A composition dependent energy scale and the determination of the cosmic ray primary mass in the ankle region

At present there are still several open questions about the origin of the ultra high energy cosmic rays. However, great progress in this area has been made in recent years due to the data collected by the present generation of ground based detectors like the Pierre Auger Observatory and Telescope Array. In particular, it is believed that the study of the composition of the cosmic rays as a function of energy can play a fundamental role for the understanding of the origin of the cosmic rays.The observatories belonging to this generation are composed of arrays of surface detectors and fluorescence telescopes. The duty cycle of the fluorescence telescopes is ∼10% in contrast with the ∼100% of the surface detectors. Therefore, the energy calibration of the events observed by the surface detectors is performed by using a calibration curve obtained from a set of high quality events observed in coincidence by both types of detectors. The advantage of this method is that the reconstructed energy of the events observed by the surface detectors becomes almost independent of simulations of the showers because just a small part of the reconstructed energy (the missing energy), obtained from the fluorescence telescopes, comes from simulations. However, the calibration curve obtained in this way depends on the composition of the cosmic rays, which can introduce biases in composition analyses when parameters with a strong dependence on primary energy are considered. In this work we develop an analytical method to study these effects. We consider AMIGA (Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array), the low energy extension of the Pierre Auger Observatory corresponding to the surface detectors, to illustrate the use of the method. In particular, we study the biases introduced by an energy calibration dependent on composition on the determination of the mean value of the number of muons, at a given distance to the showers axis, which is one of the parameters most sensitive to primary mass and has an almost linear dependence with primary energy.     

Production of neutrons, neutrinos and gamma-rays by a very fast pulsar in the Galactic Centre region

We consider the possibility that the excess of cosmic rays near ∼10¹⁸ eV, reported by the AGASA and SUGAR groups from the direction of the Galactic Centre, is caused by a young, very fast pulsar in the high-density medium. The pulsar accelerates iron nuclei to energies ∼10²⁰ eV, as postulated by the Galactic models for the origin of the highest-energy cosmic rays. The iron nuclei, about 1 yr after pulsar formation, leave the supernova envelope without energy losses and diffuse through the dense central region of the Galaxy. Some of them collide with the background matter creating neutrons (from disintegration of Fe), neutrinos and gamma-rays (in inelastic collisions). We suggest that neutrons produced at a specific time after the pulsar formation are responsible for the observed excess of cosmic rays at ∼10¹⁸ eV. From normalization of the calculated neutron flux to the one observed in the cosmic ray excess, we predict the neutrino and gamma-ray fluxes. It has been found that the 1 km² neutrino detector of the IceCube type should detect from a few up to several events per year from the Galactic Centre, depending on the parameters of the considered model. Moreover, future systems of Cherenkov telescopes (CANGAROO III, HESS, VERITAS) should be able to observe  1–10 TeV  gamma-rays from the Galactic Centre if the pulsar was created inside a huge molecular cloud about  3–10×10³ yr  ago.     

The Cherenkov Telescope Array potential for the study of young supernova remnants

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are among the most important targets for γ-ray observatories. Being prominent non-thermal sources, they are very likely responsible for the acceleration of the bulk of Galactic cosmic rays (CRs). To firmly establish the SNR paradigm for the origin of cosmic rays, it should be confirmed that protons are indeed accelerated in, and released from, SNRs with the appropriate flux and spectrum. This can be done by detailed theoretical models which account for microphysics of acceleration and various radiation processes of hadrons and leptons. The current generation of Cherenkov telescopes has insufficient sensitivity to constrain theoretical models. A new facility, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), will have superior capabilities and may finally resolve this long standing issue of high-energy astrophysics. We want to assess the capabilities of CTA to reveal the physics of various types of SNRs in the initial 2000 years of their evolution. During this time, the efficiency to accelerate cosmic rays is highest. We perform time-dependent simulations of the hydrodynamics, the magnetic fields, the cosmic-ray acceleration, and the non-thermal emission for type Ia, Ic and IIP SNRs. We calculate the CTA response to the γ-ray emission from these SNRs for various ages and distances, and we perform a realistic analysis of the simulated data. We derive distance limits for the detectability and resolvability of these SNR types at several ages. We test the ability of CTA to reconstruct their morphological and spectral parameters as a function of their distance. Finally, we estimate how well CTA data will constrain the theoretical models.     

Pionic photons and neutrinos from cosmic ray accelerators

Identifying the accelerators that produce the Galactic and extragalactic cosmic rays has been a priority mission of several generations of high energy gamma ray and neutrino telescopes; success has been elusive so far. Detecting the gamma-ray and neutrino fluxes associated with cosmic rays reaches a new watershed with the completion of IceCube, the first neutrino detector with sensitivity to the anticipated fluxes, and the construction of CTA, a ground-based gamma ray detector that will map and study candidate sources with unprecedented precision. In this paper, we revisit the prospects for revealing the sources of the cosmic rays by a multiwavelength approach; after reviewing the methods, we discuss supernova remnants, gamma ray bursts, active galaxies and GZK neutrinos in some detail.     

Detection of atmospheric Cherenkov radiation using solar heliostat mirrors

There is considerable interest world-wide in developing large area atmospheric Cherenkov detectors for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. This interest stems, in large part, from the fact that the gamma-ray energy region between 20 and 250 GeV is unexplored by any experiment. Atmospheric Cherenkov detectors offer a possible way to explore this region, but large photon collection areas are needed to achieve low energy thresholds. We are developing an experiment using the heliostat mirrors of a solar power plant as the primary collecting element. As part of this development, we built a detector using four heliostat mirrors, a secondary Fresnel lens, and a fast photon detection system. In November 1994, we used this detector to record atmospheric Cherenkov radiation produced by cosmic ray particles showering in the atmosphere. The detected rate of cosmic ray events was consistent with an energy threshold near 1 TeV. The data presented here represent the first detection of atmospheric Cherenkov radiation using solar heliostats viewed from a central tower.     

Cosmic-ray positrons: are there primary sources?

Galactic cosmic rays consist of primary and secondary particles. Primary cosmic rays are thought to be energized by first order Fermi acceleration processes at supernova shock fronts within our Galaxy. The cosmic rays that eventually reach the Earth from this source are mainly protons and atomic nuclei, but also include electrons. Secondary cosmic rays are created in collisions of primary particles with the diffuse interstellar gas. They are relatively rare but carry important information on the Galactic propagation of the primary particles. The secondary component includes a small fraction of antimatter particles, positrons and antiprotons. In addition, positrons and antiprotons may also come from unusual sources and possibly provide insight into new physics. For instance, the annihilation of heavy supersymmetric dark matter particles within the Galactic halo could lead to positrons or antiprotons with distinctive energy signatures. With the High-Energy Antimatter Telescope (HEAT) balloon-borne instrument, we have measured the abundances of positrons and electrons at energies between 1 and 50 GeV. The data suggest that indeed a small additional antimatter component may be present that cannot be explained by a purely secondary production mechanism. Here we describe the signature of the effect and discuss its possible origin.     

Cosmic rays from the galactic center

We examine the possibility that recent data on cosmic ray anisotropies presented by the AGASA group may lead to the conclusion that our Galactic Center is a major source of the highest energy cosmic rays in our galaxy. We discuss how such a source would contribute to the magnitude and directional properties of the observed flux when measured against a background of extragalactic cosmic rays. We do this using the results of previous propagation calculations and our own more recent calculations which are specifically for a Galactic Center source.We find that the AGASA data can indeed be plausibly interpreted in this way and also that an argument can be made that the Galactic Center has the appropriate physical properties for acceleration to energies of the order of 10¹⁸ eV. We show that data from the SUGAR array are compatible with the AGASA result.     

Remote sensing of clouds and aerosols with cosmic rays

Remote sensing of atmosphere is conventionally done via a study of extinction/scattering of light from natural (Sun, Moon) or artificial (laser) sources. Cherenkov emission from extensive air showers generated by cosmic rays provides one more natural light source distributed throughout the atmosphere. We show that Cherenkov light carries information on three-dimensional distribution of clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere and on the size distribution and scattering phase function of cloud/aerosol particles. Therefore, it could be used for the atmospheric sounding. The new atmospheric sounding method could be implemented via an adjustment of technique of imaging Cherenkov telescopes. The atmospheric sounding data collected in this way could be used both for atmospheric science and for the improvement of the quality of astronomical gamma-ray observations.     

Galactic PeV neutrinos

The IceCube experiment has detected two neutrinos with energies between 1 and 10 PeV. They might have originated from Galactic or extragalactic sources of cosmic rays. In the present work we consider hadronic interactions of the diffuse very high energy cosmic rays with the interstellar matter within our Galaxy to explain the PeV neutrino events detected in IceCube. We also expect PeV gamma ray events along with the PeV neutrino events if the observed PeV neutrinos were produced within our Galaxy in hadronic interactions. PeV gamma rays are unlikely to reach us from sources outside our Galaxy due to pair production with cosmic background radiation fields. We suggest that in future with simultaneous detections of PeV gamma rays and neutrinos it would be possible to distinguish between Galactic and extragalactic origins of very high energy neutrinos.     

PeV gamma rays from interactions of ultra high energy cosmic rays in the Milky Way

The PeV gamma ray background produced in the interactions of ultra high energy cosmic rays with the ambient matter and radiations during their propagation in the Milky Way has been calculated in this paper. If the primary ultra high energy cosmic rays are produced from Galactic point sources then those point sources are also emitting PeV gamma rays. We discuss that the detection of galactocentric PeV gamma rays in the future would be a signature of the presence of EeV cosmic accelerators in the Milky Way.     

The Auger Observatory in Argentina

The Auger Project studies the highest energies known in nature with an emphasis on energies ≥5 × 10¹⁹ eV, which are cosmic rays coming from the outer space reaching the Earth's surface with a very low flux. The questions to be elucidated are what are the origin, energy, production mechanism, and chemical composition of these cosmic rays. Auger aims at building two observatories in both the hemispheres and in 2000 the construction of the austral observatory started. Auger's two distinctive features are its exceptional size and its hybrid nature. It spans over an area of 3000 km² and is constituted by 24 fluorescence detector telescopes and 1600 surface detectors. As such, it will provide a large number of events with less systematic detection uncertainties. The construction of the Southern Observatory in Argentina is quite advanced and the buildings at the Central Station in Malargüe city are already operational. So are the telescope buildings at Cerros Los Leones and Coihueco (two prototype telescopes were operational at Los Leones, which have now been dismantled), 32 surface detectors, and the telecommunication and data acquisition systems. About 20-hybrid events/months were detected and currently two events/hours are registered with the surface detector array. The detection of hybrid events is the most important issue since it shows that the equipment operates within the design parameters.     

Prospects for radio detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays and neutrinos

The origin and nature of the highest energy cosmic ray events is currently the subject of intense investigation by giant air shower arrays and fluorescent detectors. These particles reach energies well beyond what can be achieved in ground-based particle accelerators and hence they are fundamental probes for particle physics as well as astrophysics. One of the main topics today focuses on the high energy end of the spectrum and the potential for the production of high-energy neutrinos. Above about 10²⁰ eV cosmic rays from extragalactic sources are expected to be severely attenuated by pion photoproduction interactions with photons of the cosmic microwave background. Investigating the shape of the cosmic ray spectrum near this predicted cut-off will be very important. In addition, a significant high-energy neutrino background is naturally expected as part of the pion decay chain which also contains much information.Because of the scarcity of these high-energy particles, larger and larger ground-based detectors have been built. The new generation of digital radio telescopes may play an important role in this, if properly designed. Radio detection of cosmic ray showers has a long history but was abandoned in the 1970s. Recent experimental developments together with sophisticated air shower simulations incorporating radio emission give a clearer understanding of the relationship between the air shower parameters and the radio signal, and have led to resurgence in its use. Observations of air showers by the SKA could, because of its large collecting area, contribute significantly to measuring the cosmic ray spectrum at the highest energies. Because of the large surface area of the moon, and the expected excellent angular resolution of the SKA, using the SKA to detect radio Cherenkov emission from neutrino-induced cascades in lunar regolith will be potentially the most important technique for investigating cosmic ray origin at energies above the photoproduction cut-off.     

Cosmic neutrinos from the sources of galactic and extragalactic cosmic rays

Although kilometer-scale neutrino detectors such as IceCube are discovery instruments, their conceptual design is very much anchored to the observational fact that Nature produces protons and photons with energies in excess of 10²⁰ eV and 10¹³ eV, respectively. The puzzle of where and how Nature accelerates the highest energy cosmic particles is unresolved almost a century after their discovery. From energetics considerations we anticipate on the order of 10–100 neutrino events per kilometer squared per year pointing back at the source(s) of both galactic and extragalactic cosmic rays. In this context, we discuss the results of the AMANDA and IceCube neutrino telescopes which will deliver a kilometer-square-year of data over the next 3 years.     

Using the photons from the Crab Nebula seen by GLAST to calibrate MAGIC and the imaging air Cherenkov telescopes

In this article we discuss the possibility of using the observations by GLAST of standard gamma sources, as the Crab Nebula, to calibrate imaging air Cherenkov detectors, MAGIC in particular, and optimise their energy resolution. We show that at around 100 GeV the absolute energy calibration uncertainty of Cherenkov telescopes can be reduced to 10% by means of such cross-calibration procedure.     

逆康普顿散射对中等银纬区银河弥漫γ射线的贡献

使用最近期的ＧＲＯ库中ＥＧＲＥＴ的γ射线数据，研究了逆康普顿散射对中等银纬区银河弥漫γ射线的贡献。采用了两种分析方法：其一为本文的新分析方法，其中银河宇宙与星际气体相互作用的γ射线的发射率ｑ／４π由γ射线数据本身确定；其二为通常的分析方法，即ｑ／４π由使用了局部银河宇宙线强度的观测值的理论估计给出。通过分析，我们获得了两种方法中逆康普顿散射的贡献与能量的依赖关系。结果表明，逆康普顿散射的贡献是大的。     

伽马天文观测技术综述

伽马射线作为宇宙中极端事件的独特探针,探测伽马射线是人们了解宇宙构成、星体演化和宇宙线起源等的重要途经.伽马天文涉及了宇宙中的各种前沿科学问题并且观测所需能谱跨度极宽(102 keV–102 TeV),针对不同的科学目标和细分谱段,必须利用不同的伽马望远镜探测技术.总结了空间和地面的共5大类伽马射线观测技术,分别是编码孔径望远镜、康普顿望远镜、电子对望远镜、成像大气切伦科夫望远镜和广延大气簇射阵列;回顾了70 yr来在观测设备和技术进步的推动下伽马射线天文学领域的巨大进展,其中包含高能和甚高能谱段取得的大量成就,中低能段由于已有观测任务有限以及灵敏度低,超高能和极高能段由于观测难度大、起步时间晚,数据和成果相对其他谱段产出较少;展望了未来已经规划的伽马望远镜任务、能力及预期科学产出,其中,中低能段空间望远镜增强型ASTROGAM望远镜(e-ASTROGAM)、全天区中能伽马射线观测站(AMEGO)和甚高能段地面望远镜阵列高海拔宇宙线观测站(LHAASO)、切伦科夫望远镜阵列(CTA),由于灵敏度较同谱段已有任务灵敏度有大幅提升,极有可能在20 yr内从不同角度再度扩展人类对伽马宇宙的认知.     

Reconstruction of the direction of the true anisotropy of galactic cosmic rays

A method of reconstructing the declination of galactic cosmic ray anisotropy is described, and its results are presented. The method is based on analysis of delay distributions in symmetrically arranged detectors of an air shower array, and it represents a modification of the crossed telescopes method. It is shown that the declination of the true anisotropy vector is close to 60° (i.e., this vector lies approximately within the galactic plane). Because of this, the true degree of anisotropy of galactic cosmic rays is severalfold higher than the first harmonic of intensity in the sidereal time (the quantity measured directly), and it equals about 0.2%.     

Non-linear amplification of a magnetic field driven by cosmic ray streaming

One-, two- and three-dimensional numerical results of the non-linear interaction between cosmic rays and a magnetic field are presented. These show that cosmic ray streaming drives large-amplitude Alfvénic waves. The cosmic ray streaming energy is very efficiently transferred to the perturbed magnetic field of the Alfvén waves, and the non-linear time-scale of the growth of the waves is found to be very rapid, of the order of the gyro-period of the cosmic ray. Thus, a magnetic field of interstellar values, assumed in models of supernova remnant blast wave acceleration, would not be appropriate in the region of the shock. The increased magnetic field reduces the cosmic ray acceleration time and so increases the maximum cosmic ray energy, which may provide a simple and elegant resolution to the highest energy Galactic cosmic ray problem, where the cosmic rays themselves provide the fields necessary for their acceleration.     

Calibration of the Cherenkov telescope array using cosmic ray electrons

Cosmic ray electrons represent a background for gamma-ray observations with Cherenkov telescopes, initiating air-showers which are difficult to distinguish from photon-initiated showers. This similarity, however, and the presence of cosmic ray electrons in every field observed, makes them potentially very useful for calibration purposes. Here we study the precision with which the relative energy scale and collection area/efficiency for photons can be established using electrons for a major next generation instrument such as CTA. We find that variations in collection efficiency on hour timescales can be corrected to better than 1%. Furthermore, the break in the electron spectrum at ∼ 0.9 TeV can be used to calibrate the energy scale at the 3% level on the same timescale. For observations on the order of hours, statistical errors become negligible below a few TeV and allow for an energy scale cross-check with instruments such as CALET and AMS. Cosmic ray electrons therefore provide a powerful calibration tool, either as an alternative to intensive atmospheric monitoring and modelling efforts, or for independent verification of such procedures.     

Demystifying an unidentified EGRET source by VHE gamma-ray observations

In a novel approach in observational high-energy gamma-ray astronomy, observations carried out by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes provide necessary templates to pinpoint the nature of intriguing, yet unidentified EGRET gamma-ray sources. Using GeV-photons detected by EGRET and taking advantage of high spatial resolution images from H.E.S.S. observations, we were able to shed new light on the EGRET observed gamma-ray emission in the Kookaburra complex, whose previous coverage in the literature is somewhat contradictory. 3EG J1420–6038 very likely accounts for two GeV gamma-ray sources (E>1 GeV), both in positional coincidence with the recently reported pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) by HESS in the Kookaburra/Rabbit complex. PWN associations at VHE energies, supported by accumulating evidence from observations in the radio and X-ray band, are indicative for the PSR/plerionic origin of spatially coincident, but still unidentified Galactic gamma-ray sources from EGRET. This not only supports the already suggested connection between variable, but unidentified low-latitude gamma-ray sources with pulsar wind nebulae (3EG J1420–6038 has been suggested as PWN candidate previously), it also documents the ability of resolving apparently confused EGRET sources by connecting the GeV emission as measured from a large-aperture space-based gamma-ray instrument with narrow field-of-view but superior spatial resolution observations by ground-based atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, a very promising identification technique for achieving convincing individual source identifications in the era of GLAST-LAT.