A Heitler model of extensive air showers

A simple, semi-empirical model is used to develop the hadronic portion of air showers in a manner analogous to the well-known Heitler splitting approximation of electromagnetic cascades. Various characteristics of EAS are plainly exhibited with numerical predictions in good accord with detailed Monte Carlo simulations and with data. Results for energy reconstruction, muon and electron sizes, the elongation rate, and for the effects of the atomic number of the primary are discussed.     

Searching for cluster substructure using APM and ROSAT data

We present a detailed study of the morphological features of 22 rich galaxy clusters. Our sample is constructed from a cross-correlation of optical     data with X-ray (0.1–2.4 keV) ROSAT pointed observations. We systematically compare cluster images and morphological parameters in an attempt to reliably identify possible substructure in both optical and the X-ray images. To this end, we compute various moments of the optical and X-ray surface-brightness distribution such as the ellipticities, centre-of-mass shifts and ellipsoidal orientations. We assess the significance of our results using Monte Carlo simulations. We find significant correlations between the optical and X-ray morphological parameters, indicating that in both parts of the spectrum it is possible to identify correctly the dynamical state of a cluster. Most of our clusters (17/22) have a good one-to-one correspondence between the optical and the X-ray images, and about 10 appear to have strong indications of substructure. This corresponds to a minimum percentage of order ∼45 per cent, which is in very good accordance with other similar analyses. Finally, five out of 22 systems (∼22 per cent) seem to have distinct subclumps in the optical which are not verified in the X-ray images, and thus are suspect of being due to optical projection effects. These results will serve as a useful guide in interpreting subsequent analyses of large optical cluster catalogues.     

Simulation Study on High Energy Cosmic Electron Detection by Shower Image

Many projects have recently been carried out and proposed for observing high energy electrons since it is realized that cosmic ray electrons are very important when studying the dark matter particles and the acceleration mechanism of cosmic rays. An imaging calorimeter, BETS （Balloon-borne Electron Telescope with Scintillator fiber）, has been developed for this purpose. Using pattern analysis of the shower development, the electrons can be selected from those primary cosmic ray proton events with flux heights one-tenth that of the electrons. The Monte-Carlo simulation is indispensable for the instrument design, the signal trigger and the data analysis. We present different shower simulation codes and compare the simulation results with the beam test and the flight data of BETS. We conclude that the code FLUKA2002 gives the most consistent results with the experimental data.     

Bianchi type-IX cosmic strings in a scalar-tensor theory of gravitation

Bianchi type-IX space-time is considered in the presence of cosmic string source in the frame work of a scalar- tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Saez and Ballester (Phys. Lett. A 113:467, 1985). Exact cosmological models representing geometric (Nambu) string, p string and baratropic string are discussed in this theory. Some physical and kinematical properties of the models are also studied.     

On the energy density of the cosmic microwave background

Starting from the assumption that the radiation source at the origin of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) could not have a luminosity larger than the maximum energy in ordinary matter divided by the minimum time allowed by causality, one arrives at an expression that gives the energy density of CMB as a function of the main cosmological parameters. Also, by defining a radiation charge as the hypothetical charge that opposes the congregation of a cloud of particles around a source of electromagnetic radiation, on arrives at another expression for the energy density of CMB that agrees exactly with the measured value for a value of the Hubble constant equal to 72.09 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹. Both expressions are independent of the redshift.     

Diffusion in momentum space as a picture of second-order Fermi acceleration

Energetic particles in a turbulent medium can be subject to second-order Fermi acceleration due to scattering on moving plasma waves. This mechanism leads to growing particle momentum dispersion and, at the same time, increases the mean particle energy. In the most frequently met situations both processes can be represented by a single momentum diffusion term in the particle kinetic equation. In the present paper we discuss the conditions allowing the additional term for regular acceleration to arise. For forward-backward asymmetric scattering centres, besides the diffusive term one should explicitly consider the regular acceleration term in momentum space, which can consist of the first-order (∝ V), as well as the second-order (∝ V²) part in the wave velocity V. We derive the condition for the scattering probability in the wave rest frame requied for vanishing the regular acceleration term and provide a simple mechanical example illustrating the theoretical concepts. Finally, we address its possible role in cosmic ray acceleration processes.     

Primary proton spectrum around the knee deduced from the emulsion-chamber data obtained at Mts. Fuji and Kanbala

We have done extensive Monte Carlo simulations using the new simulation codes of CORSIKA and COSMOS to compare with the gamma-family data obtained at Mts. Fuji (3750 m above sea level) and Kanbala (5500 m above sea level). Then, we estimated the primary proton and helium spectra around the knee energy region using a multiple-layered feed-forward neural network as a classifier of primary particle kind. The selection efficiency of proton-induced family events is estimated to be 82%. The flux value of protons at 2×10¹⁵ eV is (5.5±1.5)×10⁻¹⁴ (m⁻² s⁻¹ sr⁻¹ GeV⁻¹). The result suggests heavy-enriched primary composition around the knee region.     

APEX-SZ a Sunyaev–Zel’dovich galaxy cluster survey

The APEX-SZ experiment is a sky survey designed to discover galaxy clusters via the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effect at millimeter wavelengths. We describe the components of the instrument, including the 12 m Atacama Pathfinder Experiment telescope, optics, Transition-edge sensor bolometer array and SQUID readout. APEX-SZ will begin observations in 2004.     

Relative abundances of cosmic ray nuclei from neon to iron over Fort Churchill

The relative abundances of the nuclei from neon to iron in the energy interval 150–400 MeV/n have been estimated by using a balloon borne cellulose-nitrate plastic detector. The source abundances are obtained by extrapolating the near-earth abundances using leaky box model of cosmic ray propagation in the interstellar space. The results are compared with those of other investigators and a general agreement is obtained. However, a discrepancy arises especially in the case of Al which is not detected in the present investigation.     

Phenomenological explanation for the shape of the spectrum of cosmic rays with energies <Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis> > 10 GeV

Assuming that the energy gain by cosmic-ray (CR) particles is a stochastic process with stationary increments, we derive expressions for the shape of their energy spectrum up to energies E ～ 10¹⁸ eV. In the ultrarelativistic case under study, the energy is proportional to the momentum, whose time derivative is the force. According to the Fermi mechanism, a particle accelerates when it passes through a system of shock waves produced by supernova explosions. Since these random forces act on time scales much shorter than the particle lifetime, we assume them to be delta-correlated in time. In this case, due to the linear energy-momentum relationship, the mean square of the energy (increments) is proportional to the differential scale τ(E) ～ Eτ(≥E), where τ (≥E) is the cumulative time it takes for a particle to gain an energy ≥E. The probability of finding a particle with energy ≥E somewhere in the system is inversely proportional to the time it takes to gain the energy E. To estimate an upper limit for the space number density of CR particles, we use estimates of the CR volume energy density, a quantity known for our Galaxy. It is taken to be constant in the range 10 GeV ≤ E ≤ 3 × 10⁶ GeV, where the index of the energy spectrum was found to be ?8/3 ≈ ?2.67 against its empirical value of ?2.7. In the range 3 × 10⁶ GeV ≤ E < 10⁹ GeV, the upper limit for the volume energy density is estimated by using the results from the previous range to be ?28/9 ≈ ?3.11 against its empirical value of ?3.1. The numerical coefficients in the suggested shapes of the spectrum can be determined by comparison with observational data. Thus, the CR energy spectrumis the result of the random walks of ultrarelativistic particles in energy/momentum space caused by the Fermi mechanism.