify the energy calibration of the hadron ...calorimeter in the KASCADE-Grande air shower experiment. The absolute energy calibration of the detectors is discussed. Results of the analysis of the lateral and longitudinal shower development in the calorimeter are presented and compared with results from simulations based on the GEANT/FLUKA code.
Aims.The capability of radio antenna arrays to measure cosmic ray air showers with very large zenith angles is explored. This is important, since a possible neutrino detection has to fulfill two ...requirements. First: antennas should be able to detect very inclined cosmic ray air showers, and second: it should be possible to estimate the distance to the shower maximum, since neutrinos are most likely to travel far through the Earth's atmosphere without interaction and induce air showers close to the ground. Methods.LOPES (LOFAR PrototypE Station; LOFAR – LOw Frequency ARray), an array of dipole antennas, is used for the detection of inclined cosmic ray air showers. LOPES is co-located and triggered by the KASCADE (KArlsruhe Shower Core and Array DEtector) experiment, which also provides information on air shower properties such as electron and muon numbers on the ground, as well as the arrival direction. Radio emission of nearly vertical cosmic ray air showers has been detected by LOPES. Results.LOPES-10 (the first phase of LOPES, consisting of 10 antennas) detected a significant number of cosmic ray air showers with a zenith angle larger than 50°, and many of these have very high radio field strengths. The most inclined event that has been detected with LOPES-10 has a zenith angle of almost 80°. This is proof that the new technique is also applicable for cosmic ray air showers with high inclinations, which in the case that they are initiated close to the ground, can be a signature of neutrino events. Conclusions.Our results indicate that arrays of simple radio antennas can be used for the detection of highly inclined air showers, which might be triggered by neutrinos. In addition, we found that the radio pulse height (normalized with the muon number) for highly inclined events increases with the geomagnetic angle, which confirms the geomagnetic origin of radio emission in cosmic ray air showers.
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