WorldWideScience

Sample records for cosmic photons

  1. Photon losses in cosmic ray acceleration in active galactic nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colgate, S.A.

    1984-01-01

    The usual assumption of the acceleration of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays, greater than or equal to 10 18 eV in quasars, Seyfert galaxies, and other active galactic nuclei is challenged on the basis of the photon interactions with the accelerated nucleons. This is similar to the effect of the black body radiation on particles > 10 20 eV for times of the age of the universe except that the photon spectrum is harder and the energy density greater by approx. = 10 13 . Hence, a single traversal, radial or circumferential, of radiation whose energy density is no greater than the emitted flux will damp an ultrahigh energy cosmic ray 10 20 eV by greater than 10 4 times its energy. Hence, it is unlikely that any reasonable configuration of acceleration can avoid disastrous photon energy loss. A different site for ultrahigh energy cosmic ray acceleration must be found

  2. Photon damping in cosmic-ray acceleration in active galactic nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colgate, S.A.

    1983-01-01

    The usual assumption of the acceleration of ultra high energy cosmic rays, greater than or equal to 10 18 eV in quasars, Seyfert galaxies and other active galactic nuclei is challenged on the basis of the photon interactions with the accelerated nucleons. This is similar to the effect of the black body radiation on particles > 10 20 eV for times of the age of the universe except that the photon spectrum is harder and the energy density greater by approx. = 10 15 . Hence, a single traversal, radial or circumferential, of radiation whose energy density is no greater than the emitted flux will damp an ultra high energy. Hence, it is unlikely that any reasonable configuration of acceleration can void disastrous photon energy loss. A different site for ultra high energy cosmic ray acceleration must be found

  3. The absorbed dose in air of photons generated from secondary cosmic rays at sea level at Nagoya, Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akhmad, Y.R.

    1995-01-01

    Investigations have been carried out to determine the absorbed dose in air of photons generated from secondary cosmic radiation at sea level at Nagoya, Japan. To isolate the contribution from cosmic photons, the pulse-height distributions due to μ particles and electrons were eliminated from the observed pulse-height distribution of a measurement with a 3'' diam. spherical NaI(Tl) detector. The pulse height due to μ particles and electrons was inferred from the coincidence technique using two types of scintillation detectors with different sensitivities to photons. To obtain the photon fluence rate for further dose calculation, the pulse-height distribution of cosmic photons was unfolded by the iterative method. The mean and its standard deviation of the absorbed dose in air and fluence rate due to cosmic photons calculated from a one year observation are 2.86±0.05 nGy.h -1 and 0.1342±0.0015 photons.cm -2 .s -1 , respectively. The absorbed dose in air from cosmic photons was 0.5% lower during autumn to winter and 0.6% higher during spring to summer than the mean taken over the year. (author)

  4. Possible influence of cosmic ray Cerenkov photons on infrared interferometric search for non-solar planets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lerche, I.

    1980-01-01

    It is shown that the pervasive cosmic-ray protons in the vicinity of the Earth would produce infrared photons by Cerenkov radiation in the material walls, and mirrors, of an orbiting infrared interferometer designed to search for non-solar planets. The flux of such photons is at least comparable to the zodiacal infrared background radiation. It is found that for the worst possible conditions a minimum time of about six weeks is indicated for planetary detection using a fourth-harmonic noise analysis. It is suggested that direct laboratory measurement of a simulated cosmic-ray-induced Cerenkov flux be undertaken to settle the question of the background contaminant produced by this effect. (Auth.)

  5. Microwave background constraints on mixing of photons with hidden photons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirizzi, Alessandro; Redondo, Javier; Sigl, Guenter

    2008-12-01

    Various extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of hidden photons kinetically mixing with the ordinary photon. This mixing leads to oscillations between photons and hidden photons, analogous to the observed oscillations between different neutrino flavors. In this context, we derive new bounds on the photon-hidden photon mixing parameters using the high precision cosmic microwave background spectral data collected by the Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer instrument on board of the Cosmic Background Explorer. Requiring the distortions of the CMB induced by the photon-hidden photon mixing to be smaller than experimental upper limits, this leads to a bound on the mixing angle χ 0 -7 - 10 -5 for hidden photon masses between 10 -14 eV and 10 -7 eV. This low-mass and low-mixing region of the hidden photon parameter space was previously unconstrained. (orig.)

  6. Cosmic radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Capdevielle, J N

    1984-01-01

    First, the different instruments and techniques of cosmic particle detection are presented. Then the passage of the cosmic particles through the atmosphere is studied: electrons, photons, muons. The collective behavior of the different categories is also studied, the electromagnetic cascade is distinguished from the hadron cascade. Through the principal physical properties of the radiation and the medium, the ''mean'' aspects of the radiation are then successively dealt with out of the atmosphere, at different altitudes until the sea level, then at great depths. A chapter is devoted to cosmic radiation of more than 10,000 GeV, studied separately. Then solar radiation in universe is studied through their propagation in solar system and their origin. At last, the cosmic radiation effects are studied in environment (cosmic biophysics) and some applications of cosmic radiation are presented.

  7. Microwave background constraints on mixing of photons with hidden photons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mirizzi, Alessandro [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany); Redondo, Javier [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Sigl, Guenter [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). 2. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik

    2008-12-15

    Various extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of hidden photons kinetically mixing with the ordinary photon. This mixing leads to oscillations between photons and hidden photons, analogous to the observed oscillations between different neutrino flavors. In this context, we derive new bounds on the photon-hidden photon mixing parameters using the high precision cosmic microwave background spectral data collected by the Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer instrument on board of the Cosmic Background Explorer. Requiring the distortions of the CMB induced by the photon-hidden photon mixing to be smaller than experimental upper limits, this leads to a bound on the mixing angle {chi}{sub 0}

  8. Cosmic ray: Studying the origin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    1997-01-01

    Investigations of the origin of cosmic rays are presented. Different methods are discussed: studies of cosmic gamma rays of energy from 30 MeV to about 10 15 eV (since photons point to their places of origin), studies of the mass composition of cosmic rays (because it reflects source morphology), and studies of cosmic rays with energy above 1O 19 eV (for these are the highest energies observed in nature). (author)

  9. Investigation of Avalanche Photodiodes and Multipixel Photon Counters as Light Detectors for Cosmic Rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasquez, Jaime; Saavedra, Arthur; Ramos, Roxana; Tavares, Pablo; Wade, Marcus; Fan, Sewan; Haag, Brooke

    2013-04-01

    Through the Research Scholars Institute, students of Hartnell Community College experimented with the application of avalanche photodiodes (APDs) as cosmic ray detectors during the summer of 2012. An APD detector was coupled with a 10 meter long wavelength shifting fiber (WSF) wrapped around a cylindrical plastic scintillator to maximize signal detection. A photomultiplier tube (PMT) was used in conjunction to detect the same scintillation light caused by incoming cosmic rays. Two APD detectors were evaluated to confirm the viability of the setup. In addition, a similar setup was recently utilized to implement multi-pixel photon counters (MPPCs) as readout detectors. Under this configuration, a high gain preamplifier was used to amplify the signals for both the MPPC and APD detectors. We report on our results characterizing the MPPC and discuss its overall performance. Compared to the APD, our findings suggest that the MPPC detector has greater sensitivity in detecting weak light signals, and can be used in place of the PMT for certain counting applications.

  10. Cosmic ray: Studying the origin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Szabelski, J. [Cosmic Ray Laboratory, Soltan Institute for Nuclear Studies, Lodz (Poland)

    1997-12-31

    Investigations of the origin of cosmic rays are presented. Different methods are discussed: studies of cosmic gamma rays of energy from 30 MeV to about 10{sup 15} eV (since photons point to their places of origin), studies of the mass composition of cosmic rays (because it reflects source morphology), and studies of cosmic rays with energy above 1O{sup 19} eV (for these are the highest energies observed in nature). (author) 101 refs, 19 figs, 7 tabs

  11. An upper limit to the photon fraction in cosmic rays above 10**19-eV from the Pierre Auger Observatory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abraham, J.; Aglietta, M.; Aguirre, C.; Allard, D.; Allekotte, I.; Allison, P.; Alvarez, C.; Alvarez-Muniz, J.; Ambrosio, M.; Anchordoqui, L.; Anjos, J.C.; /Centro Atomico Bariloche /Buenos Aires, CONICET /La Plata U. /Pierre Auger Observ. /CNEA, San Martin /Adelaide U. /Catholic U. of Bolivia, La Paz /Bolivia U. /Sao Paulo U. /Campinas State U. /UEFS, Feira de Santana

    2006-06-01

    An upper limit of 16% (at 95% c.l.) is derived for the photon fraction in cosmic rays with energies above 10{sup 19} eV, based on observations of the depth of shower maximum performed with the hybrid detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. This is the first such limit on photons obtained by observing the fluorescence light profile of air showers. This upper limit confirms and improves on previous results from the Haverah Park and AGASA surface arrays. Additional data recorded with the Auger surface detectors for a subset of the event sample, support the conclusion that a photon origin of the observed events is not favored.

  12. Constraints on cosmic strings due to black holes formed from collapsed cosmic string loops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caldwell, R.R.; Gates, E.

    1993-05-01

    The cosmological features of primordial black holes formed from collapsed cosmic string loops are studied. Observational restrictions on a population of primordial black holes are used to restrict f, the fraction of cosmic string loops which collapse to form black holes, and μ, the cosmic string mass-per-unit-length. Using a realistic model of cosmic strings, we find the strongest restriction on the parameters f and μ is due to the energy density in 100MeV photons radiated by the black holes. We also find that inert black hole remnants cannot serve as the dark matter. If earlier, crude estimates of f are reliable, our results severely restrict μ, and therefore limit the viability of the cosmic string large-scale structure scenario

  13. Cosmic physics: the high energy frontier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stecker, F W

    2003-01-01

    Cosmic rays have been observed up to energies 10 8 times larger than those of the best particle accelerators. Studies of astrophysical particles (hadrons, neutrinos and photons) at their highest observed energies have implications for fundamental physics as well as astrophysics. Thus, the cosmic high energy frontier is the nexus to new particle physics. This overview discusses recent advances being made in the physics and astrophysics of cosmic rays and cosmic γ-rays at the highest observed energies as well as the related physics and astrophysics of very high energy cosmic neutrinos. These topics touch on questions of grand unification, violations of Lorentz invariance as well as Planck scale physics and quantum gravity. (topical review)

  14. Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory: a global cosmic ray detection framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sushchov, O.; Homola, P.; Dhital, N.; Bratek, Ł.; Poznański, P.; Wibig, T.; Zamora-Saa, J.; Almeida Cheminant, K.; Alvarez Castillo, D.; Góra, D.; Jagoda, P.; Jałocha, J.; Jarvis, J. F.; Kasztelan, M.; Kopański, K.; Krupiński, M.; Michałek, M.; Nazari, V.; Smelcerz, K.; Smolek, K.; Stasielak, J.; Sułek, M.

    2017-12-01

    The main objective of the Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) is the detection and analysis of extended cosmic ray phenomena, so-called super-preshowers (SPS), using existing as well as new infrastructure (cosmic-ray observatories, educational detectors, single detectors etc.). The search for ensembles of cosmic ray events initiated by SPS is yet an untouched ground, in contrast to the current state-of-the-art analysis, which is focused on the detection of single cosmic ray events. Theoretical explanation of SPS could be given either within classical (e.g., photon-photon interaction) or exotic (e.g., Super Heavy Dark Matter decay or annihilation) scenarios, thus detection of SPS would provide a better understanding of particle physics, high energy astrophysics and cosmology. The ensembles of cosmic rays can be classified based on the spatial and temporal extent of particles constituting the ensemble. Some classes of SPS are predicted to have huge spatial distribution, a unique signature detectable only with a facility of the global size. Since development and commissioning of a completely new facility with such requirements is economically unwarranted and time-consuming, the global analysis goals are achievable when all types of existing detectors are merged into a worldwide network. The idea to use the instruments in operation is based on a novel trigger algorithm: in parallel to looking for neighbour surface detectors receiving the signal simultaneously, one should also look for spatially isolated stations clustered in a small time window. On the other hand, CREDO strategy is also aimed at an active engagement of a large number of participants, who will contribute to the project by using common electronic devices (e.g., smartphones), capable of detecting cosmic rays. It will help not only in expanding the geographical spread of CREDO, but also in managing a large manpower necessary for a more efficient crowd-sourced pattern recognition scheme to

  15. Isotherms clustering in cosmic microwave background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bershadskii, A.

    2006-01-01

    Isotherms clustering in cosmic microwave background (CMB) has been studied using the 3-year WMAP data on cosmic microwave background radiation. It is shown that the isotherms clustering could be produced by the baryon-photon fluid turbulence in the last scattering surface. The Taylor-microscale Reynolds number of the turbulence is estimated directly from the CMB data as Re λ ∼10 2

  16. Cosmic rays and the interstellar medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolfendale, A.W.

    1986-01-01

    It is inevitable that there is a close connection between cosmic rays and the ISM insofar as the propagation of cosmic rays is conditioned by the magnetic field in the ISM and the cosmic rays interact with the gas (and photon fluxes) in this medium. This paper deals with both topics. Propagation effects manifest themselves as an anisotropy in arrival directions and a review is given of anisotropy measurements and their interpretation. The status of studies of cosmic ray interactions is examined whit particular reference to the information about the ISM itself which comes from observations of the flux of secondary γ-rays produced by cosmic ray interactions with gas, the situation regarding molecular as in the Inner Galaxy being of particular concern

  17. Cosmic ray physics goes to school

    CERN Multimedia

    2002-01-01

    With the help of a CERN physicist, German Schools bring the Largest Cosmic Ray Detector in Europe one step closer to reality   Eric Berthier and Robert Porret (CERN, ST/HM), Frej Torp and Christian Antfolk from the Polytechnics Arcada in Finland, and Karsten Eggert, physicist at CERN who initiated this project, during the installation of cosmic ray detectors in the Pays de Gex, at point 4. Niina Patrikainen and Frej Torp, Finnish students from Rovaniemi and Arcada Polytechnics, installing cosmic ray counters at the Fachhochschule in Duesseldorf. The science of cosmic ray detection is growing, literally. Cosmic rays, energetic particles from space, strike our planet all the time. They collide with the air molecules in our upper atmosphere and initiate large showers of elementary particles (mainly electrons, photons, hadrons and muons) which rain down upon the earth. The shower size and the particle density in the showers reflect the initial energy of the cosmic ray particle, a detail which makes d...

  18. Diffuse fluxes of cosmic high-energy neutrinos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stecker, F.W.

    1979-01-01

    Production spectra of high-energy neutrinos from galactic cosmic-ray interactions with interstellar gas and extragalactic ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray interactions with microwave blackbody photons are presented and discussed. These production processes involve the decay of charged pions and are thus related to the production of cosmic γ-rays from the decay of neutral pions. Estimates of the neutrino fluxes from various diffuse cosmic sources are then made, and the reasons for significant differences with previous estimates are discussed. Small predicted event rates for a DUMAND type detection system, combined with a possible significant flux of prompt neutrinos from the atmosphere above 50 TeV, may make the study of diffuse extraterrestrial neutrinos more difficult than previously thought

  19. Propagation of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanev, Todor [Bartol Research Institute and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (United States)], E-mail: stanev@bartol.udel.edu

    2009-06-15

    We briefly describe the energy loss processes of ultrahigh-energy protons, heavier nuclei and {gamma}-rays in interactions with the universal photon fields of the Universe. We then discuss the modification of the accelerated cosmic-ray energy spectrum in propagation by the energy loss processes and the charged cosmic-ray scattering in the extragalactic magnetic fields. The energy lost by the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays goes into {gamma}-rays and neutrinos that carry additional information about the sources of highest energy particles. The new experimental results of the HiRes and the Auger collaborations are discussed in view of the predictions from propagation calculations.

  20. Z-burst scenario for the highest energy cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fodor, Z.

    2002-10-01

    The origin of highest energy cosmic rays is yet unknown. An appealing possibility is the so-called Z-burst scenario, in which a large fraction of these cosmic rays are decay products of Z bosons produced in the scattering of ultrahigh energy neutrinos on cosmological relic neutrinos. The comparison between the observed and predicted spectra constrains the mass of the heaviest neutrino. The required neutrino mass is fairly robust against variations of the presently unknown quantities, such as the amount of relic neutrino clustering, the universal photon radio background and the extragalactic magnetic field. Considering different possibilities for the ordinary cosmic rays the required neutrino masses are determined. In the most plausible case that the ordinary cosmic rays are of extragalactic origin and the universal radio background is strong enough to suppress high energy photons, the required neutrino mass is 0.08 eV ≤ m ν ≤ 0.40 eV. The required ultrahigh energy neutrino flux should be detected in the near future by experiments such as AMANDA, RICE or the Pierre Auger Observatory. (orig.)

  1. Large vessel imaging using cosmic-ray muons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jenneson, P.M.

    2004-01-01

    Cosmic-ray muons are assessed for their practical use in the tomographic imaging of the internal composition of large vessels over 2 m in diameter. The technique is based on the attenuation and scattering of cosmic-ray muons passing through a vessel and has advantages over photon-based methods of tomography that it is extendable to object containing high-density materials over many tens of metres. The main disadvantage is the length of time required to produce images of sufficient resolution and hence cosmic ray muon tomography will be most suited to the imaging of large structures whose internal composition is effectively static for the duration of the imaging period. Simulation and theoretical results are presented here which demonstrate the feasibility of cosmic ray muon tomography

  2. Constraining resonant photon-axion conversions in the Early Universe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirizzi, Alessandro; Redondo, Javier; Sigl, Guenter

    2009-05-01

    The presence of a primordial magnetic field would have induced resonant conversions between photons and axion-like particles (ALPs) during the thermal history of the Universe. These conversions would have distorted the blackbody spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In this context, we derive bounds on the photon-ALP resonant conversions using the high precision CMB spectral data collected by the FIRAS instrument on board of the Cosmic Background Explorer. We obtain upper limits on the product of the photon-ALP coupling constant g times the magnetic field strength B down to gB -13 GeV -1 nG for ALP masses below the eV scale. (orig.)

  3. Progress in high-energy cosmic ray physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mollerach, S.; Roulet, E.

    2018-01-01

    We review some of the recent progress in our knowledge about high-energy cosmic rays, with an emphasis on the interpretation of the different observational results. We discuss the effects that are relevant to shape the cosmic ray spectrum and the explanations proposed to account for its features and for the observed changes in composition. The physics of air-showers is summarized and we also present the results obtained on the proton-air cross section and on the muon content of the showers. We discuss the cosmic ray propagation through magnetic fields, the effects of diffusion and of magnetic lensing, the cosmic ray interactions with background radiation fields and the production of secondary neutrinos and photons. We also consider the cosmic ray anisotropies, both at large and small angular scales, presenting the results obtained from the TeV up to the highest energies and discuss the models proposed to explain their origin.

  4. LHCf sheds new light on cosmic rays

    CERN Multimedia

    Anaïs Schaeffer

    2011-01-01

    The energy spectrum of the single photon obtained using data from the LHCf experiment has turned out to be very different from that predicted by the theoretical models used until now to describe the interactions between very high-energy cosmic rays and the earth's atmosphere. The consequences of this discrepancy for cosmic ray studies could be significant.   Artistic impression of cosmic rays entering Earth's atmosphere. (Credit: Asimmetrie/Infn). It took physicists by surprise when analysis of the data collected by the two LHCf calorimeters in 2010 showed that high-energy cosmic rays don't interact with the atmosphere in the manner predicted by theory. The LHCf detectors, set up 140 metres either side of the ATLAS interaction point, are dedicated to the study of the secondary particles emitted at very small angles during proton-proton collisions in the LHC, with energies comparable to cosmic rays entering the earth's atmosphere at 2.5x1016 eV. The aim of the experiment is to r...

  5. Infra-red photon release from cosmic dust entering into the earth's atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, Koichi

    1975-01-01

    Cosmic dust brings considerably high intensity of energy flux to the upper atmosphere of the earth. Most of this energy can be converted to infra-red radiation. It can be concluded that the infra-red background radiation in the sky of its wavelength of less than about 10μ may considerably originate in the cosmic dust which has entered the earth's atmosphere, or that the upper limit to the flux of cosmic dust is about 10 5 tons/earth year. (author)

  6. Cosmic ray propagation with CRPropa 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batista, R Alves; Evoli, C; Sigl, G; Van Vliet, A; Erdmann, M; Kuempel, D; Mueller, G; Walz, D; Kampert, K-H; Winchen, T

    2015-01-01

    Solving the question of the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) requires the development of detailed simulation tools in order to interpret the experimental data and draw conclusions on the UHECR universe. CRPropa is a public Monte Carlo code for the galactic and extragalactic propagation of cosmic ray nuclei above ∼ 10 17 eV, as well as their photon and neutrino secondaries. In this contribution the new algorithms and features of CRPropa 3, the next major release, are presented. CRPropa 3 introduces time-dependent scenarios to include cosmic evolution in the presence of cosmic ray deflections in magnetic fields. The usage of high resolution magnetic fields is facilitated by shared memory parallelism, modulated fields and fields with heterogeneous resolution. Galactic propagation is enabled through the implementation of galactic magnetic field models, as well as an efficient forward propagation technique through transformation matrices. To make use of the large Python ecosystem in astrophysics CRPropa 3 can be steered and extended in Python. (paper)

  7. Constraining resonant photon-axion conversions in the Early Universe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mirizzi, Alessandro [Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Inst.), Muenchen (Germany); Redondo, Javier [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Sigl, Guenter [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). II. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik

    2009-05-15

    The presence of a primordial magnetic field would have induced resonant conversions between photons and axion-like particles (ALPs) during the thermal history of the Universe. These conversions would have distorted the blackbody spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In this context, we derive bounds on the photon-ALP resonant conversions using the high precision CMB spectral data collected by the FIRAS instrument on board of the Cosmic Background Explorer. We obtain upper limits on the product of the photon-ALP coupling constant g times the magnetic field strength B down to gB

  8. Half a century of cosmic x-ray research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Makishima, Kazuo; Takahashi, Tadayuki

    2012-01-01

    The year of 2012, which is the centennial of the cosmic-ray discovery, happens to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources. First carried by cosmic-ray physicists, the study of cosmic X-rays has made explosive developments over the last half a century, and has established the X-ray wavelength as an indispensable window onto the Universe. Among a variety of X-ray emitting celestial objects, we choose here neutron stars as a representative, and review the 50 years connecting the dawn era of the research and the state-of-the-art ASTRO-H satellite to be launched in 2014. In this article, 'X-rays' mean energetic photons with energies from 0.1 keV up to a few hundreds keV. (author)

  9. Ashra Neutrino Telescope Array (NTA): Combined Imaging Observation of Astroparticles — For Clear Identification of Cosmic Accelerators and Fundamental Physics Using Cosmic Beams —

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasaki, Makoto; Kifune, Tadashi

    In VHEPA (very high energy particle astronomy) 2014 workshop, focused on the next generation explorers for the origin of cosmic rays, held in Kashiwa, Japan, reviewing and discussions were presented on the status of the observation of GeV-TeV photons, TeV-PeV neutrinos, EeV-ZeV hadrons, test of interaction models with Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and theoretical aspects of astrophysics. The acceleration sites of hadrons, i.e., sources of PeV-EeV cosmic rays, should exist in the universe within the GZK-horizon even in the remotest case. We also affirmed that the hadron acceleration mechanism correlates with cosmic ray composition so that it is important to investigate the acceleration mechanism in relevance to the composition survey at PeV-EeV energy. We regard that LHC and astrophysics theories are ready to be used to probe into hadron acceleration mechanism in the universe. Recently, IceCube has reported detection of three events of neutrinos with energies around 1 PeV and additional events at lower energies, which significantly deviate from the expected level of background events. It is necessary to observe GeV-TeV photon, EeV-ZeV hadron and TeV-PeV neutrino all together, in order to understand hadronic interactions of cosmic rays in the PeV-EeV energy region. It is required to make a step further toward exploring the PeV-EeV universe with high accuracy and high statistics observations for both neutrinos and gamma rays simultaneously, by using the instrument such as Ashra Neutrino Telescope Array (NTA). Wide and fine survey of gamma-rays and neutrinos with simultaneously detecting Cherenkov and fluorescence light with NTA will guide us to a new intriguing stage of recognizing astronomical objects and non-thermal phenomena in ultra-high energy region, in addition, new aspect about the fundamental concepts of physics beyond our presently limited understanding; the longstanding problem of cosmic ray origin, the radiation mechanism of gamma-rays, neutrino and

  10. How to detect the cosmic neutrino background?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ringwald, A.

    2003-01-01

    A measurement of the big bang relic neutrinos would open a new window to the early universe. We review various possibilities to detect this cosmic neutrino background and substantiate the assertion that - apart from the rather indirect evidence to be gained from cosmology and large-scale structure formation - the annihilation of ultrahigh energy cosmic neutrinos with relic anti-neutrinos (or vice versa) on the Z-resonance is a unique process having sensitivity to the relic neutrinos, if a sufficient flux at E ν i res =M Z 2 /(2m ν i )=4.10 22 eV (0.1 eV/m ν i ) exists. The associated absorption dips in the ultrahigh energy cosmic neutrino spectrum may be searched for at forthcoming neutrino and air shower detectors. The associated protons and photons may have been seen already in form of the cosmic ray events above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff. (orig.)

  11. Signatures of cosmic-ray interactions on the solar surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seckel, D.; Stanev, Todor; Gaisser, T. K.

    1991-01-01

    The fluxes of neutrinos, gamma rays, antiprotons, neutrons, and antineutrons that result from collisions of high-energy Galactic cosmic rays with the solar atmosphere are estimated. The results are sensitive to assumptions about cosmic-ray transport in the magnetic fields of the inner solar system. The high-energy photon flux should be observable by the Gamma Ray Observatory. The neutrino flux should produce less than one event per year in the next generation of neutrino telescopes. The antiproton flux is unobservable against the Galactic background. The neutron and antineutron fluxes are detectable only if neutrons produced in terrestrial cosmic-ray events may be discriminated against.

  12. Sky emission at 0.4 meV and beyond the EeV: cosmology and cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamilton, Jean-Christophe

    2009-01-01

    In this HDR (Accreditation to supervise research) report, the author gives an overview of his research activities in cosmology, and more particularly in the fields of cosmic rays (problematic of cosmic rays and the Pierre Auger Observatory, search for anisotropies in cosmic radiation, search for photons), and of the cosmologic diffuse background (cosmologic context, the Archeops experiment, bolometric interferometry) [fr

  13. The observable signature of late heating of the Universe during cosmic reionization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fialkov, Anastasia; Barkana, Rennan; Visbal, Eli

    2014-02-13

    Models and simulations of the epoch of reionization predict that spectra of the 21-centimetre transition of atomic hydrogen will show a clear fluctuation peak, at a redshift and scale, respectively, that mark the central stage of reionization and the characteristic size of ionized bubbles. This is based on the assumption that the cosmic gas was heated by stellar remnants-particularly X-ray binaries-to temperatures well above the cosmic microwave background at that time (about 30 kelvin). Here we show instead that the hard spectra (that is, spectra with more high-energy photons than low-energy photons) of X-ray binaries make such heating ineffective, resulting in a delayed and spatially uniform heating that modifies the 21-centimetre signature of reionization. Rather than looking for a simple rise and fall of the large-scale fluctuations (peaking at several millikelvin), we must expect a more complex signal also featuring a distinct minimum (at less than a millikelvin) that marks the rise of the cosmic mean gas temperature above the microwave background. Observing this signal, possibly with radio telescopes in operation today, will demonstrate the presence of a cosmic background of hard X-rays at that early time.

  14. Measurement of cosmic-ray muons with the Distributed Electronic Cosmic-ray Observatory, a network of smartphones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vandenbroucke, J.; Bravo, S.; Karn, P.; Meehan, M.; Plewa, M.; Schultz, D.; Tosi, D.; BenZvi, S.; Jensen, K.; Peacock, J.; Ruggles, T.; Santander, M.; Simons, A.L.

    2016-01-01

    Solid-state camera image sensors can be used to detect ionizing radiation in addition to optical photons. We describe the Distributed Electronic Cosmic-ray Observatory (DECO), an app and associated public database that enables a network of consumer devices to detect cosmic rays and other ionizing radiation. In addition to terrestrial background radiation, cosmic-ray muon candidate events are detected as long, straight tracks passing through multiple pixels. The distribution of track lengths can be related to the thickness of the active (depleted) region of the camera image sensor through the known angular distribution of muons at sea level. We use a sample of candidate muon events detected by DECO to measure the thickness of the depletion region of the camera image sensor in a particular consumer smartphone model, the HTC Wildfire S. The track length distribution is fit better by a cosmic-ray muon angular distribution than an isotropic distribution, demonstrating that DECO can detect and identify cosmic-ray muons despite a background of other particle detections. Using the cosmic-ray distribution, we measure the depletion thickness to be 26.3 ± 1.4 μm. With additional data, the same method can be applied to additional models of image sensor. Once measured, the thickness can be used to convert track length to incident polar angle on a per-event basis. Combined with a determination of the incident azimuthal angle directly from the track orientation in the sensor plane, this enables direction reconstruction of individual cosmic-ray events using a single consumer device. The results simultaneously validate the use of cell phone camera image sensors as cosmic-ray muon detectors and provide a measurement of a parameter of camera image sensor performance which is not otherwise publicly available

  15. Cosmic radiation and air crew exposure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vukovic, B.; Lisjak, I.; Vekic, B.; Planinic, J.

    2005-01-01

    When the primary particles from space, mainly protons, enter the atmosphere, they interact with the air nuclei and induce cosmic-ray shower. When an aircraft is in the air, the radiation field within includes many types of radiation of large energy range; the field comprises mainly photons, electrons, positrons and neutrons. Cosmic radiation dose for crews of air crafts A 320 and ATR 42 was measured using TLD-100 (LiF: Mg, Ti) detectors and the Mini 6100 semiconductor dosimeter; radon concentration in the atmosphere was measured using the Alpha Guard radon detector. The total annual dose estimated for the A 320 aircraft crew, at altitudes up to 12000 meters, was 5.3 mSv (including natural radon radiation dose of 1.1 mSv).(author)

  16. Cosmic rays and the search for a Lorentz Invariance Violation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bietenholz, Wolfgang, E-mail: wolbi@nucleares.unam.mx

    2011-08-15

    This is an introductory review about the ongoing search for a signal of Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV) in cosmic rays. We first summarise basic aspects of cosmic rays, focusing on rays of ultrahigh energy (UHECRs). We discuss the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min (GZK) energy cutoff for cosmic protons, which is predicted due to photopion production in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). This is a process of modest energy in the proton rest frame. It can be investigated to a high precision in the laboratory, if Lorentz transformations apply even at factors {gamma}{approx}O(10{sup 11}). For heavier nuclei, the energy attenuation is even faster due to photo-disintegration, again if this process is Lorentz invariant. Hence the viability of Lorentz symmetry up to tremendous {gamma}-factors-far beyond accelerator tests-is a central issue. Next, we comment on conceptual aspects of Lorentz Invariance and the possibility of its spontaneous breaking. This could lead to slightly particle dependent 'Maximal Attainable Velocities'. We discuss their effect in decays, Cerenkov radiation, the GZK cutoff and neutrino oscillation in cosmic rays. We also review the search for LIV in cosmic {gamma}-rays. For multi-TeV {gamma}-rays, we encounter another possible puzzle related to the transparency of the CMB, similar to the GZK cutoff, due to electron/positron creation and subsequent inverse Compton scattering. The photons emitted in a Gamma Ray Burst occur at lower energies, but their very long path provides access to information not that far from the Planck scale. We discuss conceivable nonlinear photon dispersions based on non-commutative geometry or effective approaches. No LIV has been observed so far. However, even extremely tiny LIV effects could change the predictions for cosmic ray physics drastically. An Appendix is devoted to the recent results by the Pierre Auger Collaboration, in particular the hypothesis that nearby Active Galactic Nuclei-or objects next to

  17. Cosmic rays and the search for a Lorentz Invariance Violation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bietenholz, Wolfgang

    2008-11-01

    This is an introductory review about the on-going search for a signal of Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV) in cosmic rays. We first summarise basic aspects of cosmic rays, focusing on rays of ultra high energy (UHECRs). We discuss the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min (GZK) energy cutoff for cosmic protons, which is predicted due to photopion production in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). This is a process of modest energy in the proton rest frame. It can be investigated to a high precision in the laboratory, if Lorentz transformations apply even at factors γ ∝ O(10 11 ). For heavier nuclei the energy attenuation is even faster due to photo-disintegration, again if this process is Lorentz invariant. Hence the viability of Lorentz symmetry up to tremendous γ-factors - far beyond accelerator tests - is a central issue. Next we comment on conceptual aspects of Lorentz Invariance and the possibility of its spontaneous breaking. This could lead to slightly particle dependent ''Maximal Attainable Velocities''. We discuss their effect in decays, Cerenkov radiation, the GZK cutoff and neutrino oscillation in cosmic rays. We also review the search for LIV in cosmic γ-rays. For multi TeV γ-rays we possibly encounter another puzzle related to the transparency of the CMB, similar to the GZK cutoff, due to electron/positron creation and subsequent inverse Compton scattering. The photons emitted in a Gamma Ray Burst occur at lower energies, but their very long path provides access to information not far from the Planck scale. We discuss conceivable non-linear photon dispersions based on non-commutative geometry or effective approaches. No LIV has been observed so far. However, even extremely tiny LIV effects could change the predictions for cosmic ray physics drastically. An Appendix is devoted to the recent hypothesis by the Pierre Auger Collaboration, which identifies nearby Active Galactic Nuclei - or objects next to them - as probable UHECR sources. (orig.)

  18. Cosmic rays and the search for a Lorentz Invariance Violation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bietenholz, Wolfgang [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany). John von Neumann-Inst. fuer Computing NIC

    2008-11-15

    This is an introductory review about the on-going search for a signal of Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV) in cosmic rays. We first summarise basic aspects of cosmic rays, focusing on rays of ultra high energy (UHECRs). We discuss the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min (GZK) energy cutoff for cosmic protons, which is predicted due to photopion production in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). This is a process of modest energy in the proton rest frame. It can be investigated to a high precision in the laboratory, if Lorentz transformations apply even at factors {gamma} {proportional_to} O(10{sup 11}). For heavier nuclei the energy attenuation is even faster due to photo-disintegration, again if this process is Lorentz invariant. Hence the viability of Lorentz symmetry up to tremendous {gamma}-factors - far beyond accelerator tests - is a central issue. Next we comment on conceptual aspects of Lorentz Invariance and the possibility of its spontaneous breaking. This could lead to slightly particle dependent ''Maximal Attainable Velocities''. We discuss their effect in decays, Cerenkov radiation, the GZK cutoff and neutrino oscillation in cosmic rays. We also review the search for LIV in cosmic {gamma}-rays. For multi TeV {gamma}-rays we possibly encounter another puzzle related to the transparency of the CMB, similar to the GZK cutoff, due to electron/positron creation and subsequent inverse Compton scattering. The photons emitted in a Gamma Ray Burst occur at lower energies, but their very long path provides access to information not far from the Planck scale. We discuss conceivable non-linear photon dispersions based on non-commutative geometry or effective approaches. No LIV has been observed so far. However, even extremely tiny LIV effects could change the predictions for cosmic ray physics drastically. An Appendix is devoted to the recent hypothesis by the Pierre Auger Collaboration, which identifies nearby Active Galactic Nuclei - or objects

  19. Can the Copernican principle be tested using the cosmic neutrino background?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jia, Junji; Zhang, Hongbao

    2008-01-01

    The Copernican principle, stating that we do not occupy any special place in our universe, is usually taken for granted in modern cosmology. However recent observational supernova data indicate that we may live in the under-dense center of our universe, which challenges the Copernican principle. It thus becomes urgent and important to test the Copernican principle via cosmological observations. Taking into account that unlike cosmic photons, cosmic neutrinos of different energies come from different places to us, along different worldlines, we here propose using the cosmic neutrino background as a test of the Copernican principle. It is shown that from the theoretical perspective, the cosmic neutrino background can allow one to determine whether the Copernican principle is valid or not, but to implement such an observation, larger neutrino detectors are called for

  20. Physics of the Cosmic Microwave Background and the Planck Mission

    CERN Document Server

    Kurki-Suonio, Hannu

    2012-01-01

    This lecture is a sketch of the physics of the cosmic microwave background. The observed anisotropy can be divided into four main contributions: variations in the temperature and gravitational potential of the primordial plasma, Doppler effect from its motion, and a net red/blueshift the photons accumulate from traveling through evolving gravitational potentials on their way from the primordial plasma to here. These variations are due to primordial perturbations, probably caused by quantum fluctuations in the very early universe. The ongoing Planck satellite mission to observe the cosmic microwave background is also described.

  1. Signatures of a hidden cosmic microwave background.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaeckel, Joerg; Redondo, Javier; Ringwald, Andreas

    2008-09-26

    If there is a light Abelian gauge boson gamma' in the hidden sector its kinetic mixing with the photon can produce a hidden cosmic microwave background (HCMB). For meV masses, resonant oscillations gammagamma' happen after big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) but before CMB decoupling, increasing the effective number of neutrinos Nnu(eff) and the baryon to photon ratio, and distorting the CMB blackbody spectrum. The agreement between BBN and CMB data provides new constraints. However, including Lyman-alpha data, Nnu(eff) > 3 is preferred. It is tempting to attribute this effect to the HCMB. The interesting parameter range will be tested in upcoming laboratory experiments.

  2. Non-universal spectra of ultra-high energy cosmic ray primaries and secondaries in a structured universe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sigl, Guenter

    2007-01-01

    Analytical calculations of extra-galactic cosmic ray spectra above ∼ 10 17 eV are often performed assuming continuous source distributions, giving rise to spectra that depend little on the propagation mode, be it rectilinear or diffusive. We perform trajectory simulations for proton primaries in the probably more realistic case of discrete sources with a density of ∼ 10 -5 Mpc -3 . We find two considerable non-universal effects that depend on source distributions and magnetic fields: First, the primary extra-galactic cosmic ray flux can become strongly suppressed below a few 10 18 eV due to partial confinement in magnetic fields surrounding sources. Second, the secondary photon to primary cosmic ray flux ratio between ≅ 3 x 10 18 eV and ≅ 10 20 eV decreases with decreasing source density and increasing magnetization. As a consequence, in acceleration scenarios for the origin of highest energy cosmic rays the fraction of secondary photons may be difficult to detect even for experiments such as Pierre Auger. The cosmogenic neutrino flux does not significantly depend on source density and magnetization. (author)

  3. Massive hidden photons as lukewarm dark matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Redondo, Javier; Postma, Marieke

    2008-11-01

    We study the possibility that a keV-MeV mass hidden photon (HP), i.e. a hidden sector U(1) gauge boson, accounts for the observed amount of dark matter. We focus on the case where the HP interacts with the standard model sector only through kinetic mixing with the photon. The relic abundance is computed including all relevant plasma effects into the photon's self-energy, which leads to a resonant yield almost independent of the HP mass. The HP can decay into three photons. Moreover, if light enough it can be copiously produced in stars. Including bounds from cosmic photon backgrounds and stellar evolution, we find that the hidden photon can only give a subdominant contribution to the dark matter. This negative conclusion may be avoided if another production mechanism besides kinetic mixing is operative. (orig.)

  4. Massive hidden photons as lukewarm dark matter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Redondo, Javier [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Postma, Marieke [Nationaal Inst. voor Kernfysica en Hoge-Energiefysica (NIKHEF), Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2008-11-15

    We study the possibility that a keV-MeV mass hidden photon (HP), i.e. a hidden sector U(1) gauge boson, accounts for the observed amount of dark matter. We focus on the case where the HP interacts with the standard model sector only through kinetic mixing with the photon. The relic abundance is computed including all relevant plasma effects into the photon's self-energy, which leads to a resonant yield almost independent of the HP mass. The HP can decay into three photons. Moreover, if light enough it can be copiously produced in stars. Including bounds from cosmic photon backgrounds and stellar evolution, we find that the hidden photon can only give a subdominant contribution to the dark matter. This negative conclusion may be avoided if another production mechanism besides kinetic mixing is operative. (orig.)

  5. A combined cosmic ray muon spectrometer and high energy air shower array

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cherry, M.L.; Ayres, D.S.; Halzen, F.

    1986-01-01

    Cosmic rays have been detected at energies in excess of 10 20 eV, and individual sources have been conclusively identified as intense emitters of gamma rays at energies up to 10 16 eV. There is clearly a great deal of exciting astrophysics to be learned from such studies, but it has been suggested that there may be particle physics to be learned from the cosmic beam as well. Based in particular on the reports of surprisingly high fluxes of underground muons from the direction of Cygnus X-3 modulated by the known orbital period, there have been several suggestions recently invoking stable supersymmetric particles produced at Cygnus X-3, enhanced muon production from high energy photons, quark matter, and ''cygnets.'' Although the underground muon results have been questioned, it may still be worthwhile to consider the possibility of new physics beyond the standard model with energy scale (G/sub F/)/sup -1/2/ ≥ 0.25 TeV. For example, there have been recent discussions on the experimental signatures to be observed from new high energy photon couplings to matter, exchanges between constituent quarks and leptons, and stable gluinos and photinos mixed in with the cosmic gamma ray flux. We describe here a possible detector to search for such effects. We utilize the possibility that point sources like Cygnus X-3 can be used to provide a directional time-modulated ''tagged'' high energy photon beam

  6. The mean free path of hydrogen ionizing photons during the epoch of reionization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahmati, Alireza; Schaye, Joop

    2018-05-01

    We use the Aurora radiation-hydrodynamical simulations to study the mean free path (MFP) for hydrogen ionizing photons during the epoch of reionization. We directly measure the MFP by averaging the distance 1 Ry photons travel before reaching an optical depth of unity along random lines-of-sight. During reionization the free paths tend to end in neutral gas with densities near the cosmic mean, while after reionization the end points tend to be overdense but highly ionized. Despite the increasing importance of discrete, over-dense systems, the cumulative contribution of systems with NHI ≲ 1016.5 cm-2 suffices to drive the MFP at z ≈ 6, while at earlier times higher column densities are more important. After reionization the typical size of HI systems is close to the local Jeans length, but during reionization it is much larger. The mean free path for photons originating close to galaxies, {MFP_{gal}}, is much smaller than the cosmic MFP. After reionization this enhancement can remain significant up to starting distances of ˜1 comoving Mpc. During reionization, however, {MFP_{gal}} for distances ˜102 - 103 comoving kpc typically exceeds the cosmic MFP. These findings have important consequences for models that interpret the intergalactic MFP as the distance escaped ionizing photons can travel from galaxies before being absorbed and may cause them to under-estimate the required escape fraction from galaxies, and/or the required emissivity of ionizing photons after reionization.

  7. arXiv Photon detector system performance in the DUNE 35-ton prototype liquid argon time projection chamber

    CERN Document Server

    Adams, D.L.; Anderson, J.T.; Bagby, L.; Baird, M.; Barr, G.; Barros, N.; Biery, K.; Blake, A.; Blaufuss, E.; Boone, T.; Booth, A.; Brailsford, D.; Buchanan, N.; Chatterjee, A.; Convery, M.; Davies, J.; Dealtry, T.; DeLurgio, P.; Deuerling, G.; Dharmapalan, R.; Djurcic, Z.; Drake, G.; Eberly, B.; Freeman, J.; Glavin, S.; Gomes, R.A.; Goodman, M.C.; Graham, M.; Hahn, A.; Haigh, J.T.; Hartnell, J.; Higuera, A.; Himmel, A.; Insler, J.; Jacobsen, J.; Junk, T.; Kirby, B.; Klein, J.; Kudryavtsev, V.A.; Kutter, T.; Li, Y.; Li, X.; Lin, S.; Martin-Albo, J.; McConkey, N.; Moura, C.A.; Mufson, S.; Nicholls, T.C.; Nowak, J.; Oberling, M.; Paley, J.; Qian, X.; Raaf, J.L.; Rivera, D.; Santucci, G.; Sinev, G.; Spooner, N.J. C.; Stancari, M.; Stancu, I.; Stefan, D.; Stewart, J.; Stock, J.; Strauss, T.; Sulej, R.; Sun, Y.; Thiesse, M.; Thompson, L.F.; Tsai, Y.T.; Wallbank, M.; Warburton, T.K.; Warner, D.; Whittington, D.; Wilson, R.J.; Worcester, M.; Worcester, E.; Yang, T.; Zhang, C.

    The 35-ton prototype for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment far detector was a single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber with an integrated photon detector system, all situated inside a membrane cryostat. The detector took cosmic-ray data for six weeks during the period of February 1, 2016 to March 12, 2016. The performance of the photon detection system was checked with these data. An installed photon detector was demonstrated to measure the arrival times of cosmic-ray muons with a resolution better than 32 ns, limited by the timing of the trigger system. A measurement of the timing resolution using closely-spaced calibration pulses yielded a resolution of 15 ns for pulses at a level of 6 photo-electrons. Scintillation light from cosmic-ray muons was observed to be attenuated with increasing distance with a characteristic length of $155 \\pm 28$ cm.

  8. THE PAIR BEAM PRODUCTION SPECTRUM FROM PHOTON-PHOTON ANNIHILATION IN COSMIC VOIDS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schlickeiser, R.; Ibscher, D. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Lehrstuhl IV: Weltraum- und Astrophysik, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, D-44780 Bochum (Germany); Elyiv, A. [Institut d' Astrophysique et de Geophysique, Universite de Liege, B-4000 Liege (Belgium); Miniati, F., E-mail: rsch@tp4.rub.de, E-mail: ibscher@tp4.rub.de, E-mail: elyiv@astro.ulg.ac.be, E-mail: fm@phys.ethz.ch [Physics Department, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, ETH-Zuerich, CH-8093 Zuerich (Switzerland)

    2012-10-20

    Highly beamed relativistic e {sup {+-}}-pair energy distributions result in double photon collisions of the beamed gamma rays from TeV blazars at cosmological distances with the isotropically distributed extragalactic background light (EBL) in the intergalactic medium. The typical energies k {sub 0} {approx_equal} 10{sup -7} in units of m{sub e}c {sup 2} of the EBL are more than 10 orders of magnitude smaller than the observed gamma-ray energies k {sub 1} {>=} 10{sup 7}. Using the limit k {sub 0} << k {sub 1}, we demonstrate that the angular distribution of the generated pairs in the lab frame is highly beamed in the direction of the initial gamma-ray photons. For the astrophysically important case of power-law distributions of the emitted gamma-ray beam up to the maximum energy M interacting with Wien-type N(k {sub 0}){proportional_to}k{sup q} {sub 0}exp (- k {sub 0}/{Theta}) soft photon distributions with total number density N {sub 0}, we calculate analytical approximations for the electron production spectrum. For distant objects with luminosity distances d{sub L} >> r {sub 0} = ({sigma} {sub T} N {sub 0}){sup -1} = 0.49N {sup -1} {sub 0} Mpc (with Thomson cross section {sigma} {sub T}), the implied large values of the optical depth {tau}{sub 0} = d{sub L} /r {sub 0} indicate that the electron production spectra differ at energies inside and outside the interval [({Theta}ln {tau}{sub 0}){sup -1}, {tau}{sub 0}/{Theta}], given the maximum gamma-ray energy M >> {Theta}{sup -1}. In the case M >> {Theta}{sup -1}, the production spectrum is strongly peaked near E {approx_equal} {Theta}{sup -1}, being exponentially reduced at small energies and decreasing with the steep power law {proportional_to}E {sup -1-p} up to the maximum energy E = M - (1/2).

  9. A common origin of all the species of high energy cosmic rays?

    CERN Document Server

    Dar, Arnon; Antoniou, Nikos; Dar, Arnon; Antoniou, Nikos

    2000-01-01

    The cosmic ray nuclei with energy above a few GeV, the cosmic ray electrons of energy above a few MeV and the diffuse gamma-ray background above a few MeV, could all predominantly originate from our galaxy {\\it and its halo}. The mechanism accelerating hadrons and electrons is the same, the electron spectrum is modulated by inverse Compton scattering on the microwave background radiation, and the $\\gamma$-rays are the resulting recoiling photons. The spectra calculated on this basis agree with observations.

  10. Simple description of the 3K cosmic microwave background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henry, P.S.

    1980-01-01

    An intuitive model for the expansion of the universe is developed in which special relativity is used to describe events seen by a hypothetical observer in a Lorentz frame of reference. The cosmic microwave background photons he sees are the red-shifted remnants of hot photons emitted from the matter flying rapidly away from him. This special relativistic model, also called the Milne model, represents the extreme case of a Friedmann (general relativistic) universe in the limit of vanishingly small density of matter. The special relativistic model approximates an open universe (one that expands forever) with increasing accuracy as time evolves

  11. Generation of circular polarization of the cosmic microwave background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexander, Stephon; Ochoa, Joseph; Kosowsky, Arthur

    2009-01-01

    The standard cosmological model, which includes only Compton scattering photon interactions at energy scales near recombination, results in zero primordial circular polarization of the cosmic microwave background. In this paper we consider a particular renormalizable and gauge-invariant standard model extension coupling photons to an external vector field via a Chern-Simons term, which arises as a radiative correction if gravitational torsion couples to fermions. We compute the transport equations for polarized photons from a Boltzmann-like equation, showing that such a coupling will source circular polarization of the microwave background. For the particular coupling considered here, the circular polarization effect is always negligible compared to the rotation of the linear polarization orientation, also derived using the same formalism. We note the possibility that limits on microwave background circular polarization may probe other photon interactions and related fundamental effects such as violations of Lorentz invariance.

  12. Interactions of Cosmic Rays around the Universe. Models for UHECR data interpretation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boncioli Denise

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs are expected to be accelerated inastrophysical sources and to travel through extragalactic space before hitting the Earth atmosphere. They interact both with the environment in the source and with the intergalactic photon fields they encounter, causing different processes at various scales depending on the photon energy in the nucleus rest frame. UHECR interactions are sensitive to uncertainties in the extragalactic background spectrum and in the photo-disintegration models.

  13. Selected Theoretical Studies Group contributions to the 14th International Cosmic Ray conference. [including studies on galactic molecular hydrogen, interstellar reddening, and on the origin of cosmic rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    1975-01-01

    The galactic distribution of H2 was studied through gamma radiation and through X-ray, optical, and infrared absorption measurements from SAS-2 and other sources. A comparison of the latitude distribution of gamma-ray intensity with reddening data shows reddening data to give the best estimate of interstellar gas in the solar vicinity. The distribution of galactic cosmic ray nucleons was determined and appears to be identical to the supernova remnant distribution. Interactions between ultrahigh energy cosmic-ray nuclei and intergalactic photon radiation fields were calculated, using the Monte Carlo method.

  14. A method to measure the γ-ray content in VHE cosmic ray showers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cresti, M.; Peruzzo, L.; Pesci, A.; Saggion, A.; Sartori, G.; Angelini, F.; Bedeschi, F.; Bellazzini, R.; Bertolucci, E.; Chiarelli, G.; Mariotti, M.; Massai, M.M.; Menzione, A.; Smith, D.A.; Stefanini, A.; Zetti, F.; Scribano, A.; Bartoli, B.; Budinich, M.; Liello, F.; Milotti, E.; Biral, A.R.P.; Chinellato, J.A.; Turtelli, A.; Luksys, M.

    1991-01-01

    An experimental technique is presented to determine the effectiveness of methods to tag photon initiated air showers and reject hadron initiated ones. The technique is based on the rate reduction in the Moon direction. With a photon energy threshold below or equal to 1 TeV, with an angular resolution of a few mrad and being insensitive to visible light, the proposed CLUE detector allows a wide and original physics program. In particular the direct measurement of the fraction of primary photons in the continuum of the cosmic ray flux is feasible with adequate statistics in a few months of data taking. (orig.)

  15. Search for ultra-high energy photons with AMIGA muon counters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gonzalez, Nicolas Martin [Instituto de Tecnologias en Deteccion y Astroparticulas, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Institut fuer Kernphysik, Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie. (Germany); Collaboration: Pierre-Auger-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    The study of the composition of ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic rays (CR) is one of the topical problems of astroparticle physics. The discovery of UHE photons, i.e. photons with energies around 1 EeV, in primary cosmic rays could be of particular interest for the field of astroparticle physics, and also for fundamental physics, since they are tracers of the highest-energy processes in the Universe. For the search for UHE photons at the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO), several parameters have been proposed to distinguish between primary hadrons and photons. One of the most promising approaches to search for primary gamma rays is the study of the muon component in extensive air showers (EAS) produced in the interaction between the CR and the nuclei in the atmosphere. The number of muons in showers induced by gamma primaries is an order of magnitude lower than the hadronic primaries counterpart. The AMIGA extension of the PAO, consisting of an array of buried scintillators counters, allows the study of the muons produced during the EAS development. In this talk, the sensitivity of the muon counters to photon-initiated EAS and the possible discrimination procedures are discussed using dedicated EAS simulations with software package CORSIKA, including the detector response using the Offline package developed by the Pierre Auger Collaboration.

  16. Investigating the Effect of Cosmic Opacity on Standard Candles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, J.; Yu, H.; Wang, F. Y.

    2017-01-01

    Standard candles can probe the evolution of dark energy over a large redshift range. But the cosmic opacity can degrade the quality of standard candles. In this paper, we use the latest observations, including Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the “joint light-curve analysis” sample and Hubble parameters, to probe the opacity of the universe. A joint fitting of the SNe Ia light-curve parameters, cosmological parameters, and opacity is used in order to avoid the cosmological dependence of SNe Ia luminosity distances. The latest gamma-ray bursts are used in order to explore the cosmic opacity at high redshifts. The cosmic reionization process is considered at high redshifts. We find that the sample supports an almost transparent universe for flat ΛCDM and XCDM models. Meanwhile, free electrons deplete photons from standard candles through (inverse) Compton scattering, which is known as an important component of opacity. This Compton dimming may play an important role in future supernova surveys. From analysis, we find that about a few per cent of the cosmic opacity is caused by Compton dimming in the two models, which can be corrected.

  17. Simulating TGF and gamma ray emission above and within stormclouds due to the interaction of TeV cosmic ray shower electrons/positrons/photons with plausible electric field geometries generated in stormclouds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connell, P. H.

    2017-12-01

    The University of Valencia has developed a software simulator LEPTRACK to simulate lepton and photon scattering in any kind of media with a variable density, and permeated by electric/magnetic fields of any geometry, and which can handle an exponential runaway avalanche. Here we show results of simulating the interaction of electrons/positrons/photons in an incoming TeV cosmic ray shower with the kind of electric fields expected in a stormcloud after a CG discharge which removes much of the positive charge build up at the centre of the cloud. The point is to show not just a Relativistic Runaway Electron Avalanche (RREA) above the upper negative shielding layer at 12 km but other gamma ray emission due to electron/positron interaction in the remaining positive charge around 9km and the lower negative charge at 6km altitude. We present here images, lightcurves, altitude profiles, spectra and videos showing the different ionization, excitation and photon density fields produced, their time evolution, and how they depend critically on where the cosmic ray shower beam intercepts the electric field geometry. We also show a new effect of incoming positrons, which make up a significant fraction of the shower, where they appear to "orbit" within the high altitude negative shielding layer, and which has been conjectured to produce significant microwave emission, as well as a short range 511 keV annihilation line. The interesting question is if this conjectured emission can be observed and correlated with TGF orbital observations to prove that a TGF originates in the macro-fields of stormclouds or the micro-fields of light leaders and streamers where this "positron orbiting" is not likely to occur.

  18. QED corrections to Planck's radiation law and photon thermodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Partovi, M.H.

    1994-01-01

    Leading corrections to Planck's radiation formula and other photon thermodynamic functions arising from the pair-mediated photon-photon interaction are calculated. This interaction is found to be attractive and to cause a small increase in occupation number for all modes and a corresponding correction to the equation of state. The results are valid for the range of temperatures well below T e =5.9 GK, the temperature equivalent to the electron mass, a range for which the photon gas is essentially free of pair-produced electrons and positrons. An interesting effect of these corrections is the behavior of the photon gas as an elastic medium and its ability to propagate density perturbations. It is found that the cosmic photon gas subsequent to electron-positron annihilation would have manifested these elastic properties were it not for the presence of the free electrons and their dominance of the photon thermodynamics

  19. Silicon photomultiplier as a detector of Cherenkov photons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korpar, S.; Dolenec, R.; Hara, K.; Iijima, T.; Krizan, P.; Mazuka, Y.; Pestotnik, R.; Stanovnik, A.; Yamaoka, M.

    2008-01-01

    A novel photon detector-i.e. the silicon photomultiplier-whose main advantage over conventional photomultiplier tubes is the operation in high magnetic fields, has been tested as a photon detector in a proximity focusing RICH with aerogel radiator. This type of RICH counter is proposed for the upgrade of the Belle detector at the KEK B-factory. Recently produced silicon photomultipliers show less noise and have larger size, which are important issues for a large area photon detector. We measured the single photon pulse height distribution, the timing resolution and the position sensitivity for different silicon photomultipliers (Hamamatsu MPPC HC025, HC050, and HC100). The silicon photomultipliers were then used to detect Cherenkov photons emitted by cosmic ray particles in a proximity focusing aerogel RICH. Various light guides were investigated in order to increase the detection efficiency

  20. Cosmic strings and cosmic structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albrecht, A.; Brandenberger, R.; Turok, N.

    1987-01-01

    The paper concerns the application of the theory of cosmic strings to explain the structure of the Universe. The formation of cosmic strings in the early Universe is outlined, along with the Big Bang theory, Grand Unified theories, and the first three minutes after the Big Bang. A description is given of the shaping of the Universe by cosmic strings, including the evolution of the string. The possibility for direct observation of cosmic strings is discussed. (U.K.)

  1. Searching for TeV cosmic electrons with the CREST experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coutu, S.; Anderson, T.; Bower, C.; Gennaro, J.; Geske, M.; Mueller, D.; Musser, J.; Nutter, S.; Park, N.H.; Schubnell, M.; Tarle, G.; Wakely, S.; Yagi, A.

    2011-01-01

    The Cosmic Ray Electron Synchrotron Telescope (CREST) high-altitude balloon experiment is a pathfinding effort to detect for the first time multi-TeV cosmic-ray electrons. Such would be the markers of nearby cosmic accelerators, as energetic electrons from distant Galactic sources are expected to be depleted by radiative losses during interstellar transport. Electrons will be detected indirectly by the characteristic signature of their geomagnetic synchrotron losses, in the form of a burst of coaligned x-ray photons intersecting the plane of the instrument. Since the primary electron itself need not traverse the payload, an effective detection area is achieved that is several times the nominal 6.4 m 2 instrument. The payload is composed of an array of 1024 BaF2 crystals surrounded by a set of veto scintillator detectors. A long-duration balloon flight in Antarctica is planned for the 2011-12 season.

  2. Searching for TeV cosmic electrons with the CREST experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coutu, S., E-mail: coutu@phys.psu.edu [Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, 104 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Anderson, T. [Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, 104 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Bower, C. [Physics Department, Indiana University, 117 Swain Hall West, Bloomington, IN 47405 (United States); Gennaro, J. [Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Randall Physics Laboratory, 500 E. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Geske, M. [Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, 104 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Mueller, D. [Enrico Fermi Institute and Department of Physics, University of Chicago, 933 E. 56th St., Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Musser, J. [Physics Department, Indiana University, 117 Swain Hall West, Bloomington, IN 47405 (United States); Nutter, S. [Department of Physics and Geology, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099 (United States); Park, N.H. [Enrico Fermi Institute and Department of Physics, University of Chicago, 933 E. 56th St., Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Schubnell, M.; Tarle, G. [Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Randall Physics Laboratory, 500 E. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Wakely, S. [Enrico Fermi Institute and Department of Physics, University of Chicago, 933 E. 56th St., Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Yagi, A. [Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Randall Physics Laboratory, 500 E. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

    2011-06-15

    The Cosmic Ray Electron Synchrotron Telescope (CREST) high-altitude balloon experiment is a pathfinding effort to detect for the first time multi-TeV cosmic-ray electrons. Such would be the markers of nearby cosmic accelerators, as energetic electrons from distant Galactic sources are expected to be depleted by radiative losses during interstellar transport. Electrons will be detected indirectly by the characteristic signature of their geomagnetic synchrotron losses, in the form of a burst of coaligned x-ray photons intersecting the plane of the instrument. Since the primary electron itself need not traverse the payload, an effective detection area is achieved that is several times the nominal 6.4 m{sup 2} instrument. The payload is composed of an array of 1024 BaF2 crystals surrounded by a set of veto scintillator detectors. A long-duration balloon flight in Antarctica is planned for the 2011-12 season.

  3. Cosmic Ray-Air Shower Measurement from Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Yoshiyuki

    1997-01-01

    A feasibility study has been initiated to observe from space the highest energy cosmic rays above 1021 eV. A satellite observatory concept, the Maximum-energy Auger (Air)-Shower Satellite (MASS), is recently renamed as the Orbital Wide-angle Collector (OWL) by taking its unique feature of using a very wide field-of-view (FOV) optics. A huge array of imaging devices (about 10(exp 6) pixels) is required to detect and record fluorescent light profiles of cosmic ray cascades in the atmosphere. The FOV of MASS could extend to as large as about 60 in. diameter, which views (500 - 1000 km) of earth's surface and more than 300 - 1000 cosmic ray events per year could be observed above 1020 eV. From far above the atmosphere, the MASS/OWL satellite should be capable of observing events at all angles including near horizontal tracks, and would have considerable aperture for high energy photon and neutrino observation. With a large aperture and the spatial and temporal resolution, MASS could determine the energy spectrum, the mass composition, and arrival anisotropy of cosmic rays from 1020 eV to 1022 eV; a region hitherto not explored by ground-based detectors such as the Fly's Eye and air-shower arrays. MASS/OWL's ability to identify cosmic neutrinos and gamma rays may help providing evidence for the theory which attributes the above cut-off cosmic ray flux to the decay of topological defects. Very wide FOV optics system of MASS/OWL with a large array of imaging devices is applicable to observe other atmospheric phenomena including upper atmospheric lightning. The wide FOV MASS optics being developed can also improve ground-based gamma-ray observatories by allowing simultaneous observation of many gamma ray sources located at different constellations.

  4. Cosmic polarimetry in magnetoactive plasmas

    CERN Document Server

    Giovannini, Massimo

    2009-01-01

    Polarimetry of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) represents one of the possible diagnostics aimed at testing large-scale magnetism at the epoch of the photon decoupling. The propagation of electromagnetic disturbances in a magnetized plasma leads naturally to a B-mode polarization whose angular power spectrum is hereby computed both analytically and numerically. Combined analyses of all the publicly available data on the B-mode polarization are presented, for the first time, in the light of the magnetized $\\Lambda$CDM scenario. Novel constraints on pre-equality magnetism are also derived in view of the current and expected sensitivities to the B-mode polarization.

  5. Astrophysical Sources of Cosmic Rays and Related Measurements with the Pierre Auger Observatory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abraham, : J.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Aguirre, C.; Ahn, E.J.; Allard, D.; Allekotte, I.; Allen, J.; Alvarez-Muniz, J.; Ambrosio, M.; Anchordoqui, L.

    2009-06-01

    These are presentations to be presented at the 31st International Cosmic Ray Conference, in Lodz, Poland during July 2009. It consists of the following presentations: (1) Correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic objects in Pierre Auger Observatory data; (2) Discriminating potential astrophysical sources of the highest energy cosmic rays with the Pierre Auger Observatory; (3) Intrinsic anisotropy of the UHECR from the Pierre Auger Observatory; (4) Ultra-high energy photon studies with the Pierre Auger Observatory; (5) Limits on the flux of diffuse ultra high energy neutrinos set using the Pierre Auger Observatory; (6) Search for sidereal modulation of the arrival directions of events recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory; (7) Cosmic Ray Solar Modulation Studies in the Pierre Auger Observatory; (8) Investigation of the Displacement Angle of the Highest Energy Cosmic Rays Caused by the Galactic Magnetic Field; (9) Search for coincidences with astrophysical transients in Pierre Auger Observatory data; and (10) An alternative method for determining the energy of hybrid events at the Pierre Auger Observatory.

  6. Measurement of Cosmic-Ray TeV Electrons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schubnell, Michael; Anderson, T.; Bower, C.; Coutu, S.; Gennaro, J.; Geske, M.; Mueller, D.; Musser, J.; Nutter, S.; Park, N.; Tarle, G.; Wakely, S.

    2011-09-01

    The Cosmic Ray Electron Synchrotron Telescope (CREST) high-altitude balloon experiment is a pathfinding effort to detect for the first time multi-TeV cosmic-ray electrons. At these energies distant sources will not contribute to the local electron spectrum due to the strong energy losses of the electrons and thus TeV observations will reflect the distribution and abundance of nearby acceleration sites. CREST will detect electrons indirectly by measuring the characteristic synchrotron photons generated in the Earth's magnetic field. The instrument consist of an array of 1024 BaF2 crystals viewed by photomultiplier tubes surrounded by a hermetic scintillator shield. Since the primary electron itself need not traverse the payload, an effective detection area is achieved that is several times the nominal 6.4 m2 instrument. CREST is scheduled to fly in a long duration circumpolar orbit over Antarctica during the 2011-12 season.

  7. Superposition of Planckian spectra and the distortions of the cosmic microwave background radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexanian, M.

    1982-01-01

    A fit of the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) by means of a positive linear superposition of Planckian spectra implies an upper bound to the photon spectrum. The observed spectrum of the CMB gives a weighting function with a normalization greater than unity

  8. Reionization during the dark ages from a cosmic axion background

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Evoli, Carmelo [Gran Sasso Science Institute, Viale Francesco Crispi 7, 67100 L' Aquila (Italy); Leo, Matteo [Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Mirizzi, Alessandro [Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica ' ' Michelangelo Merlin' ' , Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari (Italy); Montanino, Daniele, E-mail: carmelo.evoli@gssi.infn.it, E-mail: matteo.leo@durham.ac.uk, E-mail: alessandro.mirizzi@ba.infn.it, E-mail: daniele.montanino@le.infn.it [Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica ' ' Ennio De Giorgi' ' , Via Arnesano, 73100 Lecce (Italy)

    2016-05-01

    Recently it has been pointed out that a cosmic background of relativistic axion-like particles (ALPs) would be produced by the primordial decays of heavy fields in the post-inflation epoch, contributing to the extra-radiation content in the Universe today. Primordial magnetic fields would trigger conversions of these ALPs into sub-MeV photons during the dark ages. This photon flux would produce an early reionization of the Universe, leaving a significant imprint on the total optical depth to recombination τ. Using the current measurement of τ and the limit on the extra-radiation content Δ N {sub eff} by the Planck experiment we put a strong bound on the ALP-photon conversions. Namely we obtain upper limits on the product of the photon-ALP coupling constant g {sub a} {sub γ} times the magnetic field strength B down to g {sub a} {sub γ} B ∼> 6 × 10{sup −18} GeV{sup −1} nG for ultralight ALPs.

  9. Cosmic ray-dark matter scattering: a new signature of (asymmetric) dark matter in the gamma ray sky

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Profumo, Stefano; Ubaldi, Lorenzo

    2011-01-01

    We consider the process of scattering of Galactic cosmic-ray electrons and protons off of dark matter with the radiation of a final-state photon. This process provides a novel way to search for Galactic dark matter with gamma rays. We argue that for a generic weakly interacting massive particle, barring effects such as co-annihilation or a velocity-dependent cross section, the gamma-ray emission from cosmic-ray scattering off of dark matter is typically smaller than that from dark matter pair-annihilation. However, if dark matter particles cannot pair-annihilate, as is the case for example in asymmetric dark matter scenarios, cosmic-ray scattering with final state photon emission provides a unique window to detect a signal from dark matter with gamma rays. We estimate the expected flux level and its spectral features for a generic supersymmetric setup, and we also discuss dipolar and luminous dark matter. We show that in some cases the gamma-ray emission might be large enough to be detectable with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

  10. Prospects for identifying the sources of the Galactic cosmic rays with IceCube

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halzen, Francis; Kappes, Alexander; O Murchadha, Aongus

    2008-01-01

    We quantitatively address whether IceCube, a kilometer-scale neutrino detector under construction at the South Pole, can observe neutrinos pointing back at the accelerators of the Galactic cosmic rays. The photon flux from candidate sources identified by the Milagro detector in a survey of the TeV sky is consistent with the flux expected from a typical cosmic-ray generating supernova remnant interacting with the interstellar medium. We show here that IceCube can provide incontrovertible evidence of cosmic-ray acceleration in these sources by detecting neutrinos. We find that the signal is optimally identified by specializing to events with energies above 30 TeV where the atmospheric neutrino background is low. We conclude that evidence for a correlation between the Milagro and IceCube sky maps should be conclusive after several years.

  11. Investigation of energy spectrum and nuclear interactions of primary cosmic radiation; Badanie widma energetycznego i oddzialywan jadrowych pierwotnego promieniowania kosmicznego

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilczynski, H. [Dept. of High Energy Physics, The H. Niewodniczanski Inst. of Nuclear Physics, Cracow (Poland)

    1996-12-31

    In the paper the JACEE experiment data analysis: energy spectra in the energy range 10{sup 12} - 10{sup 15} eV of different nuclides in cosmic radiation and some aspects of nuclear interactions at energy above 10{sup 12} eV/nucleon is presented. The data were compared with results of theory of cosmic radiation acceleration by striking waves arises from supernova stars explosions. In the interactions of cosmic radiation nuclei the short-lived particles production has been observed what agrees with long-distance component of cascades initiated by cosmic radiation interactions. In one case an interaction with asymmetric photons emission were observed 72 refs, 33 figs, 4 tabs

  12. Cloud chamber photographs of the cosmic radiation

    CERN Document Server

    Rochester, George Dixon

    1952-01-01

    Cloud Chamber Photographs of the Cosmic Radiation focuses on cloud chamber and photographic emulsion wherein the tracks of individual subatomic particles of high energy are studied. The publication first offers information on the technical features of operation and electrons and cascade showers. Discussions focus on the relationship in time and space of counter-controlled tracks; techniques of internal control of the cloud chamber; cascade processes with artificially-produced electrons and photons; and nuclear interaction associated with an extensive shower. The manuscript then elaborates on

  13. Performance test of the Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) with cosmic ray

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikeda, Michihiko; Akieda, Tomomi; Tomita, Shoko; Ninomiya, Aki

    2014-09-01

    MRPC is a gaseous ionization detector, which a good timing resolution has been used practically in the nuclear and particle physics experiment. A mixed gas of SF6 and Fleon 134a was flowed through the gaps between high resistive plates (500 μm thickness glass). A high electric field of ~2 ×106 [V/m] was applied between the plates. A charged particle passes through the MRPC and causes avalanche amplification. We constructed a relatively small MRPC with a readout pad (20 mm × 50 mm). The development is motivated by feasibility study of the MRPC as a photon tagger at the Research Center for Electron Photon Science (ELPH), Tohoku University. The photon tagger needs a good timing resolution (<100 ps), therefore we studied the small size MRPC, while a large sized MRPCs are widely used in nuclear and particle experiments. The MRPC can operate under the strong magnetic field and thus it can be a good candidate as an electron detector placed in the magnet. We tested the HV dependence of time resolution of the MRPC with cosmic rays. The MRPC will be demonstrated at the open campus of the Tohoku University as an example of nuclear experimental detectors. We will measure the zenith angle and velocity distributions of cosmic ray.

  14. Study of TeV range cosmic ray detection with Cherenkov imaging techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ansari, R.; Gaillard, J.M.; Parrour, G.

    1992-03-01

    The Monte Carlo study of cosmic ray detection in the TeV energy range has been triggered by the authors' interest in the ARTEMIS (Antimatter Research Through the Earth Moon Ion Spectrometer) proposal. The properties of cosmic ray showers detected by Cherenkov imaging in the visible domain are studied. The detection sensitivity and the accuracy of the reconstruction of the parent particle direction using Cherenkov imaging are discussed. The backbone of the study is the atmospheric shower Monte Carlo generator developed by A.M. Hillas. A comparison between nucleon and photon induced showers of Cherenkov detection is also included. (R.P.) 14 refs., 48 figs., 3 tabs

  15. Performance of the CMS Level-1 Trigger during Commissioning with Cosmic Ray Muons and LHC beams

    CERN Document Server

    Chatrchyan, S; Sirunyan, A M; Adam, W; Arnold, B; Bergauer, H; Bergauer, T; Dragicevic, M; Eichberger, M; Erö, J; Friedl, M; Frühwirth, R; Ghete, V M; Hammer, J; Hänsel, S; Hoch, M; Hörmann, N; Hrubec, J; Jeitler, M; Kasieczka, G; Kastner, K; Krammer, M; Liko, D; Magrans de Abril, I; Mikulec, I; Mittermayr, F; Neuherz, B; Oberegger, M; Padrta, M; Pernicka, M; Rohringer, H; Schmid, S; Schöfbeck, R; Schreiner, T; Stark, R; Steininger, H; Strauss, J; Taurok, A; Teischinger, F; Themel, T; Uhl, D; Wagner, P; Waltenberger, W; Walzel, G; Widl, E; Wulz, C E; Chekhovsky, V; Dvornikov, O; Emeliantchik, I; Litomin, A; Makarenko, V; Marfin, I; Mossolov, V; Shumeiko, N; Solin, A; Stefanovitch, R; Suarez Gonzalez, J; Tikhonov, A; Fedorov, A; Karneyeu, A; Korzhik, M; Panov, V; Zuyeuski, R; Kuchinsky, P; Beaumont, W; Benucci, L; Cardaci, M; De Wolf, E A; Delmeire, E; Druzhkin, D; Hashemi, M; Janssen, X; Maes, T; Mucibello, L; Ochesanu, S; Rougny, R; Selvaggi, M; Van Haevermaet, H; Van Mechelen, P; Van Remortel, N; Adler, V; Beauceron, S; Blyweert, S; D'Hondt, J; De Weirdt, S; Devroede, O; Heyninck, J; Kalogeropoulos, A; Maes, J; Maes, M; Mozer, M U; Tavernier, S; Van Doninck, W; Van Mulders, P; Villella, I; Bouhali, O; Chabert, E C; Charaf, O; Clerbaux, B; De Lentdecker, G; Dero, V; Elgammal, S; Gay, A P R; Hammad, G H; Marage, P E; Rugovac, S; Vander Velde, C; Vanlaer, P; Wickens, J; Grunewald, M; Klein, B; Marinov, A; Ryckbosch, D; Thyssen, F; Tytgat, M; Vanelderen, L; Verwilligen, P; Basegmez, S; Bruno, G; Caudron, J; Delaere, C; Demin, P; Favart, D; Giammanco, A; Grégoire, G; Lemaitre, V; Militaru, O; Ovyn, S; Piotrzkowski, K; Quertenmont, L; Schul, N; Beliy, N; Daubie, E; Alves, G A; Pol, M E; Souza, M H G; Carvalho, W; De Jesus Damiao, D; De Oliveira Martins, C; Fonseca De Souza, S; Mundim, L; Oguri, V; Santoro, A; Silva Do Amaral, S M; Sznajder, A; Fernandez Perez Tomei, T R; Ferreira Dias, M A; Gregores, E M; Novaes, S F; Abadjiev, K; Anguelov, T; Damgov, J; Darmenov, N; Dimitrov, L; Genchev, V; Iaydjiev, P; Piperov, S; Stoykova, S; Sultanov, G; Trayanov, R; Vankov, I; Dimitrov, A; Dyulendarova, M; Kozhuharov, V; Litov, L; Marinova, E; Mateev, M; Pavlov, B; Petkov, P; Toteva, Z; Chen, G M; Chen, H S; Guan, W; Jiang, C H; Liang, D; Liu, B; Meng, X; Tao, J; Wang, J; Wang, Z; Xue, Z; Zhang, Z; Ban, Y; Cai, J; Ge, Y; Guo, S; Hu, Z; Mao, Y; Qian, S J; Teng, H; Zhu, B; Avila, C; Baquero Ruiz, M; Carrillo Montoya, C A; Gomez, A; Gomez Moreno, B; Ocampo Rios, A A; Osorio Oliveros, A F; Reyes Romero, D; Sanabria, J C; Godinovic, N; Lelas, K; Plestina, R; Polic, D; Puljak, I; Antunovic, Z; Dzelalija, M; Brigljevic, V; Duric, S; Kadija, K; Morovic, S; Fereos, R; Galanti, M; Mousa, J; Papadakis, A; Ptochos, F; Razis, P A; Tsiakkouri, D; Zinonos, Z; Hektor, A; Kadastik, M; Kannike, K; Müntel, M; Raidal, M; Rebane, L; Anttila, E; Czellar, S; Härkönen, J; Heikkinen, A; Karimäki, V; Kinnunen, R; Klem, J; Kortelainen, M J; Lampén, T; Lassila-Perini, K; Lehti, S; Lindén, T; Luukka, P; Mäenpää, T; Nysten, J; Tuominen, E; Tuominiemi, J; Ungaro, D; Wendland, L; Banzuzi, K; Korpela, A; Tuuva, T; Nedelec, P; Sillou, D; Besancon, M; Chipaux, R; Dejardin, M; Denegri, D; Descamps, J; Fabbro, B; Faure, J L; Ferri, F; Ganjour, S; Gentit, F X; Givernaud, A; Gras, P; Hamel de Monchenault, G; Jarry, P; Lemaire, M C; Locci, E; Malcles, J; Marionneau, M; Millischer, L; Rander, J; Rosowsky, A; Rousseau, D; Titov, M; Verrecchia, P; Baffioni, S; Bianchini, L; Bluj, M; Busson, P; Charlot, C; Dobrzynski, L; Granier de Cassagnac, R; Haguenauer, M; Miné, P; Paganini, P; Sirois, Y; Thiebaux, C; Zabi, A; Agram, J L; Besson, A; Bloch, D; Bodin, D; Brom, J M; Conte, E; Drouhin, F; Fontaine, J C; Gelé, D; Goerlach, U; Gross, L; Juillot, P; Le Bihan, A C; Patois, Y; Speck, J; Van Hove, P; Baty, C; Bedjidian, M; Blaha, J; Boudoul, G; Brun, H; Chanon, N; Chierici, R; Contardo, D; Depasse, P; Dupasquier, T; El Mamouni, H; Fassi, F; Fay, J; Gascon, S; Ille, B; Kurca, T; Le Grand, T; Lethuillier, M; Lumb, N; Mirabito, L; Perries, S; Vander Donckt, M; Verdier, P; Djaoshvili, N; Roinishvili, N; Roinishvili, V; Amaglobeli, N; Adolphi, R; Anagnostou, G; Brauer, R; Braunschweig, W; Edelhoff, M; Esser, H; Feld, L; Karpinski, W; Khomich, A; Klein, K; Mohr, N; Ostaptchouk, A; Pandoulas, D; Pierschel, G; Raupach, F; Schael, S; Schultz von Dratzig, A; Schwering, G; Sprenger, D; Thomas, M; Weber, M; Wittmer, B; Wlochal, M; Actis, O; Altenhöfer, G; Bender, W; Biallass, P; Erdmann, M; Fetchenhauer, G; Frangenheim, J; Hebbeker, T; Hilgers, G; Hinzmann, A; Hoepfner, K; Hof, C; Kirsch, M; Klimkovich, T; Kreuzer, P; Lanske, D; Merschmeyer, M; Meyer, A; Philipps, B; Pieta, H; Reithler, H; Schmitz, S A; Sonnenschein, L; Sowa, M; Steggemann, J; Szczesny, H; Teyssier, D; Zeidler, C; Bontenackels, M; Davids, M; Duda, M; Flügge, G; Geenen, H; Giffels, M; Haj Ahmad, W; Hermanns, T; Heydhausen, D; Kalinin, S; Kress, T; Linn, A; Nowack, A; Perchalla, L; Poettgens, M; Pooth, O; Sauerland, P; Stahl, A; Tornier, D; 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Niegel, M; Oberst, O; Oehler, A; Ott, J; Peiffer, T; Piparo, D; Quast, G; Rabbertz, K; Ratnikov, F; Ratnikova, N; Renz, M; Saout, C; Sartisohn, G; Scheurer, A; Schieferdecker, P; Schilling, F P; Schott, G; Simonis, H J; Stober, F M; Sturm, P; Troendle, D; Trunov, A; Wagner, W; Wagner-Kuhr, J; Zeise, M; Zhukov, V; Ziebarth, E B; Daskalakis, G; Geralis, T; Karafasoulis, K; Kyriakis, A; Loukas, D; Markou, A; Markou, C; Mavrommatis, C; Petrakou, E; Zachariadou, A; Gouskos, L; Katsas, P; Panagiotou, A; Evangelou, I; Kokkas, P; Manthos, N; Papadopoulos, I; Patras, V; Triantis, F A; Bencze, G; Boldizsar, L; Debreczeni, G; Hajdu, C; Hernath, S; Hidas, P; Horvath, D; Krajczar, K; Laszlo, A; Patay, G; Sikler, F; Toth, N; Vesztergombi, G; Beni, N; Christian, G; Imrek, J; Molnar, J; Novak, D; Palinkas, J; Szekely, G; Szillasi, Z; Tokesi, K; Veszpremi, V; Kapusi, A; Marian, G; Raics, P; Szabo, Z; Trocsanyi, Z L; Ujvari, B; Zilizi, G; Bansal, S; Bawa, H S; Beri, S B; Bhatnagar, V; Jindal, M; Kaur, M; 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Yang, Y; Zhang, L; Zhu, K; Zhu, R Y; Akgun, B; Carroll, R; Ferguson, T; Jang, D W; Jun, S Y; Paulini, M; Russ, J; Terentyev, N; Vogel, H; Vorobiev, I; Cumalat, J P; Dinardo, M E; Drell, B R; Ford, W T; Heyburn, B; Luiggi Lopez, E; Nauenberg, U; Stenson, K; Ulmer, K; Wagner, S R; Zang, S L; Agostino, L; Alexander, J; Blekman, F; Cassel, D; Chatterjee, A; Das, S; Gibbons, L K; Heltsley, B; Hopkins, W; Khukhunaishvili, A; Kreis, B; Kuznetsov, V; Patterson, J R; Puigh, D; Ryd, A; Shi, X; Stroiney, S; Sun, W; Teo, W D; Thom, J; Vaughan, J; Weng, Y; Wittich, P; Beetz, C P; Cirino, G; Sanzeni, C; Winn, D; Abdullin, S; Afaq, M A; Albrow, M; Ananthan, B; Apollinari, G; Atac, M; Badgett, W; Bagby, L; Bakken, J A; Baldin, B; Banerjee, S; Banicz, K; Bauerdick, L A T; Beretvas, A; Berryhill, J; Bhat, P C; Biery, K; Binkley, M; Bloch, I; Borcherding, F; Brett, A M; Burkett, K; Butler, J N; Chetluru, V; Cheung, H W K; Chlebana, F; Churin, I; Cihangir, S; Crawford, M; Dagenhart, W; Demarteau, M; Derylo, G; Dykstra, D; Eartly, D P; Elias, J E; Elvira, V D; Evans, D; Feng, L; Fischler, M; Fisk, I; Foulkes, S; Freeman, J; Gartung, P; Gottschalk, E; Grassi, T; Green, D; Guo, Y; Gutsche, O; Hahn, A; Hanlon, J; Harris, R M; Holzman, B; Howell, J; Hufnagel, D; James, E; Jensen, H; Johnson, M; Jones, C D; Joshi, U; Juska, E; Kaiser, J; Klima, B; Kossiakov, S; Kousouris, K; Kwan, S; Lei, C M; Limon, P; Lopez Perez, J A; Los, S; Lueking, L; Lukhanin, G; Lusin, S; Lykken, J; Maeshima, K; Marraffino, J M; Mason, D; McBride, P; Miao, T; Mishra, K; Moccia, S; Mommsen, R; Mrenna, S; Muhammad, A S; Newman-Holmes, C; Noeding, C; O'Dell, V; Prokofyev, O; Rivera, R; Rivetta, C H; Ronzhin, A; Rossman, P; Ryu, S; Sekhri, V; Sexton-Kennedy, E; Sfiligoi, I; Sharma, S; Shaw, T M; Shpakov, D; Skup, E; Smith, R P; Soha, A; Spalding, W J; Spiegel, L; Suzuki, I; Tan, P; Tanenbaum, W; Tkaczyk, S; Trentadue, R; Uplegger, L; Vaandering, E W; Vidal, R; Whitmore, J; Wicklund, E; Wu, W; Yarba, J; Yumiceva, F; Yun, J C; Acosta, D; Avery, P; Barashko, V; Bourilkov, D; Chen, M; Di Giovanni, G P; Dobur, D; Drozdetskiy, A; Field, R D; Fu, Y; Furic, I K; Gartner, J; Holmes, D; Kim, B; Klimenko, S; Konigsberg, J; Korytov, A; Kotov, K; Kropivnitskaya, A; Kypreos, T; Madorsky, A; Matchev, K; Mitselmakher, G; Pakhotin, Y; Piedra Gomez, J; Prescott, C; Rapsevicius, V; Remington, R; Schmitt, M; Scurlock, B; Wang, D; Yelton, J; Ceron, C; Gaultney, V; Kramer, L; Lebolo, L M; Linn, S; Markowitz, P; Martinez, G; Rodriguez, J L; Adams, T; Askew, A; Baer, H; Bertoldi, M; Chen, J; Dharmaratna, W G D; Gleyzer, S V; Haas, J; Hagopian, S; Hagopian, V; Jenkins, M; Johnson, K F; Prettner, E; Prosper, H; Sekmen, S; Baarmand, M M; Guragain, S; Hohlmann, M; Kalakhety, H; Mermerkaya, H; Ralich, R; Vodopiyanov, I; Abelev, B; Adams, M R; Anghel, I M; Apanasevich, L; Bazterra, V E; Betts, R R; Callner, J; Castro, M A; Cavanaugh, R; Dragoiu, C; Garcia-Solis, E J; Gerber, C E; Hofman, D J; Khalatian, S; Mironov, C; Shabalina, E; Smoron, A; Varelas, N; Akgun, U; Albayrak, E A; Ayan, A S; Bilki, B; Briggs, R; Cankocak, K; Chung, K; Clarida, W; Debbins, P; Duru, F; Ingram, F D; Lae, C K; McCliment, E; Merlo, J P; Mestvirishvili, A; Miller, M J; Moeller, A; Nachtman, J; Newsom, C R; Norbeck, E; Olson, J; Onel, Y; Ozok, F; Parsons, J; Schmidt, I; Sen, S; Wetzel, J; Yetkin, T; Yi, K; Barnett, B A; Blumenfeld, B; Bonato, A; Chien, C Y; Fehling, D; Giurgiu, G; Gritsan, A V; Guo, Z J; Maksimovic, P; Rappoccio, S; Swartz, M; Tran, N V; Zhang, Y; Baringer, P; Bean, A; Grachov, O; Murray, M; Radicci, V; Sanders, S; Wood, J S; Zhukova, V; Bandurin, D; Bolton, T; Kaadze, K; Liu, A; Maravin, Y; Onoprienko, D; Svintradze, I; Wan, Z; Gronberg, J; Hollar, J; Lange, D; Wright, D; Baden, D; Bard, R; Boutemeur, M; Eno, S C; Ferencek, D; Hadley, N J; Kellogg, R G; Kirn, M; Kunori, S; Rossato, K; Rumerio, P; Santanastasio, F; Skuja, A; Temple, J; Tonjes, M B; Tonwar, S C; Toole, T; Twedt, E; Alver, B; Bauer, G; Bendavid, J; Busza, W; Butz, E; Cali, I A; Chan, M; D'Enterria, D; Everaerts, P; Gomez Ceballos, G; Hahn, K A; Harris, P; Jaditz, S; Kim, Y; Klute, M; Lee, Y J; Li, W; Loizides, C; Ma, T; Miller, M; Nahn, S; Paus, C; Roland, C; Roland, G; Rudolph, M; Stephans, G; Sumorok, K; Sung, K; Vaurynovich, S; Wenger, E A; Wyslouch, B; Xie, S; Yilmaz, Y; Yoon, A S; Bailleux, D; Cooper, S I; Cushman, P; Dahmes, B; De Benedetti, A; Dolgopolov, A; Dudero, P R; Egeland, R; Franzoni, G; Haupt, J; Inyakin, A; Klapoetke, K; Kubota, Y; Mans, J; Mirman, N; Petyt, D; Rekovic, V; Rusack, R; Schroeder, M; Singovsky, A; Zhang, J; Cremaldi, L M; Godang, R; Kroeger, R; Perera, L; Rahmat, R; Sanders, D A; Sonnek, P; Summers, D; Bloom, K; Bockelman, B; Bose, S; Butt, J; Claes, D R; Dominguez, A; Eads, M; Keller, J; Kelly, T; Kravchenko, I; Lazo-Flores, J; Lundstedt, C; Malbouisson, H; Malik, S; Snow, G R; Baur, U; Iashvili, I; Kharchilava, A; Kumar, A; Smith, K; Strang, M; Alverson, G; Barberis, E; Boeriu, O; Eulisse, G; Govi, G; McCauley, T; Musienko, Y; Muzaffar, S; Osborne, I; Paul, T; Reucroft, S; Swain, J; Taylor, L; Tuura, L; Anastassov, A; Gobbi, B; Kubik, A; Ofierzynski, R A; Pozdnyakov, A; Schmitt, M; Stoynev, S; Velasco, M; Won, S; Antonelli, L; Berry, D; Hildreth, M; Jessop, C; Karmgard, D J; Kolberg, T; Lannon, K; Lynch, S; Marinelli, N; Morse, D M; Ruchti, R; Slaunwhite, J; Warchol, J; Wayne, M; Bylsma, B; Durkin, L S; Gilmore, J; Gu, J; Killewald, P; Ling, T Y; Williams, G; Adam, N; Berry, E; Elmer, P; Garmash, A; Gerbaudo, D; Halyo, V; Hunt, A; Jones, J; Laird, E; Marlow, D; Medvedeva, T; Mooney, M; Olsen, J; Piroué, P; Stickland, D; Tully, C; Werner, J S; Wildish, T; Xie, Z; Zuranski, A; Acosta, J G; Bonnett Del Alamo, M; Huang, X T; Lopez, A; Mendez, H; Oliveros, S; Ramirez Vargas, J E; Santacruz, N; Zatzerklyany, A; Alagoz, E; Antillon, E; Barnes, V E; Bolla, G; Bortoletto, D; Everett, A; Garfinkel, A F; Gecse, Z; Gutay, L; Ippolito, N; Jones, M; Koybasi, O; Laasanen, A T; Leonardo, N; Liu, C; Maroussov, V; Merkel, P; Miller, D H; Neumeister, N; Sedov, A; Shipsey, I; Yoo, H D; Zheng, Y; Jindal, P; Parashar, N; Cuplov, V; Ecklund, K M; Geurts, F J M; Liu, J H; Maronde, D; Matveev, M; Padley, B P; Redjimi, R; Roberts, J; Sabbatini, L; Tumanov, A; Betchart, B; Bodek, A; Budd, H; Chung, Y S; de Barbaro, P; Demina, R; Flacher, H; Gotra, Y; Harel, A; Korjenevski, S; Miner, D C; Orbaker, D; Petrillo, G; Vishnevskiy, D; Zielinski, M; Bhatti, A; Demortier, L; Goulianos, K; Hatakeyama, K; Lungu, G; Mesropian, C; Yan, M; Atramentov, O; Bartz, E; Gershtein, Y; Halkiadakis, E; Hits, D; Lath, A; Rose, K; Schnetzer, S; Somalwar, S; Stone, R; Thomas, S; Watts, T L; Cerizza, G; Hollingsworth, M; Spanier, S; Yang, Z C; York, A; Asaadi, J; Aurisano, A; Eusebi, R; Golyash, A; Gurrola, A; Kamon, T; Nguyen, C N; Pivarski, J; Safonov, A; Sengupta, S; Toback, D; Weinberger, M; Akchurin, N; Berntzon, L; Gumus, K; Jeong, C; Kim, H; Lee, S W; Popescu, S; Roh, Y; Sill, A; Volobouev, I; Washington, E; Wigmans, R; Yazgan, E; Engh, D; Florez, C; Johns, W; Pathak, S; Sheldon, P; Andelin, D; Arenton, M W; Balazs, M; Boutle, S; Buehler, M; Conetti, S; Cox, B; Hirosky, R; Ledovskoy, A; Neu, C; Phillips II, D; Ronquest, M; Yohay, R; Gollapinni, S; Gunthoti, K; Harr, R; Karchin, P E; Mattson, M; Sakharov, A; Anderson, M; Bachtis, M; Bellinger, J N; Carlsmith, D; Crotty, I; Dasu, S; Dutta, S; Efron, J; Feyzi, F; Flood, K; Gray, L; Grogg, K S; Grothe, M; Hall-Wilton, R; Jaworski, M; Klabbers, P; Klukas, J; Lanaro, A; Lazaridis, C; Leonard, J; Loveless, R; Magrans de Abril, M; Mohapatra, A; Ott, G; Polese, G; Reeder, D; Savin, A; Smith, W H; Sourkov, A; Swanson, J; Weinberg, M; Wenman, D; Wensveen, M; White, A

    2010-01-01

    The CMS Level-1 trigger was used to select cosmic ray muons and LHC beam events during data-taking runs in 2008, and to estimate the level of detector noise. This paper describes the trigger components used, the algorithms that were executed, and the trigger synchronisation. Using data from extended cosmic ray runs, the muon, electron/photon, and jet triggers have been validated, and their performance evaluated. Efficiencies were found to be high, resolutions were found to be good, and rates as expected.

  16. Conversion of Gravitons into Dark Photons in Cosmological Dark Magnetic Fields

    OpenAIRE

    Masaki, Emi; Soda, Jiro

    2018-01-01

    It is well known that gravitons can convert into photons, and vice versa, in the presence of cosmological magnetic fields. We study this conversion process in the context of atomic dark matter scenario. In this scenario, we can expect cosmological dark magnetic fields, which are free from the stringent constraint from the cosmic microwave observations. We find that gravitons can effectively convert into dark photons in the presence of cosmological dark magnetic fields. The graviton-dark photo...

  17. Multiple photon emission in heavy particle decays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asakimori, K.; Burnett, T.H.; Cherry, M.L.

    1994-03-01

    Cosmic ray interactions, at energies above 1 TeV/nucleon, in emulsion chambers flown on high altitude balloons have yielded two events showing apparent decays of a heavy particle into one charged particle and four photons. The photons converted into electron pairs very close to the decay vertex. Attempts to explain this decay topology with known particle decays are presented. Unless both events represent a b → u transition, which is statistically unlikely, then other known decay modes for charmed or bottom particles do not account satisfactorily for these observations. This could indicate, possibly, a new decay channel. (author). 7 refs, 6 figs, 2 tabs

  18. Characterization of Silicon Photomultiplier Detectors using Cosmic Radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zavala, Favian; Castro, Juan; Niduaza, Rexavalmar; Wedel, Zachary; Fan, Sewan; Ritt, Stefan; Fatuzzo, Laura

    2014-03-01

    The silicon photomultiplier light detector has gained a lot of attention lately in fields such as particle physics, astrophysics, and medical physics. Its popularity stems from its lower cost, compact size, insensitivity to magnetic fields, and its excellent ability to distinguish a quantized number of photons. They are normally operated at room temperature and biased above their breakdown voltages. As such, they may also exhibit properties that may hinder their optimal operation which include a thermally induced high dark count rate, after pulse effects, and cross talk from photons in nearby pixels. At this poster session, we describe our data analysis and our endeavor to characterize the multipixel photon counter (MPPC) detectors from Hamamatsu under different bias voltages and temperature conditions. Particularly, we describe our setup which uses cosmic rays to induce scintillation light delivered to the detector by wavelength shifting optical fibers and the use of a fast 1 GHz waveform sampler, the domino ring sampler (DRS4) digitizer board. Department of Education grant number P031S90007.

  19. Constraints on nonconformal couplings from the properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van de Bruck, Carsten; Morrice, Jack; Vu, Susan

    2013-10-18

    Certain modified gravity theories predict the existence of an additional, nonconformally coupled scalar field. A disformal coupling of the field to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is shown to affect the evolution of the energy density in the radiation fluid and produces a modification of the distribution function of the CMB, which vanishes if photons and baryons couple in the same way to the scalar. We find the constraints on the couplings to matter and photons coming from the measurement of the CMB temperature evolution and from current upper limits on the μ distortion of the CMB spectrum. We also point out that the measured equation of state of photons differs from w(γ)=1/3 in the presence of disformal couplings.

  20. New test of Lorentz symmetry using ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anchordoqui, Luis A.; Soriano, Jorge F.

    2018-02-01

    We propose an innovative test of Lorentz symmetry by observing pairs of simultaneous parallel extensive air showers produced by the fragments of ultrahigh-energy cosmic ray nuclei which disintegrated in collisions with solar photons. We show that the search for a cross-correlation of showers in arrival time and direction becomes background free for an angular scale ≲3 ° and a time window O (10 s ) . We also show that if the solar photo-disintegration probability of helium is O (10-5.5) then the hunt for spatiotemporal coincident showers could be within range of existing cosmic ray facilities, such as the Pierre Auger Observatory. We demonstrate that the actual observation of a few events can be used to constrain Lorentz violating dispersion relations of the nucleon.

  1. TEACHING PHYSICS: Demonstrating cosmic ray induced electromagnetic cascades in the A-level laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunne, Peter

    1999-01-01

    This article indicates how the study of sea-level cosmic ray phenomena can have a role in A-level physics. It describes a simple but far reaching particle physics experiment that can be carried out in the A-level physics laboratory. A simple model of electron-positron-photon cascades, suitable for use at A-level, is described.

  2. Cosmogenic photons strongly constrain UHECR source models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Vliet Arjen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available With the newest version of our Monte Carlo code for ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR propagation, CRPropa 3, the flux of neutrinos and photons due to interactions of UHECRs with extragalactic background light can be predicted. Together with the recently updated data for the isotropic diffuse gamma-ray background (IGRB by Fermi LAT, it is now possible to severely constrain UHECR source models. The evolution of the UHECR sources especially plays an important role in the determination of the expected secondary photon spectrum. Pure proton UHECR models are already strongly constrained, primarily by the highest energy bins of Fermi LAT’s IGRB, as long as their number density is not strongly peaked at recent times.

  3. Probing the origin of cosmic-rays with extremely high energy neutrinos using the IceCube Observatory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aartsen, M.G.; Abbasi, R.; Ackermann, M.

    2013-01-01

    originate from cosmogenic neutrinos produced in the interactions of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays with ambient photons while propagating through intergalactic space. Exploiting IceCube’s large exposure for extremely high energy neutrinos and the lack of observed events above 100 PeV, we can rule out...

  4. Reionization and Cosmic Dawn: theory and simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesinger, Andrei

    2018-05-01

    We highlight recent progress in the sophistication and diversification of the simulations of cosmic dawn and reionization. The application of these modeling tools to recent observations has allowed us narrow down the timing of reionization. The midpoint of reionization is constrained to z = 7.6-0.7+0.8 (1 σ), with the strongest constraints coming from the optical depth to the CMB measured with the Planck satellite and the first detection of ongoing reionization from the spectra of the z = 7.1 QSOs ULASJ1120+0641. However, we still know virtually nothing about the astrophysical sources during the first billion years. The revolution in our understanding will be led by upcoming interferometric observations of the cosmic 21-cm signal. The properties of the sources and sinks of UV and X-ray photons are encoded in the 3D patterns of the signal. The development of Bayesian parameter recovery techniques, which tap into the wealth of the 21-cm signal, will soon usher in an era of precision astrophysical cosmology.

  5. Cosmic Ray and Tev Gamma Ray Generation by Quasar Remnants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boldt, Elihu; Loewenstein, Michael; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    Results from new broadband (radio to X-ray) high-resolution imaging studies of the dormant quasar remnant cores of nearby giant elliptical galaxies are now shown to permit the harboring of compact dynamos capable of generating the highest energy cosmic ray particles and associated curvature radiation of TeV photons. Confirmation would imply a global inflow of interstellar gas all the way to the accretion powered supermassive black hole at the center of the host galaxy.

  6. Analysis of cosmic ray atmosphere passage in the light of scaling violation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erlykin, A.D.; Kuzina, N.P.

    1981-01-01

    The multigroup method has been used to analyze the passage of cosmic rays through the Earth atmosphere. Initial spectra of Nikolsky, Rayan and Grigorov are used in calculations. Differential energy spectra of electrons, photons on different depths in the atmosphere and hadrons at the mountain and sea level for the energy range of 10 11 -10 14 eV, are presented. The comparison of calculations with experiments shows that the cross section of the interaction of cosmic rays with the atmosphere rises in the manner of ln 2 E depending on energy. Cross section growth is largely conditioned by processes with high inelasticity. Interaction multiplicity grows in the manner of Esup(1/4). Scaling in the fragmentation range of inclusion spectra of secondary particles is violated [ru

  7. Cosmic Education: Formation of a Planetary and Cosmic Personality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bazaluk Oleg

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The major stages of development of cosmic pedagogy have been researched. Based on the achievements of the modern neurosciences as well as of psychology, cosmology, and philosophy, the authors provide their reasoning for the cosmic education and its outlooks for the educational systems of the world. Through the studies of how important human mind is for the Earth and the cosmos and by researching the evolution of human mind within the structure of the Universe, the authors create a more advanced scientific and philosophic basis for the cosmic education where the subject is a comprehensive process of formation and directed progress of both an individual mind and a conglomerate of minds called the "psychospace". The cosmic education researches the permanent progress of the intelligent matter of the Earth. The purpose of the cosmic education has been determined as formation of a planetary and cosmic personality. According to the authors, a planetary and cosmic personality is a harmony of mind, soul, and body, and such harmony is directed to use the internal creative potential of mind to the benefit of the intelligent matter of the entire Earth and the cosmos. The properties of such a planetary and cosmic personality are being improved continuously; they are a sample (the ideal of the cosmic pedagogy and the image of a human being of the future. Through the usage of the entire potential and art of upbringing and educating, the cosmic pedagogy is called to embody the major properties of the image of a human being of the future in the new generations of minds and to form a planetary and cosmic personality capable of self-actualization to the benefit of the permanent progress of the intelligent matter.

  8. On the radiative and thermodynamic properties of the cosmic radiations using COBE FIRAS instrument data: I. Cosmic microwave background radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisenko, Anatoliy I.; Lemberg, Vladimir

    2014-07-01

    Using the explicit form of the functions to describe the monopole and dipole spectra of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, the exact expressions for the temperature dependences of the radiative and thermodynamic functions, such as the total radiation power per unit area, total energy density, number density of photons, Helmholtz free energy density, entropy density, heat capacity at constant volume, and pressure in the finite range of frequencies v 1≤ v≤ v 2 are obtained. Since the dependence of temperature upon the redshift z is known, the obtained expressions can be simply presented in z representation. Utilizing experimental data for the monopole and dipole spectra measured by the COBE FIRAS instrument in the 60-600 GHz frequency interval at the temperature T=2.72548 K, the values of the radiative and thermodynamic functions, as well as the radiation density constant a and the Stefan-Boltzmann constant σ are calculated. In the case of the dipole spectrum, the constants a and σ, and the radiative and thermodynamic properties of the CMB radiation are obtained using the mean amplitude T amp=3.358 mK. It is shown that the Doppler shift leads to a renormalization of the radiation density constant a, the Stefan-Boltzmann constant σ, and the corresponding constants for the thermodynamic functions. The expressions for new astrophysical parameters, such as the entropy density/Boltzmann constant, and number density of CMB photons are obtained. The radiative and thermodynamic properties of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation for the monopole and dipole spectra at redshift z≈1089 are calculated.

  9. Measurements of the dose due to cosmic rays in aircraft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vukovic, B.; Lisjak, I.; Radolic, V.; Vekic, B.; Planinic, J.

    2006-01-01

    When the primary particles from space, mainly protons, enter the atmosphere, they produce interactions with air nuclei, and cosmic-ray showers are induced. The radiation field at aircraft altitude is complex, with different types of particles, mainly photons, electrons, positrons and neutrons, with a large energy range. The cosmic radiation dose aboard A320 and ATR 42 aircraft was measured with TLD-100 (LiF:Mg,Ti) detectors and the Mini 6100 semiconductor dosimeter; radon concentration in the atmosphere was measured with the Alpha Guard radon detector. The estimated occupational effective dose for the aircraft crew (A320) working 500 h per year was 1.64 mSv. Another experiment was performed by the flights Zagreb-Paris-Buenos Aires and reversely, when one measured cosmic radiation dose; for 26.7 h of flight, the TLD dosimeter registered the total dose of 75 μSv and the average dose rate was 2.7 μSv/h. In the same month, February 2005, a traveling to Japan (24 h flight: Zagreb-Frankfurt-Tokyo and reversely) and the TLD-100 measurement showed the average dose rate of 2.4 μSv/h

  10. Measurements of the dose due to cosmic rays in aircraft

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vukovic, B. [Department of Physics, University of Osijek, Osijek, P.O. Box 125 (Croatia); Lisjak, I. [Croatia Airlines, Zagreb (Croatia); Radolic, V. [Department of Physics, University of Osijek, Osijek, P.O. Box 125 (Croatia); Vekic, B. [Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Zagreb (Croatia); Planinic, J. [Department of Physics, University of Osijek, Osijek, P.O. Box 125 (Croatia)]. E-mail: planinic@ffos.hr

    2006-06-15

    When the primary particles from space, mainly protons, enter the atmosphere, they produce interactions with air nuclei, and cosmic-ray showers are induced. The radiation field at aircraft altitude is complex, with different types of particles, mainly photons, electrons, positrons and neutrons, with a large energy range. The cosmic radiation dose aboard A320 and ATR 42 aircraft was measured with TLD-100 (LiF:Mg,Ti) detectors and the Mini 6100 semiconductor dosimeter; radon concentration in the atmosphere was measured with the Alpha Guard radon detector. The estimated occupational effective dose for the aircraft crew (A320) working 500 h per year was 1.64 mSv. Another experiment was performed by the flights Zagreb-Paris-Buenos Aires and reversely, when one measured cosmic radiation dose; for 26.7 h of flight, the TLD dosimeter registered the total dose of 75 {mu}Sv and the average dose rate was 2.7 {mu}Sv/h. In the same month, February 2005, a traveling to Japan (24 h flight: Zagreb-Frankfurt-Tokyo and reversely) and the TLD-100 measurement showed the average dose rate of 2.4 {mu}Sv/h.

  11. Cosmic Microwave Background as a Thermal Gas of SU(2 Photons: Implications for the High-z Cosmological Model and the Value of H0

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steffen Hahn

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Presently, we are facing a 3σ tension in the most basic cosmological parameter, the Hubble constant H0. This tension arises when fitting the Lambda-cold-dark-matter model (ΛCDM to the high-precision temperature-temperature (TT power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB and to local cosmological observations. We propose a resolution of this problem by postulating that the thermal photon gas of the CMB obeys an SU(2 rather than U(1 gauge principle, suggesting a high-z cosmological model which is void of dark-matter. Observationally, we rely on precise low-frequency intensity measurements in the CMB spectrum and on a recent model independent (low-z extraction of the relation between the comoving sound horizon rs at the end of the baryon drag epoch and H0 (rsH0=const. We point out that the commonly employed condition for baryon-velocity freeze-out is imprecise, judged by a careful inspection of the formal solution to the associated Euler equation. As a consequence, the above-mentioned 3σ tension actually transforms into a 5σ discrepancy. To make contact with successful low-z  ΛCDM cosmology we propose an interpolation based on percolated/depercolated vortices of a Planck-scale axion condensate. For a first consistency test of such an all-z model we compute the angular scale of the sound horizon at photon decoupling.

  12. Searching for CPT violation with cosmic microwave background data from WMAP and BOOMERANG.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Bo; Li, Mingzhe; Xia, Jun-Qing; Chen, Xuelei; Zhang, Xinmin

    2006-06-09

    We search for signatures of Lorentz and violations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropies by using the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and the 2003 flight of BOOMERANG (B03) data. We note that if the Lorentz and symmetries are broken by a Chern-Simons term in the effective Lagrangian, which couples the dual electromagnetic field strength tensor to an external four-vector, the polarization vectors of propagating CMB photons will get rotated. Using the WMAP data alone, one could put an interesting constraint on the size of such a term. Combined with the B03 data, we found that a nonzero rotation angle of the photons is mildly favored: [Formula: See Text].

  13. The Pierre Auger observatory's project of detecting photons and neutrinos at very high energies; L'observatoire Pierre Auger vers la detection de photons et neutrinos a ultra haute energies?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertou, X

    2001-11-01

    Cosmic radiations of ultra high energy (RCUHE, beyond 10{sup 18} eV) are difficult to study because of their low flux on the earth surface: about 1 photon per year and per km{sup 2}. The observatory Pierre Auger proposes to study RCUHE by designing 2 sites of 3000 km{sup 2} (one in each hemisphere) allowing the observation of the shower initiated by cosmic radiation by using 4 fluorescence telescopes and a network of 1600 Cherenkov detectors. The identification of the primary particle is a very delicate point, the detection of neutrino or photon at these energies would bring valuable information for the understanding of potential sources of RCUHE. The first part of this work presents the project and its assets to perform its task. The second part is dedicated to the description of the Cherenkov detectors, of the trigger system, and of the centralized data acquisition system. The last part present the prototype installation that is under construction at Macargue in Argentina. (A.C.)

  14. Cosmic-ray positron fraction measurement from 1 to 30 GeV with AMS-01

    CERN Document Server

    Aguilar, M; Allaby, James V; Alpat, B; Ambrosi, G; Anderhub, H; Ao, L; Arefev, A; Azzarello, P; Baldini, L; Basile, M; Barancourt, D; Barão, F; Barbier, G; Barreira, G; Battiston, R; Becker, R; Becker, U; Bellagamba, L; Bene, P; Berdugo, J; Berges, P; Bertucci, B; Biland, A; Blasko, S; Bölla, G; Boschini, M; Bourquin, M; Brocco, L; Bruni, G; Buénerd, M; Burger, J D; Burger, W J; Cai, X D; Camps, C; Cannarsa, P; Capell, M; Cardano, F; Casadei, D; Casaus, J; Castellini, G; Chang, Y H; Chen, H F; Chen, H S; Chen, Z G; Chernoplekov, N A; Tzi Hong Chiueh; Cho, K; Choi, M J; Choi, Y Y; Cindolo, F; Commichau, V; Contin, A; Cortina, E; Cristinziani, M; Dai, T S; Delgado, C; Difalco, S; Djambazov, L; D'Antone, I; Dong, Z R; Emonet, P; Engelberg, J; Eppling, F J; Eronen, T; Esposito, G; Extermann, P; Favier, Jean; Fiandrini, E; Fisher, P H; Flügge, G; Fouque, N; Galaktionov, Yu; Gast, H; Gervasi, M; Giusti, P; Grandi, D; Grimm, O; Gu, W Q; Hangarter, K; Hasan, A; Hermel, V; Hofer, H; Hungerford, W; Jongmanns, M; Karlamaa, K; Karpinski, W; Kenney, G; Kim, D H; Kim, G N; Kim, K S; Kim, M Y; Klimentov, A; Kossakowski, R; Kounine, A; Koutsenko, V F; Kraeber, M; Laborie, G; Laitinen, T; Lamanna, G; Lanciotti, E; Laurenti, G; Lebedev, A; Lechanoine-Leluc, C; Lee, M W; Lee, S C; Levi, G; Liu, C L; Liu, H T; Lu, G; Lü, Y S; Lübelsmeyer, K; Luckey, D; Lustermann, W; Maña, C; Margotti, A; Mayet, F; McNeil, R R; Meillon, B; Menichelli, M; Mihul, A; Mujunen, A; Oliva, A; Olzem, J; Palmonari, F; Park, H B; Park, W H; Pauluzzi, M; Pauss, F; Perrin, E; Pesci, A; Pevsner, A; Pilo, F; Pimenta, M; Plyaskin, V; Pozhidaev, V; Pohl, M; Produit, N; Rancoita, P G; Rapin, D; Raupach, F; Ren, D; Ren, Z; Ribordy, M; Richeux, J P; Riihonen, E; Ritakari, J; Ro, S; Röser, U; Rossin, C; Sagdeev, R; Santos, D; Sartorelli, G; Sbarra, C; Schael, S; Schultzvon Dratzig, A; Schwering, G; Seo, E S; Shin, J W; Shoumilov, E; Shoutko, V; Siedenburg, T; Siedling, R; Son, D; Song, T; Spinella, F; Steuer, M; Sun, G S; Suter, H; Tang, X W; Ting, Samuel C C; Ting, S M; Tornikoski, M; Torsti, J; Trumper, J; Ulbricht, J; Urpo, S; Valtonen, E; Vandenhirtz, J; Velikhov, E P; Verlaat, B; Vetlitskii, I; Vezzu, F; Vialle, J P; Viertel, G; Vite, D; Von Gunten, H; Waldmeier-Wicki, S; Wallraff, W; Wang, B C; Wang, J Z; Wiik, K; Williams, C; Wu, S X; Xia, P C; Xu, S; Yan, J L; Yan, L G; Yang, C G; Yang, J; Yang, M; Ye, S W; Xu, Z Z; Zhang, H Y; Zhang, Z P; Zhao, D X; Zhou, Y; Zhu, G Y; Zhu, W Z; Zhuang, H L; Zichichi, A; Zimmermann, B; Zuccon, P

    2007-01-01

    A measurement of the cosmic ray positron fraction e+/(e+ + e-) in the energy range of 1-30 GeV is presented. The measurement is based on data taken by the AMS-01 experiment during its 10 day Space Shuttle flight in June 1998. A proton background suppression on the order of 10^6 is reached by identifying converted bremsstrahlung photons emitted from positrons.

  15. Cosmic-ray positron fraction measurement from 1 to 30 GeV with AMS-01

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aguilar, M.; Alcaraz, J.; Allaby, J.

    2007-01-01

    A measurement of the cosmic ray positron fraction e + /(e + +e - ) in the energy range of 1-30 GeV is presented. The measurement is based on data taken by the AMS-01 experiment during its 10 day Space Shuttle flight in June 1998. A proton background suppression on the order of 10 6 is reached by identifying converted bremsstrahlung photons emitted from positrons

  16. Upper limit on the ultrahigh-energy photon flux from AGASA and Yakutsk data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubtsov, G.I.; Dedenko, L.G.; Fedorova, G.F.; Fedunin, E.Yu.; Roganova, T.M.; Glushkov, A.V.; Makarov, I.T.; Pravdin, M.I.; Sleptsov, I.E.; Gorbunov, D.S.; Troitsky, S.V.

    2006-01-01

    We present the interpretation of the muon and scintillation signals of ultrahigh-energy air showers observed by AGASA and Yakutsk extensive air shower array experiments. We consider case-by-case ten highest-energy events with known muon content and conclude that at the 95% confidence level none of them was induced by a primary photon. Taking into account statistical fluctuations and differences in the energy estimation of proton and photon primaries, we derive an upper limit of 36% at a 95% confidence level on the fraction of primary photons in the cosmic-ray flux above 10 20 eV. This result disfavors the Z-burst and superheavy dark-matter solutions to the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin-cutoff problem

  17. THE EFFECTS OF DARK MATTER ANNIHILATION ON COSMIC REIONIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaurov, Alexander A.; Hooper, Dan; Gnedin, Nickolay Y., E-mail: kaurov@uchicago.edu [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)

    2016-12-20

    We revisit the possibility of constraining the properties of dark matter (DM) by studying the epoch of cosmic reionization. Previous studies have shown that DM annihilation was unlikely to have provided a large fraction of the photons which ionized the universe, but instead played a subdominant role relative to stars and quasars. The DM might, however, have begun to efficiently annihilate with the formation of primordial microhalos at z  ∼ 100–200, much earlier than the formation of the first stars. Therefore, if DM annihilation ionized the universe at even the percent level over the interval z  ∼ 20–100, it could leave a significant imprint on the global optical depth, τ . Moreover, we show that cosmic microwave background polarization data and future 21 cm measurements will enable us to more directly probe the DM contribution to the optical depth. In order to compute the annihilation rate throughout the epoch of reionization, we adopt the latest results from structure formation studies and explore the impact of various free parameters on our results. We show that future measurements could make it possible to place constraints on the DM’s annihilation cross-sections, which are at a level comparable to those obtained from the observations of dwarf galaxies, cosmic-ray measurements, and studies of recombination.

  18. Beyond CMB cosmic variance limits on reionization with the polarized Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyers, Joel; Meerburg, P. Daniel; van Engelen, Alexander; Battaglia, Nicholas

    2018-05-01

    Upcoming cosmic microwave background (CMB) surveys will soon make the first detection of the polarized Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, the linear polarization generated by the scattering of CMB photons on the free electrons present in collapsed objects. Measurement of this polarization along with knowledge of the electron density of the objects allows a determination of the quadrupolar temperature anisotropy of the CMB as viewed from the space-time location of the objects. Maps of these remote temperature quadrupoles have several cosmological applications. Here we propose a new application: the reconstruction of the cosmological reionization history. We show that with quadrupole measurements out to redshift 3, constraints on the mean optical depth can be improved by an order of magnitude beyond the CMB cosmic variance limit.

  19. The Pierre Auger observatory's project of detecting photons and neutrinos at very high energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bertou, X.

    2001-11-01

    Cosmic radiations of ultra high energy (RCUHE, beyond 10 18 eV) are difficult to study because of their low flux on the earth surface: about 1 photon per year and per km 2 . The observatory Pierre Auger proposes to study RCUHE by designing 2 sites of 3000 km 2 (one in each hemisphere) allowing the observation of the shower initiated by cosmic radiation by using 4 fluorescence telescopes and a network of 1600 Cherenkov detectors. The identification of the primary particle is a very delicate point, the detection of neutrino or photon at these energies would bring valuable information for the understanding of potential sources of RCUHE. The first part of this work presents the project and its assets to perform its task. The second part is dedicated to the description of the Cherenkov detectors, of the trigger system, and of the centralized data acquisition system. The last part present the prototype installation that is under construction at Macargue in Argentina. (A.C.)

  20. Laboratory Astrophysics Using High Energy Density Photon and Electron Beams

    CERN Document Server

    Bingham, Robert

    2005-01-01

    The development of intense laser and particle beams has opened up new opportunities to study high energy density astrophysical processes in the Laboratory. With even higher laser intensities possible in the near future vacuum polarization processes such as photon - photon scattering with or without large magnetic fields may also be experimentally observed. In this talk I will review the status of laboratory experiments using intense beans to investigate extreme astrophysical phenomena such as supernovae explosions, gamma x-ray bursts, ultra-high energy cosmic accelerators etc. Just as intense photon or electron beams can excite relativistic electron plasma waves or wakefields used in plasma acceleration, intense neutrino beams from type II supernovae can also excite wakefields or plasma waves. Other instabilities driven by intense beams relevant to perhaps x-ray bursts is the Weibel instability. Simulation results of extreme processes will also be presented.

  1. Distortions in the cosmic background radiation and big-bang 4He nucleosynthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mathews, G.J.; Alhassid, Y.; Fuller, G.M.

    1981-01-01

    The observed distortion of the cosmic background radiation is analyzed in the framework of information theory to derive a simple form of the photon occupation probability. Taking this distribution function as indicative of the Lagrange parameters which might characterize the era of nucleosynthesis during the big bang, and assuming equilibrium among the constituents present, we find that the primordial 4 He abundance may be reduced by as much as 15% from the standard big-bang prediction

  2. Galaxy Protoclusters as Drivers of Cosmic Star Formation History in the First 2 Gyr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiang, Yi-Kuan; Overzier, Roderik A.; Gebhardt, Karl; Henriques, Bruno

    2017-08-01

    Present-day clusters are massive halos containing mostly quiescent galaxies, while distant protoclusters are extended structures containing numerous star-forming galaxies. We investigate the implications of this fundamental change in a cosmological context using a set of N-body simulations and semi-analytic models. We find that the fraction of the cosmic volume occupied by all (proto)clusters increases by nearly three orders of magnitude from z = 0 to z = 7. We show that (proto)cluster galaxies are an important and even dominant population at high redshift, as their expected contribution to the cosmic star formation rate density rises (from 1% at z = 0) to 20% at z = 2 and 50% at z = 10. Protoclusters thus provide a significant fraction of the cosmic ionizing photons, and may have been crucial in driving the timing and topology of cosmic reionization. Internally, the average history of cluster formation can be described by three distinct phases: at z ˜ 10-5, galaxy growth in protoclusters proceeded in an inside-out manner, with centrally dominant halos that are among the most active regions in the universe; at z ˜ 5-1.5, rapid star formation occurred within the entire 10-20 Mpc structures, forming most of their present-day stellar mass; at z ≲ 1.5, violent gravitational collapse drove these stellar contents into single cluster halos, largely erasing the details of cluster galaxy formation due to relaxation and virialization. Our results motivate observations of distant protoclusters in order to understand the rapid, extended stellar growth during cosmic noon, and their connection to reionization during cosmic dawn.

  3. Interactions of cosmic ray hadrons from 104 to 106 GeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaisser, T.K.

    1977-01-01

    Three topics from the field of high energy cosmic rays that are relevant to properties of hadronic interactions at energies not accessible to existing accelerators are discussed. In each case, the implications for future experiments at ISABELLE and other accelerators planned to probe the energy range of E/sub Lab/ approximately 10 4 GeV and beyond are evaluated. A systematic analysis of inclusive distributions of photons produced in collisions of hadrons with light nuclei is given. The overall conclusion is that, although the data is consistent with scaling for small x in the fragmentation region, the plateau appears to rise significantly beyond ISR energies with a correspondingly rapid increase in multiplicity. The situation in the more controversial field of high p/sub T/ in cosmic rays is summarized. If the suggestions of some experiments are correct, then the high p/sub T/ component of hadronic interactions must become much more important relative to the normal component for E/sub Lab/ > 10 4 GeV than would be expected by extrapolating accelerator data on high p/sub T/ using fits of the form p/sub T/ -8 . Some analyses of atmospheric cascades produced by interactions of cosmic rays of E greater than or equal to 10 6 GeV are briefly reviewed. The interpretation of these experiments is ambiguous because the primary composition of cosmic rays is unknown at these energies. It is, however, possible to draw conclusions corresponding to various assumptions about the primary composition

  4. THE PHOTON UNDERPRODUCTION CRISIS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kollmeier, Juna A.; Weinberg, David H.; McEwen, Joseph; Oppenheimer, Benjamin D.; Danforth, Charles; Haardt, Francesco; Katz, Neal; Fardal, Mark; Davé, Romeel; Madau, Piero; Ford, Amanda B.; Peeples, Molly S.

    2014-01-01

    We examine the statistics of the low-redshift Lyα forest from smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulations in light of recent improvements in the estimated evolution of the cosmic ultraviolet background (UVB) and recent observations from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS). We find that the value of the metagalactic photoionization rate (Γ HI ) required by our simulations to match the observed properties of the low-redshift Lyα forest is a factor of five larger than the value predicted by state-of-the art models for the evolution of this quantity. This mismatch in Γ HI results in the mean flux decrement of the Lyα forest being overpredicted by at least a factor of two (a 10σ discrepancy with observations) and a column density distribution of Lyα forest absorbers systematically and significantly elevated compared to observations over nearly two decades in column density. We examine potential resolutions to this mismatch and find that either conventional sources of ionizing photons (galaxies and quasars) must contribute considerably more than current observational estimates or our theoretical understanding of the low-redshift universe is in need of substantial revision

  5. Rotation of the cosmic microwave background polarization from weak gravitational lensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Liang

    2014-01-31

    When a cosmic microwave background (CMB) photon travels from the surface of last scatter through spacetime metric perturbations, the polarization vector may rotate about its direction of propagation. This gravitational rotation is distinct from, and occurs in addition to, the lensing deflection of the photon trajectory. This rotation can be sourced by linear vector or tensor metric perturbations and is fully coherent with the curl deflection field. Therefore, lensing corrections to the CMB polarization power spectra as well as the temperature-polarization cross correlations due to nonscalar perturbations are modified. The rotation does not affect lensing by linear scalar perturbations, but needs to be included when calculations go to higher orders. We present complete results for weak lensing of the full-sky CMB power spectra by general linear metric perturbations, taking into account both deflection of the photon trajectory and rotation of the polarization. For the case of lensing by gravitational waves, we show that the B modes induced by the rotation largely cancel those induced by the curl component of deflection.

  6. Cosmic-ray-induced radiation environment and dose to man for low-orbit space applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sandmeier, H.A.; Hansen, G.E.; Battat, M.E.; O'Brien, K.

    1981-09-01

    Neutrons and photons resulting from the interaction of galactic cosmic rays with the material of an orbiting satellite or an orbiting space station at an altitude of some few hundreds of kilometers, and below the level of the radiation belts, have been calculated as a function of geomagnetic latitude and solar activity level. The photon and neutron leakage currents from the top of the atmosphere have been computed. The radiation dose-equivalent rate to an unshielded astronaut has also been calculated. The maximum dose-equivalent rate, near the magnetic poles, was 2 mrem/h. In deep space this would amount to 18 rem/y, indicating that for a prolonged stay in space, shielding would be needed

  7. Photons coming from an opaque obstacle as a manifestation of heavy neutrino decays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynoso, Matías M.; Romero, Ismael; Sampayo, Oscar A.

    2018-05-01

    Within the framework of physics beyond the standard model, we study the possibility that mesons produced in the atmosphere by the cosmic-ray flux decay to heavy Majorana neutrinos and the latter, in turn, decay mostly to photons in the low-mass region. We study the photon flux produced by sterile Majorana neutrinos (N ) decaying after passing through a massive and opaque object such as a mountain. To model the production of N 's in the atmosphere and their decay to photons, we consider the interaction between the Majorana neutrinos and the standard matter as modeled by an effective theory. We then calculate the heavy neutrino flux originated by the decay of mesons in the atmosphere. The surviving photon flux, originated by N decays, is calculated using transport equations that include the effects of Majorana neutrino production and decay.

  8. Measuring extensive air showers with Cherenkov light detectors of the Yakutsk array: the energy spectrum of cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivanov, A A; Knurenko, S P; Sleptsov, I Ye

    2009-01-01

    The energy spectrum of cosmic rays in the range E∼10 15 eV to 6x10 19 eV is studied in this paper using air Cherenkov light detectors of the Yakutsk array. The total flux of photons produced by the relativistic electrons (including positrons as well, hereafter) of extensive air showers in the atmosphere is used as an energy estimator of the primary particle initiating a shower. The resultant differential flux of cosmic rays exhibits, in agreement with previous measurements, a knee and ankle feature at energies of 3x10 15 and ∼10 19 eV, respectively. A comparison of observational data with simulations is made in the knee and ankle regions in order to choose the models of galactic and extragalactic components of cosmic rays that describe well the energy spectrum measured.

  9. Measuring extensive air showers with Cherenkov light detectors of the Yakutsk array: the energy spectrum of cosmic rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ivanov, A A; Knurenko, S P; Sleptsov, I Ye [Shafer Institute for Cosmophysical Research and Aeronomy, Yakutsk 677980 (Russian Federation)], E-mail: ivanov@ikfia.ysn.ru

    2009-06-15

    The energy spectrum of cosmic rays in the range E{approx}10{sup 15} eV to 6x10{sup 19} eV is studied in this paper using air Cherenkov light detectors of the Yakutsk array. The total flux of photons produced by the relativistic electrons (including positrons as well, hereafter) of extensive air showers in the atmosphere is used as an energy estimator of the primary particle initiating a shower. The resultant differential flux of cosmic rays exhibits, in agreement with previous measurements, a knee and ankle feature at energies of 3x10{sup 15} and {approx}10{sup 19} eV, respectively. A comparison of observational data with simulations is made in the knee and ankle regions in order to choose the models of galactic and extragalactic components of cosmic rays that describe well the energy spectrum measured.

  10. GCR-Induced Photon Luminescence of the Moon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, K. T.; Wilson, T. L.

    2008-01-01

    It is shown that the Moon has a ubiquitous photon luminescence induced by Galactic cosmic-rays (GCRs), using the Monte Carlo particle-physics program FLUKA. Both the fluence and the flux of the radiation can be determined by this method, but only the fluence will be presented here. This is in addition to thermal radiation emitted due to the Moon s internal temperature and radioactivity. This study is a follow-up to an earlier discussion [1] that addressed several misconceptions regarding Moonshine in the Earth-Moon system (Figure 1) and predicted this effect. There also exists a related x-ray fluorescence induced by solar energetic particles (SEPs, <350 MeV) and solar photons at lower x-ray energies, although this latter fluorescence was studied on Apollo 15 and 16 [2- 5], Lunar Prospector [6], and even EGRET [7].

  11. Cosmic void clumps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lares, M.; Luparello, H. E.; Garcia Lambas, D.; Ruiz, A. N.; Ceccarelli, L.; Paz, D.

    2017-10-01

    Cosmic voids are of great interest given their relation to the large scale distribution of mass and the way they trace cosmic flows shaping the cosmic web. Here we show that the distribution of voids has, in consonance with the distribution of mass, a characteristic scale at which void pairs are preferentially located. We identify clumps of voids with similar environments and use them to define second order underdensities. Also, we characterize its properties and analyze its impact on the cosmic microwave background.

  12. Cosmic radiation dose in the aircraft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vukovic, B.; Radolic, V.; Varga, M.; Planinic, J.; Vekic, B.

    2006-01-01

    When primary particles from space, mainly protons, enter the atmosphere, they produce interactions with air nuclei, and cosmic-ray showers are induced. The radiation field at aircraft altitude is complex, with different types of particles, mainly photons, electrons, positrons and neutrons, with a large energy range. The non-neutron component of cosmic radiation dose aboard A 320 and ATR 42 aircraft was measured with TLD-100 (LiF:Mg,Ti) detectors and the Mini 6100 semiconductor dosimeter; the neutron dose was measured with the neutron dosimeter consisted of LR-115 track detector and boron foil BN-1 or 10B converter. The estimated occupational effective dose for the aircraft crew (A320) working 500 h per year was 1.64 mSv. Another experiment was performed at the flights Zagreb - Paris - Buenos Aires and reversely, when one measured cosmic radiation dose; for 26.7 h of flight, the MINI 6100 dosimeter gave an average dose rate of 2.3 μSv/h and the TLD dosimeter registered the total dose of 75 μSv or the average dose rate of 2.7 μSv/h; the neutron dosimeter gave the dose rate of 2.4 μSv/h. In the same month, February 2005, a traveling to the Japan (24 hours-flight: Zagreb - Frankfurt - Tokyo and reversely) and the TLD-100 measurement showed the average dose rate of 2.4 μSv/h; the neutron dosimeter gave the dose rate of 2.5 μSv/h. Comparing dose rates of the non-neutron component (low LET) and the neutron one (high LET) of the radiation field at the aircraft flight level, we could conclude the neutron component curried about 50% of the total dose, that was near other known data. (author)

  13. Is the number of photons conserved in an expanding universe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novello, M.; Oliveira, L.A.R. de; Salim, J.M.

    1988-01-01

    A Friedman - like scenario in which - due to gravitational interaction - the total number of photons existing in the Universe changes as the Universe expands, is described. The photon number distribution function, in thermal equilibrium, exhibits an explicit dependence on a non-vanishing chemical potential term. This non-null value for the chemical potential of the photon is due to the presence of tidal effects, arising from the direct coupling of the photons - which, in a gravitational field, should not be treated as idealized point-like objects - to the curvature of space-time. As a result, the ratio nγ/n B between the numbers of photons and baryons in the Universe is shown to be not a constat, but rather a function of cosmic time, vanishing when the singularity of the standard FRW model is reached. In consequence, some of the supposed 'fundamental problems' of standard Cosmology (e.g., the explanation of the constancy of the ration nγ/n B and thus of the origin fo the total ammount of entropy observed today) are but apparent ones in the present scenario, and may be ipso facto solved. (author) [pt

  14. Cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tkachev, I.I.

    2014-01-01

    In this talk I will review results of cosmic ray observations at the highest energies. This year the new results on energy spectra, composition and the study of arrival directions of cosmic ray primaries came from the Telescope Array collaboration. I present these results in comparison with measurements done by other recent experiments and discuss their implications for the search of cosmic ray sources. Some related results in gamma-ray astronomy and selected recent advances in theory are also covered. (author)

  15. Galaxy Protoclusters as Drivers of Cosmic Star Formation History in the First 2 Gyr

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chiang, Yi-Kuan [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Overzier, Roderik A. [Observatório Nacional, Rua José Cristino, 77, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, 20921-400 (Brazil); Gebhardt, Karl [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Henriques, Bruno, E-mail: ykchiang@jhu.edu [Department of Physics, Institute for Astronomy, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland)

    2017-08-01

    Present-day clusters are massive halos containing mostly quiescent galaxies, while distant protoclusters are extended structures containing numerous star-forming galaxies. We investigate the implications of this fundamental change in a cosmological context using a set of N -body simulations and semi-analytic models. We find that the fraction of the cosmic volume occupied by all (proto)clusters increases by nearly three orders of magnitude from z = 0 to z = 7. We show that (proto)cluster galaxies are an important and even dominant population at high redshift, as their expected contribution to the cosmic star formation rate density rises (from 1% at z = 0) to 20% at z = 2 and 50% at z = 10. Protoclusters thus provide a significant fraction of the cosmic ionizing photons, and may have been crucial in driving the timing and topology of cosmic reionization. Internally, the average history of cluster formation can be described by three distinct phases: at z ∼ 10–5, galaxy growth in protoclusters proceeded in an inside-out manner, with centrally dominant halos that are among the most active regions in the universe; at z ∼ 5–1.5, rapid star formation occurred within the entire 10–20 Mpc structures, forming most of their present-day stellar mass; at z ≲ 1.5, violent gravitational collapse drove these stellar contents into single cluster halos, largely erasing the details of cluster galaxy formation due to relaxation and virialization. Our results motivate observations of distant protoclusters in order to understand the rapid, extended stellar growth during cosmic noon, and their connection to reionization during cosmic dawn.

  16. Early reionization by decaying particles and cosmic microwave background radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kasuya, S.; Kawasaki, M.

    2004-01-01

    We study the reionization scenario in which ionizing UV photons emitted from decaying particle, in addition to usual contributions from stars and quasars, ionize the universe. It is found that the scenario is consistent with both the first year data of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and the fact that the universe is not fully ionized until z∼6 as observed by Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Likelihood analysis revealed that rather broad parameter space can be chosen. This scenario will be discriminated by future observations, especially by the EE polarization power spectrum of cosmic microwave background radiation

  17. NASA Ames’ COSmIC Laboratory Astrophysics Facility: Recent Results and Progress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salama, Farid; Sciamma-O'Brien, Ella; Bejaoui, Salma

    2018-06-01

    The COSmIC facility was developed at NASA Ames to study interstellar, circumstellar and planetary analogs in the laboratory [1, 2]. COSmIC stands for “Cosmic Simulation Chamber” and is dedicated to the study of molecules, ions and nanoparticles under the low temperature and high vacuum conditions that are required to simulate space environments. COSmIC integrates a variety of instruments that allow generating; processing and monitoring simulated space conditions in the laboratory. It is composed of a Pulsed Discharge Nozzle expansion that generates a plasma in a free supersonic jet expansion coupled to high-sensitivity, complementary in situ diagnostic tools, used for the detection and characterization of the species present in the expansion: a Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) and fluorescence spectroscopy systems for photonic detection, and a Reflectron Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ReTOF-MS) for mass detection [3, 4].Recent advances achieved in laboratory astrophysics using COSmIC will be presented, in particular in the domain of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) [5, 6] and the monitoring, in the laboratory, of the formation of dust grains and aerosols from their gas-phase molecular precursors in environments as varied as circumstellar outflows [7] and planetary atmospheres [8, 9, 10]. Plans for future laboratory experiments on cosmic molecules and grains in the growing field of laboratory astrophysics (NIR-MIR CRDS, Laser Induced Fluorescence spectra of cosmic molecule analogs and the laser induced incandescence spectra of cosmic grain analogs) will also be addressed as well as the implications for astronomy.References: [1] Salama F., Proceed. IAU S251, Kwok & Sandford eds. CUP, 4, 357 (2008).[2] Salama F., et al., Proceed. IAU S332, Y. Aikawa, M. Cunningham, T. Millar, eds., CUP (2018)[3] Biennier L., et al., J. Chem. Phys., 118, 7863 (2003)[4] Ricketts C. et al. IJMS, 300, 26 (2011)[5] Salama F., et al., ApJ., 728, 154 (2011)[6] EDIBLES

  18. Detecting Patchy Reionization in the Cosmic Microwave Background.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Kendrick M; Ferraro, Simone

    2017-07-14

    Upcoming cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments will measure temperature fluctuations on small angular scales with unprecedented precision. Small-scale CMB fluctuations are a mixture of late-time effects: gravitational lensing, Doppler shifting of CMB photons by moving electrons [the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (KSZ) effect], and residual foregrounds. We propose a new statistic which separates the KSZ signal from the others, and also allows the KSZ signal to be decomposed in redshift bins. The decomposition extends to high redshift and does not require external data sets such as galaxy surveys. In particular, the high-redshift signal from patchy reionization can be cleanly isolated, enabling future CMB experiments to make high-significance and qualitatively new measurements of the reionization era.

  19. Influence of the atmosphere on the space detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moreggia, S.

    2007-06-01

    EUSO (Extreme Universe Space Observatory) is a project of ultra-high energy (> 10 20 eV) cosmic rays detection from space. Its concept relies on the observation of fluorescence and Cerenkov photons emitted by extensive air showers from a telescope located on the International Space Station. A simulation software has been developed to study the characteristics of this innovative concept of detection. It deals with the different steps of the detection chain: extensive air shower development, emission of fluorescence and Cerenkov light, and radiative transfer to the telescope. A Monte-Carlo code has been implemented to simulate the propagation of photons through the atmosphere, dealing with multiple scattering in clear sky conditions as well as in presence of aerosols and clouds. With this simulation program, the impact of atmospheric conditions on the performance of a space-located detector has been studied. The precise treatment of photons propagation through the atmosphere has permitted to quantify the scattered light contribution to the detected signal. (author)

  20. Our Cosmic Insignificance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahane, Guy

    2014-01-01

    The universe that surrounds us is vast, and we are so very small. When we reflect on the vastness of the universe, our humdrum cosmic location, and the inevitable future demise of humanity, our lives can seem utterly insignificant. Many philosophers assume that such worries about our significance reflect a banal metaethical confusion. They dismiss the very idea of cosmic significance. This, I argue, is a mistake. Worries about cosmic insignificance do not express metaethical worries about objectivity or nihilism, and we can make good sense of the idea of cosmic significance and its absence. It is also possible to explain why the vastness of the universe can make us feel insignificant. This impression does turn out to be mistaken, but not for the reasons typically assumed. In fact, we might be of immense cosmic significance—though we cannot, at this point, tell whether this is the case. PMID:25729095

  1. Constraints on hidden photons from current and future observations of CMB spectral distortions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kunze, Kerstin E.; Vázquez-Mozo, Miguel Á.

    2015-01-01

    A variety of beyond the standard model scenarios contain very light hidden sector U(1) gauge bosons undergoing kinetic mixing with the photon. The resulting oscillation between ordinary and hidden photons leads to spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background. We update the bounds on the mixing parameter χ 0 and the mass of the hidden photon m γ' for future experiments measuring CMB spectral distortions, such as PIXIE and PRISM/COrE. For 10 −14  eV∼< m γ' ∼< 10 −13  eV, we find the kinetic mixing angle χ 0 has to be less than 10 −8 at 95% CL. These bounds are more than an order of magnitude stronger than those derived from the COBE/FIRAS data

  2. Solar panels as air Cherenkov detectors for extremely high energy cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cecchini, S.; D'Antone, I.; Degli Esposti, L.; Giacomelli, G.; Guerra, M.; Lax, I.; Mandrioli, G.; Parretta, A.; Sarno, A.; Schioppo, R.; Sorel, M.; Spurio, M.

    2000-01-01

    Increasing interest towards the observation of the highest energy cosmic rays has motivated the development of new detection techniques. The properties of the Cherenkov photon pulse emitted in the atmosphere by these very rare particles indicate low-cost semiconductor detectors as good candidates for their optical read-out. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the viability of solar panels for this purpose. The experimental framework resulting from measurements performed with suitably-designed solar cells and large conventional photovoltaic areas is presented. A discussion on the obtained and achievable sensitivities follows

  3. A cosmic microwave background feature consistent with a cosmic texture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz, M; Turok, N; Vielva, P; Martínez-González, E; Hobson, M

    2007-12-07

    The Cosmic Microwave Background provides our most ancient image of the universe and our best tool for studying its early evolution. Theories of high-energy physics predict the formation of various types of topological defects in the very early universe, including cosmic texture, which would generate hot and cold spots in the Cosmic Microwave Background. We show through a Bayesian statistical analysis that the most prominent 5 degrees -radius cold spot observed in all-sky images, which is otherwise hard to explain, is compatible with having being caused by a texture. From this model, we constrain the fundamental symmetry-breaking energy scale to be (0) approximately 8.7 x 10(15) gigaelectron volts. If confirmed, this detection of a cosmic defect will probe physics at energies exceeding any conceivable terrestrial experiment.

  4. Cosmic Microwave Background Timeline

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cosmic Microwave Background Timeline 1934 : Richard Tolman shows that blackbody radiation in an will have a blackbody cosmic microwave background with temperature about 5 K 1955: Tigran Shmaonov anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background, this strongly supports the big bang model with gravitational

  5. Light scattering by cosmic particles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hovenier, J.W.; Min, M.

    2008-01-01

    We define cosmic particles as particles outside the Earth. Two types of cosmic particles can be distinguished, namely liquid and solid particles. The solid particles are often called grains or cosmic dust particles. Cosmic particles occur in a great variety of astronomical objects and environments.

  6. Cosmic strings and galaxy formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bertschinger, E.

    1989-01-01

    Cosmic strings have become increasingly popular candidates as seeds for the formation of structure in the universe. This scenario, remains a serious cosmogonical model despite close scrutiny. In constrast, magnetic monopoles and domain walls - relic topological defects as are cosmic strings - are disastrous for cosmology if they are left over from the early universe. The production of heavy cosmic strings is speculative, as it depends on the details of ultrahigh energy physics. Fortunately, speculation about cosmic strings is not entirely idle because, if they exist and are heavy enough to seed galaxy formation, cosmic strings can be detected astronomically. Failure to detect cosmic strings would impose some constraints on grand unified theories (GUTs); their discovery would have exciting consequences for high energy physics and cosmology. This article reviews the basic physics of nonsuperconducting cosmic strings, highlighting the field theory aspects, and provides a progress report on calculations of structure formation with cosmic strings

  7. Cosmic radiation dose in aircraft - a neutron track etch detector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vukovic, B.; Radolic, V.; Miklavcic, I.; Poje, M.; Varga, M. [Department of Physics, University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, P.O. Box 125, Gajev trg 6 (Croatia); Planinic, J. [Department of Physics, University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, P.O. Box 125, Gajev trg 6 (Croatia)], E-mail: planinic@ffos.hr

    2007-12-15

    Cosmic radiation bombards us at high altitude by ionizing particles. The radiation environment is a complex mixture of charged particles of solar and galactic origin, as well as of secondary particles produced in interaction of the galactic cosmic particles with the nuclei of atmosphere of the Earth. The radiation field at aircraft altitude consists of different types of particles, mainly photons, electrons, positrons and neutrons, with a large energy range. The non-neutron component of cosmic radiation dose aboard ATR 42 and A 320 aircrafts (flight level of 8 and 11 km, respectively) was measured with TLD-100 (LiF:Mg,Ti) detectors and the Mini 6100 semiconductor dosimeter. The estimated occupational effective dose for the aircraft crew (A 320) working 500 h per year was 1.64 mSv. Other experiments, or dose rate measurements with the neutron dosimeter, consisting of LR-115 track detector and boron foil BN-1 or 10B converter, were performed on five intercontinental flights. Comparison of the dose rates of the non-neutron component (low LET) and the neutron one (high LET) of the radiation field at the aircraft flight level showed that the neutron component carried about 50% of the total dose. The dose rate measurements on the flights from the Middle Europe to the South and Middle America, then to Korea and Japan, showed that the flights over or near the equator region carried less dose rate; this was in accordance with the known geomagnetic latitude effect.

  8. Cosmic radiation dose in aircraft - a neutron track etch detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vukovic, B.; Radolic, V.; Miklavcic, I.; Poje, M.; Varga, M.; Planinic, J.

    2007-01-01

    Cosmic radiation bombards us at high altitude by ionizing particles. The radiation environment is a complex mixture of charged particles of solar and galactic origin, as well as of secondary particles produced in interaction of the galactic cosmic particles with the nuclei of atmosphere of the Earth. The radiation field at aircraft altitude consists of different types of particles, mainly photons, electrons, positrons and neutrons, with a large energy range. The non-neutron component of cosmic radiation dose aboard ATR 42 and A 320 aircrafts (flight level of 8 and 11 km, respectively) was measured with TLD-100 (LiF:Mg,Ti) detectors and the Mini 6100 semiconductor dosimeter. The estimated occupational effective dose for the aircraft crew (A 320) working 500 h per year was 1.64 mSv. Other experiments, or dose rate measurements with the neutron dosimeter, consisting of LR-115 track detector and boron foil BN-1 or 10B converter, were performed on five intercontinental flights. Comparison of the dose rates of the non-neutron component (low LET) and the neutron one (high LET) of the radiation field at the aircraft flight level showed that the neutron component carried about 50% of the total dose. The dose rate measurements on the flights from the Middle Europe to the South and Middle America, then to Korea and Japan, showed that the flights over or near the equator region carried less dose rate; this was in accordance with the known geomagnetic latitude effect

  9. Calculation of cosmic ray induced single event upsets: Program CRUP (Cosmic Ray Upset Program)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapiro, P.

    1983-09-01

    This report documents PROGRAM CRUP, COSMIC RAY UPSET PROGRAM. The computer program calculates cosmic ray induced single-event error rates in microelectronic circuits exposed to several representative cosmic-ray environments.

  10. ROLE OF LINE-OF-SIGHT COSMIC-RAY INTERACTIONS IN FORMING THE SPECTRA OF DISTANT BLAZARS IN TeV GAMMA RAYS AND HIGH-ENERGY NEUTRINOS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Essey, Warren; Kusenko, Alexander; Kalashev, Oleg; Beacom, John F.

    2011-01-01

    Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can produce both gamma rays and cosmic rays. The observed high-energy gamma-ray signals from distant blazars may be dominated by secondary gamma rays produced along the line of sight by the interactions of cosmic-ray protons with background photons. This explains the surprisingly low attenuation observed for distant blazars, because the production of secondary gamma rays occurs, on average, much closer to Earth than the distance to the source. Thus, the observed spectrum in the TeV range does not depend on the intrinsic gamma-ray spectrum, while it depends on the output of the source in cosmic rays. We apply this hypothesis to a number of sources and, in every case, we obtain an excellent fit, strengthening the interpretation of the observed spectra as being due to secondary gamma rays. We explore the ramifications of this interpretation for limits on the extragalactic background light and for the production of cosmic rays in AGNs. We also make predictions for the neutrino signals, which can help probe the acceleration of cosmic rays in AGNs.

  11. Cosmological effects of scalar-photon couplings: dark energy and varying-α Models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Avgoustidis, A. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Martins, C.J.A.P.; Monteiro, A.M.R.V.L.; Vielzeuf, P.E. [Centro de Astrofísica, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Luzzi, G., E-mail: tavgoust@gmail.com, E-mail: Carlos.Martins@astro.up.pt, E-mail: mmonteiro@fc.up.pt, E-mail: up110370652@alunos.fc.up.pt, E-mail: gluzzi@lal.in2p3.fr [Laboratoire de l' Accélérateur Linéaire, Université de Paris-Sud, CNRS/IN2P3, Bâtiment 200, BP 34, 91898 Orsay Cedex (France)

    2014-06-01

    We study cosmological models involving scalar fields coupled to radiation and discuss their effect on the redshift evolution of the cosmic microwave background temperature, focusing on links with varying fundamental constants and dynamical dark energy. We quantify how allowing for the coupling of scalar fields to photons, and its important effect on luminosity distances, weakens current and future constraints on cosmological parameters. In particular, for evolving dark energy models, joint constraints on the dark energy equation of state combining BAO radial distance and SN luminosity distance determinations, will be strongly dominated by BAO. Thus, to fully exploit future SN data one must also independently constrain photon number non-conservation arising from the possible coupling of SN photons to the dark energy scalar field. We discuss how observational determinations of the background temperature at different redshifts can, in combination with distance measures data, set tight constraints on interactions between scalar fields and photons, thus breaking this degeneracy. We also discuss prospects for future improvements, particularly in the context of Euclid and the E-ELT and show that Euclid can, even on its own, provide useful dark energy constraints while allowing for photon number non-conservation.

  12. On the Energy Spectra of GeV/TeV Cosmic Ray Leptons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stawarz, Lukasz; /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Jagiellonian U., Astron. Observ.; Petrosian, Vahe; /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /Stanford U., Appl. Phys. Dept.; Blandford, Roger D.; /KIPAC, Menlo Park

    2011-08-19

    protons. The second source discussed here is due to the annihilation of the diffuse Galactic {gamma}-rays on the stellar photon field. We find that high positron fraction increasing with energy, as claimed by the PAMELA experiment, cannot be explained in our model with the conservative set of the model parameters. We are able, however, to reproduce the PAMELA (as well as Fermi and HESS) results assuming high values of the starlight and interstellar gas densities, which would be more appropriate for vicinities of supernova remnants. A possible solution to this problem may be that cosmic rays undergo most of their interactions near their sources due to the efficient trapping in the far upstream of supernova shocks by self-generated, cosmic ray-driven turbulence.

  13. Cosmic ray diffusion: report of the workshop in cosmic ray diffusion theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Birmingham, T.J.; Jones, F.C.

    1975-02-01

    A workshop in cosmic ray diffusion theory was held at Goddard Space Flight Center on May 16-17, 1974. Topics discussed and summarized are: (1) cosmic ray measurements as related to diffusion theory; (2) quasi-linear theory, nonlinear theory, and computer simulation of cosmic ray pitch-angle diffusion; and (3) magnetic field fluctuation measurements as related to diffusion theory. (auth)

  14. 11. European cosmic ray symposium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-03-01

    The biannual Symposium includes all aspects of cosmic ray research. The scientific programme was organized under three main headings: Cosmic rays in the heliosphere, Cosmic rays in the interstellar and extragalactic space, Properties of high-energy interactions as studied by cosmic rays. Seven invited talks were indexed seprately for the INIS database. (R.P.)

  15. A COSMIC VARIANCE COOKBOOK

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moster, Benjamin P.; Rix, Hans-Walter; Somerville, Rachel S.; Newman, Jeffrey A.

    2011-01-01

    Deep pencil beam surveys ( 2 ) are of fundamental importance for studying the high-redshift universe. However, inferences about galaxy population properties (e.g., the abundance of objects) are in practice limited by 'cosmic variance'. This is the uncertainty in observational estimates of the number density of galaxies arising from the underlying large-scale density fluctuations. This source of uncertainty can be significant, especially for surveys which cover only small areas and for massive high-redshift galaxies. Cosmic variance for a given galaxy population can be determined using predictions from cold dark matter theory and the galaxy bias. In this paper, we provide tools for experiment design and interpretation. For a given survey geometry, we present the cosmic variance of dark matter as a function of mean redshift z-bar and redshift bin size Δz. Using a halo occupation model to predict galaxy clustering, we derive the galaxy bias as a function of mean redshift for galaxy samples of a given stellar mass range. In the linear regime, the cosmic variance of these galaxy samples is the product of the galaxy bias and the dark matter cosmic variance. We present a simple recipe using a fitting function to compute cosmic variance as a function of the angular dimensions of the field, z-bar , Δz, and stellar mass m * . We also provide tabulated values and a software tool. The accuracy of the resulting cosmic variance estimates (δσ v /σ v ) is shown to be better than 20%. We find that for GOODS at z-bar =2 and with Δz = 0.5, the relative cosmic variance of galaxies with m * >10 11 M sun is ∼38%, while it is ∼27% for GEMS and ∼12% for COSMOS. For galaxies of m * ∼ 10 10 M sun , the relative cosmic variance is ∼19% for GOODS, ∼13% for GEMS, and ∼6% for COSMOS. This implies that cosmic variance is a significant source of uncertainty at z-bar =2 for small fields and massive galaxies, while for larger fields and intermediate mass galaxies, cosmic

  16. Cosmic Accelerators: An Introduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanbach, Gottfried

    2005-01-01

    High energy, relativistic, particles are an essential component of the Universe and play a major role in astrophysics. In a few years we will reach the centennial of the discovery of cosmic rays; all through this century the properties, origin, and effects of this radiation have intrigued researchers in astrophysics and elementary particles alike. We briefly review the history, current status, and future perspectives of cosmic ray research. Emphasis will be placed on the multitude of cosmic accelerators, direct observations of these objects, and the effects of cosmic rays in the Galaxy and beyond

  17. High energy cosmic rays

    CERN Document Server

    Stanev, Todor

    2010-01-01

    Offers an accessible text and reference (a cosmic-ray manual) for graduate students entering the field and high-energy astrophysicists will find this an accessible cosmic-ray manual Easy to read for the general astronomer, the first part describes the standard model of cosmic rays based on our understanding of modern particle physics. Presents the acceleration scenario in some detail in supernovae explosions as well as in the passage of cosmic rays through the Galaxy. Compares experimental data in the atmosphere as well as underground are compared with theoretical models

  18. Search of isolated photons by CELLO detector at PETRA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ros Martinez, E.

    1984-03-01

    The CELLO detector at PETRA has been used to search for isolated photons at 22 GeV beam energy. The aim is to study reactions such as e + e - → γνantiν or e + e - → γlambda anti-lambda, where lambda is the photino, the hypothetical supersymmetric partner of the photon. The absence of such a signal should allow the determination of an upper limit to the number of neutrino generations, and of a lower limit to the mass of the scalar electron. The luminosity integrated until now is still insufficient to set up such limits but techniques which will be used when high luminosity becomes available have been developed. In particular a high level of cosmic ray rejection is achieved using the granularity and improved time resolution of the CELLO lead-liquid argon electromagnetic calorimeter [fr

  19. Detection of the cosmic γ-ray horizon from multiwavelength observations of blazars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dominguez, A. [Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States); Finke, J. D. [U.S. Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC (United States); Prada, F. [Campus of International Excellence UAM_CSIC, Madrid (Spain); Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain); Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Granada (Spain); Primack, J. R. [Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States); Kitaura, F. S. [Leibniz-Institut fuer Astrophysik, Potsdam (Germany); Siana, B. [Univ. Of California, Riverside, CA (United States); Paneque, D. [Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States). Kavli Inst. sor Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology; Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Munich (Germany)

    2013-05-24

    The first statistically significant detection of the cosmic γ-ray horizon (CGRH) that is independent of any extragalactic background light (EBL) model is presented. The CGRH is a fundamental quantity in cosmology. It gives an estimate of the opacity of the Universe to very high energy (VHE) γ-ray photons due to photon-photon pair production with the EBL. The only estimations of the CGRH to date are predictions from EBL models and lower limits from γ-ray observations of cosmological blazars and γ-ray bursts. Here, we present homogeneous synchrotron/synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) models of the spectral energy distributions of 15 blazars based on (almost) simultaneous observations from radio up to the highest energy γ-rays taken with the Fermi satellite. These synchrotron/SSC models predict the unattenuated VHE fluxes, which are compared with the observations by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The comparison provides an estimate of the optical depth of the EBL, which allows a derivation of the CGRH through a maximum likelihood analysis that is EBL-model independent. We find that the observed CGRH is compatible with the current knowledge of the EBL.

  20. Pairing in the cosmic neutrino background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alonso, V.; Paredes, R.

    1981-07-01

    We extend the discussion of the possible superfluidity of the cosmic background of neutrinos beyond the arguments based on the gap equation, originally given by Ginzburg and Zharkov. We show how to develop a simple Ginzburg-Landau liquid model, in analogy with superconductivity. We use it to show how an analysis of the energy spectrum of the universe can be formulated to include general relativistic effects on the superfluid neutrinos. Finally, in view of the Hawking and Collins careful discussion on the rotation and distortion of a spatially homogeneous and isotropic universe, we discuss the vortex dynamics that might be generated on the superfluid by rotations (allowed by the almost isotropy of the microwave background of photons) of up to 2 x 10 -14 second of arc/century, but conclude that rotations of this order of magnitude would be sufficiently strong to deter the existence of the superfluid state. (author)

  1. On the possibility of highest energy cosmic rays bursts and their correlation with gamma rays bursts e.g. March 5th, 1979 event

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drukier, K.

    1982-01-01

    The avalanche production of magnetic monopoles is possible in neutron stars. Big part of the magnetic field energy can be used to accelerate a pulse of 10 30 monopoles to the energy E > approximately 10 17 eV. Thus the neutron stars may be ''point'' sources of bursts of highest energy Cosmic Rays. The emission of brehmsstrahlung photons by these highly relativistic monopoles would be seen as X and gamma bursts. This ''exotic'' model for March 5th, 1979 event, predicts that it has been followed by burst of highest energy Cosmic Rays coming from the direction of LMC supernovae remanent N49

  2. Heavy ion irradiation of crystalline water ice. Cosmic ray amorphisation cross-section and sputtering yield

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dartois, E.; Augé, B.; Boduch, P.; Brunetto, R.; Chabot, M.; Domaracka, A.; Ding, J. J.; Kamalou, O.; Lv, X. Y.; Rothard, H.; da Silveira, E. F.; Thomas, J. C.

    2015-04-01

    Context. Under cosmic irradiation, the interstellar water ice mantles evolve towards a compact amorphous state. Crystalline ice amorphisation was previously monitored mainly in the keV to hundreds of keV ion energies. Aims: We experimentally investigate heavy ion irradiation amorphisation of crystalline ice, at high energies closer to true cosmic rays, and explore the water-ice sputtering yield. Methods: We irradiated thin crystalline ice films with MeV to GeV swift ion beams, produced at the GANIL accelerator. The ice infrared spectral evolution as a function of fluence is monitored with in-situ infrared spectroscopy (induced amorphisation of the initial crystalline state into a compact amorphous phase). Results: The crystalline ice amorphisation cross-section is measured in the high electronic stopping-power range for different temperatures. At large fluence, the ice sputtering is measured on the infrared spectra, and the fitted sputtering-yield dependence, combined with previous measurements, is quadratic over three decades of electronic stopping power. Conclusions: The final state of cosmic ray irradiation for porous amorphous and crystalline ice, as monitored by infrared spectroscopy, is the same, but with a large difference in cross-section, hence in time scale in an astrophysical context. The cosmic ray water-ice sputtering rates compete with the UV photodesorption yields reported in the literature. The prevalence of direct cosmic ray sputtering over cosmic-ray induced photons photodesorption may be particularly true for ices strongly bonded to the ice mantles surfaces, such as hydrogen-bonded ice structures or more generally the so-called polar ices. Experiments performed at the Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL) Caen, France. Part of this work has been financed by the French INSU-CNRS programme "Physique et Chimie du Milieu Interstellaire" (PCMI) and the ANR IGLIAS.

  3. Cesium iodide photon converter performance in a gaseous RICH detector

    CERN Document Server

    Gernhäuser, R; Homolka, J; Kastenmüller, A; Kienle, P; Körner, H J; Maier-Komor, P; Peter, M; Zeitelhack, K

    1999-01-01

    The performance of a 48x48 cm sup 2 multi-wire proportional chamber for VUV photon detection in a RICH setup is reported. The MWPC pad cathode was covered with a solid CsI photo converter layer of 230 mu g/cm sup 2 thickness deposited on a resin-stabilized graphite (RSG) coating. Cherenkov light radiated from cosmic muons was detected in the wavelength region 160 nm95% and a constant long-term stability of the photo cathode were observed.

  4. Recent Progress in Planetary Laboratory Astrophysics achieved with NASA Ames' COSmIC Facility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salama, Farid; Sciamma-O'Brien, Ella; Bejaoui, Salma

    2016-10-01

    We describe the characteristics and the capabilities of the laboratory facility, COSmIC, that was developed at NASA Ames to generate, process and analyze interstellar, circumstellar and planetary analogs in the laboratory [1]. COSmIC stands for "Cosmic Simulation Chamber" and is dedicated to the study of neutral and ionized molecules and nanoparticles under the low temperature and high vacuum conditions that are required to simulate various space environments such as planetary atmospheres. COSmIC integrates a variety of state-of-the-art instruments that allow forming, processing and monitoring simulated space conditions for planetary, circumstellar and interstellar materials in the laboratory. The COSmIC experimental setup is composed of a Pulsed Discharge Nozzle (PDN) expansion, that generates a plasma in the stream of a free supersonic jet expansion, coupled to two high-sensitivity, complementary in situ diagnostics: a Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) and laser induced fluorescence (LIF) systems for photonic detection [2, 3], and a Reflectron Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ReTOF-MS) for mass detection [4].Recent results obtained using COSmIC will be highlighted. In particular, the progress that has been achieved in an on-going study investigating the formation and the characterization of laboratory analogs of Titan's aerosols generated from gas-phase molecular precursors [5] will be presented. Plans for future laboratory experiments on planetary molecules and aerosols in the growing field of planetary laboratory astrophysics will also be addressed, as well as the implications of studies underway for astronomical observations.References: [1] Salama F., in Organic Matter in Space, IAU S251, Kwok & Sandford eds, CUP, S251, 4, 357 (2008).[2] Biennier L., Salama, F., Allamandola L., & Scherer J., J. Chem. Phys., 118, 7863 (2003)[3] Tan X, & Salama F., J. Chem. Phys. 122, 84318 (2005)[4] Ricketts C., Contreras C., Walker, R., Salama F., Int. J. Mass Spec, 300

  5. Constraints on Dark Matter Interactions with Standard Model Particles from Cosmic Microwave Background Spectral Distortions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali-Haïmoud, Yacine; Chluba, Jens; Kamionkowski, Marc

    2015-08-14

    We propose a new method to constrain elastic scattering between dark matter (DM) and standard model particles in the early Universe. Direct or indirect thermal coupling of nonrelativistic DM with photons leads to a heat sink for the latter. This results in spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the amplitude of which can be as large as a few times the DM-to-photon-number ratio. We compute CMB spectral distortions due to DM-proton, DM-electron, and DM-photon scattering for generic energy-dependent cross sections and DM mass m_{χ}≳1 keV. Using Far-Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer measurements, we set constraints on the cross sections for m_{χ}≲0.1 MeV. In particular, for energy-independent scattering we obtain σ_{DM-proton}≲10^{-24} cm^{2} (keV/m_{χ})^{1/2}, σ_{DM-electron}≲10^{-27} cm^{2} (keV/m_{χ})^{1/2}, and σ_{DM-photon}≲10^{-39} cm^{2} (m_{χ}/keV). An experiment with the characteristics of the Primordial Inflation Explorer would extend the regime of sensitivity up to masses m_{χ}~1 GeV.

  6. High Energy Cosmic Electrons: Messengers from Nearby Cosmic Ray Sources or Dark Matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moiseev, Alexander

    2011-01-01

    This slide presentation reviews the recent discoveries by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) and the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope in reference to high energy cosmic electrons, and whether their source is cosmic rays or dark matter. Specific interest is devoted to Cosmic Ray electrons anisotropy,

  7. Cosmic strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bennett, D.P.

    1988-07-01

    Cosmic strings are linear topological defects that are predicted by some grand unified theories to form during a spontaneous symmetry breaking phase transition in the early universe. They are the basis for the only theories of galaxy formation aside from quantum fluctuations from inflation that are based on fundamental physics. In contrast to inflation, they can also be observed directly through gravitational lensing and their characteristic microwave background anistropy. It has recently been discovered by F. Bouchet and myself that details of cosmic string evolution are very different from the so-called ''standard model'' that has been assumed in most of the string induced galaxy formation calculations. Therefore, the details of galaxy formation in the cosmic string models are currently very uncertain. 29 refs., 9 figs

  8. Photon technology. Hard photon technology; Photon technology. Hard photon gijutsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-03-01

    Research results of hard photon technology have been summarized as a part of novel technology development highly utilizing the quantum nature of photon. Hard photon technology refers to photon beam technologies which use photon in the 0.1 to 200 nm wavelength region. Hard photon has not been used in industry due to the lack of suitable photon sources and optical devices. However, hard photon in this wavelength region is expected to bring about innovations in such areas as ultrafine processing and material synthesis due to its atom selective reaction, inner shell excitation reaction, and spatially high resolution. Then, technological themes and possibility have been surveyed. Although there are principle proposes and their verification of individual technologies for the technologies of hard photon generation, regulation and utilization, they are still far from the practical applications. For the photon source technology, the laser diode pumped driver laser technology, laser plasma photon source technology, synchrotron radiation photon source technology, and vacuum ultraviolet photon source technology are presented. For the optical device technology, the multi-layer film technology for beam mirrors and the non-spherical lens processing technology are introduced. Also are described the reduction lithography technology, hard photon excitation process, and methods of analysis and measurement. 430 refs., 165 figs., 23 tabs.

  9. Investigating the Lyman photon escape in local starburst galaxies with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph ★

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez, Svea; Leitherer, Claus; Boquien, Médéric; Buat, Véronique; Burgarella, Denis; Calzetti, Daniela; Noll, Stefan

    2018-04-01

    We present a study of 7 star-forming galaxies from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The galaxies are located at relatively low redshifts, z ˜0.3, with morphologies ranging from extended and disturbed to compact and smooth. To complement the HST observations we also analyze observations taken with the VIMOS spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope (VLT). In our galaxy sample we identify three objects with double peak Lyman-α profiles similar to those seen in Green Pea compact galaxies and measure peak separations of 655, 374, and 275 km s-1. We measure Lyman-α escape fractions with values ranging between 5-13%. Given the low flux levels in the individual COS exposures we apply a weighted stacking approach to obtain a single spectrum. From this COS combined spectrum we infer upper limits for the absolute and relative Lyman continuum escape fractions of f_abs(LyC) = 0.4^{+10.1}_{-0.4}% and f_res(LyC) = 1.7^{+15.2}_{-1.7}%, respectively. Finally, we find that most of these galaxies have moderate UV and optical SFRs (SFRs ≲ 10 M⊙ yr-1).

  10. Analytical Model for Estimating Terrestrial Cosmic Ray Fluxes Nearly Anytime and Anywhere in the World: Extension of PARMA/EXPACS.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatsuhiko Sato

    Full Text Available By extending our previously established model, here we present a new model called "PHITS-based Analytical Radiation Model in the Atmosphere (PARMA version 3.0," which can instantaneously estimate terrestrial cosmic ray fluxes of neutrons, protons, ions with charge up to 28 (Ni, muons, electrons, positrons, and photons nearly anytime and anywhere in the Earth's atmosphere. The model comprises numerous analytical functions with parameters whose numerical values were fitted to reproduce the results of the extensive air shower (EAS simulation performed by Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS. The accuracy of the EAS simulation was well verified using various experimental data, while that of PARMA3.0 was confirmed by the high R2 values of the fit. The models to be used for estimating radiation doses due to cosmic ray exposure, cosmic ray induced ionization rates, and count rates of neutron monitors were validated by investigating their capability to reproduce those quantities measured under various conditions. PARMA3.0 is available freely and is easy to use, as implemented in an open-access software program EXcel-based Program for Calculating Atmospheric Cosmic ray Spectrum (EXPACS. Because of these features, the new version of PARMA/EXPACS can be an important tool in various research fields such as geosciences, cosmic ray physics, and radiation research.

  11. Cosmic rays in space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujitaka, Kazunobu

    2005-01-01

    Cosmos is a mysterious space by which many researchers are fascinated for many years. But, going into space means that we will receive extra exposure due to existence of cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are mainly composed of highly energetic protons. It was born in the last stage of stellar life. Understanding of cosmos will certainly bring right understanding of radiation energy, or energy itself. As no one could see the very early stage of cosmic rays, there is only a speculation. But it is better to speculate something based on certain side evidences, than to give up the whole. Such attitude shall be welcomed in the space researches. Anyway, cosmic rays were born in the last explosion of a star, which is called as Super Nova. After cosmic rays are emitted from the Super Nova, it will reach to the human surroundings. To indicate its intensity, special unit of ''dose rate'' is used. When a man climbs a mountain, cosmic ray intensity surely increases. It doubles as he goes up every 1500m elevation. It was ascertained by our own measurements. Then what happens when the goes up more? At aviation altitude, where airplanes fly, the dose rate will be increased up to 100times the high mountain cases. And what is expected when he goes up further more, up to space orbit altitude? In this case, the dose rate increases up to 10times the airplane cases. Geomagnetism affects the dose rate very much. As primary cosmic ray particles are charged particles, they cannot do well with existence of the magnetic field. In effect, cosmic rays can penetrate into the polar atmosphere along geomagnetic lines of forces which stand almost vertical, but penetration of low energy cosmic rays will be banned when they intend to penetrate crossing the geomagnetic lines of forces in equatorial region. Therefore, exposure due to cosmic rays will become large in polar region, while it remains small in equatorial region. In effect, airplanes which fly over the equator. Only, we have to know that the cosmos

  12. Microwave SQUID Multiplexer Demonstration for Cosmic Microwave Background Imagers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dober, B; Becker, D T; Bennett, D A; Bryan, S A; Duff, S M; Gard, J D; Hays-Wehle, J P; Hilton, G C; Hubmayr, J; Mates, J A B; Reintsema, C D; Vale, L R; Ullom, J N

    2017-12-01

    Key performance characteristics are demonstrated for the microwave SQUID multiplexer (µmux) coupled to transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers that have been optimized for cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations. In a 64-channel demonstration, we show that the µmux produces a white, input referred current noise level of [Formula: see text] at -77 dB microwave probe tone power, which is well below expected fundamental detector and photon noise sources for a ground-based CMB-optimized bolometer. Operated with negligible photon loading, we measure [Formula: see text] in the TES-coupled channels biased at 65% of the sensor normal resistance. This noise level is consistent with that predicted from bolometer thermal fluctuation (i.e. phonon) noise. Furthermore, the power spectral density is white over a range of frequencies down to ~ 100 mHz, which enables CMB mapping on large angular scales that constrain the physics of inflation. Additionally, we report cross-talk measurements that indicate a level below 0.3%, which is less than the level of cross-talk from multiplexed readout systems in deployed CMB imagers. These measurements demonstrate the µmux as a viable readout technique for future CMB imaging instruments.

  13. D-term inflation, cosmic strings, and consistency with cosmic microwave background measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocher, Jonathan; Sakellariadou, Mairi

    2005-01-14

    Standard D-term inflation is studied in the framework of supergravity. D-term inflation produces cosmic strings; however, it can still be compatible with cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements without invoking any new physics. The cosmic strings contribution to the CMB data is not constant, nor dominant, contrary to some previous results. Using current CMB measurements, the free parameters (gauge and superpotential couplings, as well as the Fayet-Iliopoulos term) of D-term inflation are constrained.

  14. Cosmic Bell Test: Measurement Settings from Milky Way Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handsteiner, Johannes; Friedman, Andrew S.; Rauch, Dominik; Gallicchio, Jason; Liu, Bo; Hosp, Hannes; Kofler, Johannes; Bricher, David; Fink, Matthias; Leung, Calvin; Mark, Anthony; Nguyen, Hien T.; Sanders, Isabella; Steinlechner, Fabian; Ursin, Rupert; Wengerowsky, Sören; Guth, Alan H.; Kaiser, David I.; Scheidl, Thomas; Zeilinger, Anton

    2017-02-01

    Bell's theorem states that some predictions of quantum mechanics cannot be reproduced by a local-realist theory. That conflict is expressed by Bell's inequality, which is usually derived under the assumption that there are no statistical correlations between the choices of measurement settings and anything else that can causally affect the measurement outcomes. In previous experiments, this "freedom of choice" was addressed by ensuring that selection of measurement settings via conventional "quantum random number generators" was spacelike separated from the entangled particle creation. This, however, left open the possibility that an unknown cause affected both the setting choices and measurement outcomes as recently as mere microseconds before each experimental trial. Here we report on a new experimental test of Bell's inequality that, for the first time, uses distant astronomical sources as "cosmic setting generators." In our tests with polarization-entangled photons, measurement settings were chosen using real-time observations of Milky Way stars while simultaneously ensuring locality. Assuming fair sampling for all detected photons, and that each stellar photon's color was set at emission, we observe statistically significant ≳7.31 σ and ≳11.93 σ violations of Bell's inequality with estimated p values of ≲1.8 ×10-13 and ≲4.0 ×10-33, respectively, thereby pushing back by ˜600 years the most recent time by which any local-realist influences could have engineered the observed Bell violation.

  15. Cosmological Constraints on Decoupled Dark Photons and Dark Higgs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berger, Joshua [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Jedamzik, Karsten [Univ. Montpellier II (France). Lab. Univers. et Particules de Monpellier; Walker, Devin G.E. [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Dept. of Physics

    2016-05-23

    Any neutral boson such as a dark photon or dark Higgs that is part of a non-standard sector of particles can mix with its standard model counterpart. When very weakly mixed with the Standard Model, these particles are produced in the early Universe via the freeze-in mechanism and subsequently decay back to standard model particles. In this work, we place constraints on such mediator decays by considering bounds from Big Bang nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We find both nucleosynthesis and CMB can constrain dark photons with a kinetic mixing parameter between log ϵ ~ -10 to -17 for masses between 1 MeV and 100 GeV. Similarly, the dark Higgs mixing angle ϵ with the Standard Model Higgs is constrained between log ϵ ~ -6 to -15. Dramatic improvement on the bounds from CMB spectral distortions can be achieved with proposed experiments such as PIXIE.

  16. Magnetized $\\Lambda$CDM inhomogeneities and the cosmic dark ages

    CERN Document Server

    Giovannini, Massimo

    2011-01-01

    Exact solutions of the perturbations equations in the magnetized LambdaCDM scenario are presented. They apply during the dark ages and, more specifically, after the baryons are freed from the drag of the photons. The magnetized growth rate of matter perturbations is compared with the growth index obtained in the concordance paradigm and under the assumption that dark energy does not cluster for a redshift window ranging from the epoch of reionization to the stage of dark-energy dominance. The constraints derived from this analysis are shown to be qualitatively complementary and quantitatively competitive with the bounds stemming from the analysis of the distortion patterns induced by the magnetized adiabatic mode on the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background.

  17. Cosmic ray modulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueno, Hirosachi

    1974-01-01

    It is important to know the physical state of solar plasma region by the observation of intensity variation of cosmic ray which passed through the solar plasma region, because earth magnetosphere is formed by the interaction between geomagnetic field and solar plasma flow. The observation of cosmic ray intensity is useful to know the average condition of the space of 0.1--3 A.U., and gives the structure of the magnetic field in solar wind affecting the earth magnetosphere. The observation of neutron component in cosmic ray has been carried out at Norikura, Tokyo, Fukushima and Morioka. The lower limit of the energy of incident cosmic ray which can be observed at each station is different, and the fine structure of the variation can be known by comparison. The intensity of meson component in cosmic ray has been measured in underground, and the state of solar plasma region 2--3 A.U. from the earth can be known. The underground measurement has been made at Takeyama and Matsumoto, and a new station at Sakashita is proposed. The measurement at Sakashita will be made by proportional counters at the depth of 100m (water equivalent). Arrangement of detectors is shown. (Kato, T.)

  18. Interaction of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays with microwave background radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aharonyan, F.A.; Kanevskij, B.L.; Vardanyan, V.V.

    1989-01-01

    The formation of the bump and black-body cutoff in the cosmic-ray (CR) spectrum arising from the π-meson photoproduction reaction in collisions of CR protons with the microwave background radiation (MBR) photons is studied. A kinetic equation which describes CR proton propagation in MBR with account of a catastrophic of the π-meson photoproduction process is derived. The equilibrium CR proton spectrum obtained from the solution of the stationary kinetic equation is in general agreement with spectrum obtained under assumption of continuous energy loss approximation. However spectra from local sources especially for the times of propagation t>10 9 years differ noticeably from those obtained in the continuous loss approximation. 24 refs.; 5 figs

  19. Cosmic Humanity: Utopia, Realities, Prospects

    OpenAIRE

    Sergey Krichevsky

    2017-01-01

    The philosophical foundations of the theory and practice of the creation of cosmic humanity as a process of the evolution of human civilization, the emergence into space, with the prospect of resettlement outside the Earth are considered. There is a connection between myths, fantasies, ideas, concepts and projects aimed at the exploration of outer space, the creation of cosmic humanity. A new and voluminous definition of cosmic humanity in the evolutionary paradigm is given. Cosmic humanity i...

  20. Cosmic-ray-veto detector system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, D.W.; Menlove, H.O.

    1992-12-01

    To reduce the cosmic-ray-induced neutron background, we are testing a cosmic-ray veto option with a neutron detector system that uses plastic scintillator slabs mounted on the outside of a 3 He-tube detector. The scintillator slabs eliminate unwanted cosmic-ray events, enabling the detector to assay low-level plutonium samples, for which a low-background coincident signature is critical. This report describes the design and testing of the prototype cosmic-ray-veto detector system

  1. Cosmic gamma-ray background from dark matter annihilation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ando, Shin'ichiro

    2007-01-01

    High-energy photons from pair annihilation of dark matter particles contribute to the cosmic gamma-ray background (CGB) observed in a wide energy range. The precise shape of the energy spectrum of CGB depends on the nature of dark matter particles. In order to discriminate between the signals from dark matter annihilation and other astrophysical sources, however, the information from the energy spectrum of CGB may not be sufficient. We show that dark matter annihilation not only contributes to the mean CGB intensity, but also produces a characteristic anisotropy, which provides a powerful tool for testing the origins of the observed CGB. We show that the expected sensitivity of future gamma-ray detectors such as GLAST should allow us to measure the angular power spectrum of CGB anisotropy, if dark matter particles are supersymmetric neutralinos and they account for most of the observed mean intensity. As the intensity of photons from annihilation is proportional to the density squared, we show that the predicted shape of the angular power spectrum of gamma rays from dark matter annihilation is different from that due to other astrophysical sources such as blazars, whose intensity is linearly proportional to density. Therefore, the angular power spectrum of the CGB provides a 'smoking-gun' signature of gamma rays from dark matter annihilation

  2. Test particle trajectories near cosmic strings

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    We present a detailed analysis of the motion of test particle in the gravitational field of cosmic strings in different situations using the Hamilton–Jacobi (H–J) formalism. We have discussed the trajectories near static cosmic string, cosmic string in Brans–Dicke theory and cosmic string in dilaton gravity.

  3. Department of Cosmic Radiation Physics: Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gawin, J.

    1999-01-01

    Full text: The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the area of high energy physics and cosmic ray physics related to: - Studies of asymptotic properties of hadronic interactions based on the analysis of cosmic ray propagation in the atmosphere. - Experimental and phenomenological studies of Extensive Air Showers induced by cosmic ray particles. - Search for point sources of high energy cosmic rays. - Studies of cosmic ray propagation in the Galaxy and mechanisms of particle acceleration. - Studies of mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range 10 15 - 10 17 eV. Theoretical and experimental studies of Extensive Air Shower properties are performed mostly based on the results obtained by the Lodz Extensive Air Shower Array. We analysed nearly 100,000 events of energies above 10 15 eV registered by the Lodz hodoscope. We have developed the method of data analysis which allows us to verify different models of cosmic ray mass composition. In our research in high energy cosmic rays we also used experimental data from other collaborating experiments in Karlsruhe, Baksan and THEMISTOCLE. The Lodz group collaborates with many foreign institutes and laboratories in construction and data interpretation of cosmic ray experiments. Our most important partners are: Forschungszentrum in Karlsruhe (Germany), College de France, Institute for Nuclear Studies of the Russian Academy of Science, University of Perpignan and Uppsala University (Sweden). (author)

  4. Department of Cosmic Radiation Physics - Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gawin, J.

    1997-01-01

    Full text: The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the area of high energy physics and cosmic ray physics related to: -Studies of the asymptotic properties of hadronic interactions from the analysis of cosmic ray propagation in the atmosphere. -Studies of structure and properties of Extensive Air Showers induced by cosmic ray particles. -Search for point sources of high energy cosmic rays. -Studies of cosmic ray propagation in the Galaxy and mechanisms of particle acceleration. -Studies of the mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range 10 15 -10 17 eV. Theoretical and experimental studies of nuclear interactions for energies exceeding those obtained by modern particle accelerators are performed employing results obtained by the Lodz Extensive Air Shower Array. The Lodz hodoscope can register electromagnetic components of cosmic ray showers in the atmosphere as well as muons at two energy thresholds. Data collected by the Lodz array are also used to study mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range 10 15 - 10 17 eV. The Lodz group collaborates with foreign institutes and laboratories on construction and data interpretation of cosmic ray experiments. Our most important partners are: Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Germany), College de France, the Institute for Nuclear Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the University of Durham, and the University of Perpignan. (author)

  5. Precise measurement of the absolute yield of fluorescence photons in atmospheric gases

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ave, M.; Boháčová, Martina; Daumiller, K.; Di Carlo, P.; Di Giulio, C.; San Luis, P.F.; Gonzales, D.; Hojvat, C.; Hörandel, J.R.; Hrabovský, M.; Iarlori, M.; Keilhauer, B.; Klages, H.; Kleifges, M.; Kuehn, F.; Monasor, M.; Nožka, Libor; Palatka, Miroslav; Petrera, S.; Privitera, P.; Řídký, Jan; Rizi, V.; d´Orfeuil, B.R.; Salamida, F.; Schovánek, Petr; Šmída, Radomír; Spinka, H.; Ulrich, A.; Verzi, V.; Williams, C.

    212-213, - (2011), s. 356-361 ISSN 0920-5632 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC527; GA MŠk(CZ) 1M06002; GA MŠk(CZ) LA08016; GA AV ČR KJB100100904 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100502; CEZ:AV0Z10100522 Keywords : airfly * fluorescence photons * ultra-high energy cosmic rays Subject RIV: BF - Elementary Particles and High Energy Physics http://particle.astro.ru.nl/pub/NuclPhysB212-356.pdf

  6. Di-photon excess at LHC and the gamma ray excess at the Galactic Centre

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hektor, Andi [National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics,Rävala pst. 10, 10143 Tallinn (Estonia); Marzola, Luca [National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics,Rävala pst. 10, 10143 Tallinn (Estonia); Institute of Physics, University of Tartu,Ravila 14c, 50411 Tartu (Estonia)

    2016-07-25

    Motivated by the recent indications for a 750 GeV resonance in the di-photon final state at the LHC, in this work we analyse the compatibility of the excess with the broad photon excess detected at the Galactic Centre. Intriguingly, by analysing the parameter space of an effective models where a 750 GeV pseudoscalar particles mediates the interaction between the Standard Model and a scalar dark sector, we prove the compatibility of the two signals. We show, however, that the LHC mono-jet searches and the Fermi LAT measurements strongly limit the viable parameter space. We comment on the possible impact of cosmic antiproton flux measurement by the AMS-02 experiment.

  7. Chameleon-photon mixing in a primordial magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schelpe, Camilla A. O.

    2010-01-01

    The existence of a sizable, O(10 -10 -10 -9 G), cosmological magnetic field in the early Universe has been postulated as a necessary step in certain formation scenarios for the large-scale O(μG) magnetic fields found in galaxies and galaxy clusters. If this field exists then it may induce significant mixing between photons and axion-like particles (ALPs) in the early Universe. The resonant conversion of photons into ALPs in a primordial magnetic field has been studied elsewhere by Mirizzi, Redondo and Sigl (2009). Here we consider the nonresonant mixing between photons and scalar ALPs with masses much less than the plasma frequency along the path, with specific reference to the chameleon scalar field model. The mixing would alter the intensity and polarization state of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. We find that the average modification to the CMB polarization modes is negligible. However the average modification to the CMB intensity spectrum is more significant and we compare this to high-precision measurements of the CMB monopole made by the far infrared absolute spectrophotometer on board the COBE satellite. The resulting 95% confidence limit on the scalar-photon conversion probability in the primordial field (at 100 GHz) is P γ↔φ -2 . This corresponds to a degenerate constraint on the photon-scalar coupling strength, g eff , and the magnitude of the primordial magnetic field. Taking the upper bound on the strength of the primordial magnetic field derived from the CMB power spectra, B λ ≤5.0x10 -9 G, this would imply an upper bound on the photon-scalar coupling strength in the range g eff -13 GeV -1 to g eff -14 GeV -1 , depending on the power spectrum of the primordial magnetic field.

  8. Deepening Cosmic Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonard, Gerard

    2013-01-01

    This article is a special blend of research, theory, and practice, with clear insight into the origins of Cosmic Education and cosmic task, while recalling memories of student explorations in botany, in particular, episodes from Mr. Leonard's teaching. Mr. Leonard speaks of a storytelling curriculum that eloquently puts perspective into dimensions…

  9. Cosmic rays around 1018 eV: Implications of contemporary measurements on the origin of the ankle feature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deligny, O.

    2014-01-01

    The impressive power-law decay of the energy spectrum of cosmic rays over more than thirty orders of magnitude in intensity and for energies ranging over eleven decades between 10 9 eV and 10 20 eV is actually dotted with small irregularities. These irregularities are highly valuable for uncovering and understanding the modes of production and propagation of cosmic rays. They manifest themselves through changes in the spectral index characterising the observed power laws. One of these irregularities, known as the ankle, is a hardening of the energy spectrum of cosmic rays in the 10 18 eV energy range. There are many possible interpretations for explaining it. One is to say that the ankle may be the spectral feature marking the transition between Galactic and extragalactic cosmic rays. Another one is to understand the ankle as the natural distortion of a proton-dominated extragalactic spectrum due to e ± pair production in the collisions with the photons of the cosmic microwave background. While the data collected at the Telescope Array supports the second explanation, the data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory requires a totally different picture in terms of introducing a new component mainly composed of light elements in order to fill the gap of the all-particle energy spectrum between 10 17 eV and 4*10 18 eV, and to reproduce the measurements related to mass composition. If contemporary observations characterising the ankle have shed new lights, they are still far from being able to deliver all the story

  10. Department of Cosmic Radiation Physics: Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    2000-01-01

    Full text: Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the area of high-energy physics and cosmic ray physics related to: -Studies of asymptotic properties of hadronic interactions based on the analysis of cosmic ray propagation through the atmosphere. -Experimental and phenomenological studies of Extensive Air Showers induced by cosmic ray particles. - Search for high-energy cosmic ray point sources. - Studies of cosmic ray propagation in the Galaxy and particle acceleration mechanisms. -Studies of mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range 10 15 -10 17 eV. Theoretical and experimental studies of Extensive Air Shower properties are performed mainly on the basis of the results obtained by the Lodz Extensive Air Shower Array. We have analysed nearly 100,000 events of energies above 10 15 eV registered in the Lodz hodoscope. We have developed a method to verify different models of cosmic ray mass composition. The Lodz group collaborates with many foreign institutes and laboratories in construction and data interpretation of cosmic ray experiments. Our most important partners are: Forschungszentrum in Karlsruhe (Germany), College de France, Institute for Nuclear Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Uppsala University (Sweden). (author)

  11. Robust constraint on cosmic textures from the cosmic microwave background.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feeney, Stephen M; Johnson, Matthew C; Mortlock, Daniel J; Peiris, Hiranya V

    2012-06-15

    Fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) contain information which has been pivotal in establishing the current cosmological model. These data can also be used to test well-motivated additions to this model, such as cosmic textures. Textures are a type of topological defect that can be produced during a cosmological phase transition in the early Universe, and which leave characteristic hot and cold spots in the CMB. We apply bayesian methods to carry out a rigorous test of the texture hypothesis, using full-sky data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. We conclude that current data do not warrant augmenting the standard cosmological model with textures. We rule out at 95% confidence models that predict more than 6 detectable cosmic textures on the full sky.

  12. Quasi-B-mode generated by high-frequency gravitational waves and corresponding perturbative photon fluxes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Fangyu, E-mail: cqufangyuli@hotmail.com [Institute of Gravitational Physics, Department of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Wen, Hao [Institute of Gravitational Physics, Department of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); State Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Fang, Zhenyun [Institute of Gravitational Physics, Department of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Wei, Lianfu; Wang, Yiwen; Zhang, Miao [Quantum Optoelectronics Laboratory, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031 (China)

    2016-10-15

    Interaction of very low-frequency primordial (relic) gravitational waves (GWs) to cosmic microwave background (CMB) can generate B-mode polarization. Here, for the first time we point out that the electromagnetic (EM) response to high-frequency GWs (HFGWs) would produce quasi-B-mode distribution of the perturbative photon fluxes. We study the duality and high complementarity between such two B-modes, and it is shown that such two effects are from the same physical origin: the tensor perturbation of the GWs and not the density perturbation. Based on this quasi-B-mode in HFGWs and related numerical calculation, it is shown that the distinguishing and observing of HFGWs from the braneworld would be quite possible due to their large amplitude, higher frequency and very different physical behaviors between the perturbative photon fluxes and background photons, and the measurement of relic HFGWs may also be possible though face to enormous challenge.

  13. Department of Cosmic Radiation Physics: Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gawin, J.

    1998-01-01

    (full text) The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the area of high energy physics and cosmic ray physics related to: -Studies of asymptotic properties of hadronic interactions based on the analysis of cosmic ray propagation in the atmosphere. -Studies of the structure and properties of Extensive Air Showers induced by cosmic ray particles. - Search for point sources of high energy cosmic rays. - Studies of cosmic ray propagation in the Galaxy and mechanisms of particle acceleration. - Studies of mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range l0 15 -10 17 eV. Theoretical and experimental studies of nuclear interactions for energies exceeding those obtained by modern particle accelerators are performed based on the results obtained by the Lodz Extensive Air Shower Array. The Lodz hodoscope can register the electromagnetic component of cosmic ray showers developing in the atmosphere as well as muons of two energy thresholds. Data collected by the Lodz array are also used to study the mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range 10 15 -10 17 eV. The Lodz group collaborates with many foreign institutes and laboratories in construction and data interpretation of cosmic ray experiments. Our most important partners are: Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Germany), College de' France, the Institute for Nuclear Studies of the Russian Academy of Science, the University of Perpignan (France) and Uppsala University (Sweden). (author)

  14. Taking the Universe's Temperature with Spectral Distortions of the Cosmic Microwave Background.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, J Colin; Battaglia, Nick; Chluba, Jens; Ferraro, Simone; Schaan, Emmanuel; Spergel, David N

    2015-12-31

    The cosmic microwave background (CMB) energy spectrum is a near-perfect blackbody. The standard model of cosmology predicts small spectral distortions to this form, but no such distortion of the sky-averaged CMB spectrum has yet been measured. We calculate the largest expected distortion, which arises from the inverse Compton scattering of CMB photons off hot, free electrons, known as the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (TSZ) effect. We show that the predicted signal is roughly one order of magnitude below the current bound from the COBE-FIRAS experiment, but it can be detected at enormous significance (≳1000σ) by the proposed Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE). Although cosmic variance reduces the effective signal-to-noise ratio to 230σ, this measurement will still yield a subpercent constraint on the total thermal energy of electrons in the observable Universe. Furthermore, we show that PIXIE can detect subtle relativistic effects in the sky-averaged TSZ signal at 30σ, which directly probe moments of the optical depth-weighted intracluster medium electron temperature distribution. These effects break the degeneracy between the electron density and the temperature in the mean TSZ signal, allowing a direct inference of the mean baryon density at low redshift. Future spectral distortion probes will thus determine the global thermodynamic properties of ionized gas in the Universe with unprecedented precision. These measurements will impose a fundamental "integral constraint" on models of galaxy formation and the injection of feedback energy over cosmic time.

  15. ON ULTRA-HIGH-ENERGY COSMIC RAYS AND THEIR RESULTANT GAMMA-RAYS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gavish, Eyal; Eichler, David [Physics Department, Ben-Gurion University, Be’er-Sheva 84105 (Israel)

    2016-05-01

    The Fermi Large Area Telescope collaboration has recently reported on 50 months of measurements of the isotropic extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGRB) spectrum between 100 MeV and 820 GeV. Ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) protons interact with the cosmic microwave background photons and produce cascade photons of energies 10 MeV–1 TeV that contribute to the EGRB flux. We examine seven possible evolution models for UHECRs and find that UHECR sources that evolve as the star formation rate (SFR), medium low luminosity active galactic nuclei type-1 ( L = 10{sup 43.5} erg s{sup −1} in the [0.5–2] KeV band), and BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs) are the most acceptable given the constraints imposed by the observed EGRB. Other possibilities produce too much secondary γ -radiation. In all cases, the decaying dark matter (DM) contribution improves the fit at high energy, but the contribution of still unresolved blazars, which would leave the smallest role for decaying DM, may yet provide an alternative improvement. The possibility that the entire EGRB can be fitted with resolvable but not-yet-resolved blazars, as recently claimed by Ajello et al., would leave little room in the EGRB to accommodate γ -rays from extragalactic UHECR production, even for many source evolution rates that would otherwise be acceptable. We find that under the assumption of UHECRs being mostly protons, there is not enough room for producing extragalactic UHECRs with active galactic nucleus, gamma-ray burst, or even SFR source evolution. Sources that evolve as BL Lacs, on the other hand, would produce much less secondary γ -radiation and would remain a viable source of UHECRs, provided that they dominate.

  16. Cosmological constraints on decoupled dark photons and dark Higgs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berger, Joshua [Physics Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison,1150 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Jedamzik, Karsten [Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, UMR5299-CNRS,Université Montpellier II,Place Eugène Bataillon, CC 72, 34095 Montpellier Cédex 05 (France); Walker, Devin G.E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College,6127 Wilder Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States); Department of Physics, University of Washington,Box 351560, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States)

    2016-11-16

    Any neutral boson such as a dark photon or dark Higgs that is part of a non-standard sector of particles can mix with its standard model counterpart. When very weakly mixed with the Standard Model, these particles are produced in the early Universe via the freeze-in mechanism and subsequently decay back to standard model particles. In this work, we place constraints on such mediator decays by considering bounds from Big Bang nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We find both nucleosynthesis and CMB can constrain dark photons with a kinetic mixing parameter between log ϵ∼−10 to −17 for masses between 1 MeV and 100 GeV. Similarly, the dark Higgs mixing angle ϵ with the Standard Model Higgs is constrained between log ϵ∼−6 to −15. Dramatic improvement on the bounds from CMB spectral distortions can be achieved with proposed experiments such as PIXIE.

  17. Cosmic background radiation spectral distortion and radiative decays of relic neutral particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berezhiani, Z.G.; Doroshkevich, A.G.; Khlopov, M.Yu.; Yurov, V.P.; Vysotskij, M.I.

    1989-01-01

    The recently observed excess of photons on a short wavelength side of the peak of a cosmic background radiation spectrum can be described by radiative decays of relic neutral particles. The lifetime and mass of a decaying particle must satisfy the following conditions: 2x10 9 s 14 s, 0.4 eV -9 -8x10 -8 ) μ b , and the interaction of new particles with the usual matter must be rather strong. The generalization of the standard SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1) model is presented which includes new particles with the desired properties. 18 refs.; 3 figs.; 2 tabs

  18. Computation of cosmic radiation spectra and application to aircrew dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoo, Song Jae

    2002-02-01

    Using the Monte Carlo radiation transport code FLUKA- 99, secondary cosmic radiation energy spectra and intensities of neutrons, protons, photons, electrons, and muons were calculated for different geographical latitude and longitude at the commercial jet's altitudes ranging from 27000 ft to 41000 ft. The Badhwar's proton model was used to construct the primary cosmic radiation spectrum and effect of the vertical cutoff rigidity was considered after spectra similar to those given in literature were resulted. By applying the effective dose conversion factors, a calculation tool for aircrew doses was developed. According to the resulting dose rate distribution, effective dose rate over North pole region is around three times of that over equator region due to the geomagnetical shielding effect. Illustrative assessments of aircrew doses were made for four distinctive routes of Korean airliners : Seoul - New York (USA), London (UK), Sydney (Australia) and Mumbai(India). The effective doses to aircrew incurred from a round trip were 0.047, 0.055, 0.018, and 0.018μSv, respectively. If aircrew work 500 hour s a year at the cruise altitude of a international airline, the individual dose would reach 2 mSv which is about the same size as the average annual dose of workers at a nuclear power plant

  19. Cosmic Ether

    CERN Document Server

    Tomaschitz, R

    1998-01-01

    A prerelativistic approach to particle dynamics is explored in an expanding Robertson-Walker cosmology. The receding galactic background provides a distinguished frame of reference and a unique cosmic time. In this context the relativistic, purely geometric space-time concept is criticized. Physical space is regarded as a permeable medium, the cosmic ether, which effects the world-lines of particles and rays. We study in detail a Robertson-Walker universe with linear expansion factor and negatively curved, open three-space; we choose the permeability tensor of the ether in such a way that the semiclassical approximation is exact. Galactic red-shifts depend on the refractive index of the ether. In the local Minkowskian limit the ether causes a time variation of mass, which scales inversely proportional to cosmic time. In the globally geodesic rest frames of galactic observers the ether manifests itself in an unbounded speed of signal transfer, in bifurcations of world-lines, and in time inversion effects.

  20. Cosmic vacuum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chernin, Artur D

    2001-01-01

    Recent observational studies of distant supernovae have suggested the existence of cosmic vacuum whose energy density exceeds the total density of all the other energy components in the Universe. The vacuum produces the field of antigravity that causes the cosmological expansion to accelerate. It is this accelerated expansion that has been discovered in the observations. The discovery of cosmic vacuum radically changes our current understanding of the present state of the Universe. It also poses new challenges to both cosmology and fundamental physics. Why is the density of vacuum what it is? Why do the densities of the cosmic energy components differ in exact value but agree in order of magnitude? On the other hand, the discovery made at large cosmological distances of hundreds and thousands Mpc provides new insights into the dynamics of the nearby Universe, the motions of galaxies in the local volume of 10 - 20 Mpc where the cosmological expansion was originally discovered. (reviews of topical problems)

  1. Cosmic vacuum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chernin, Artur D [P.K. Shternberg State Astronomical Institute at the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2001-11-30

    Recent observational studies of distant supernovae have suggested the existence of cosmic vacuum whose energy density exceeds the total density of all the other energy components in the Universe. The vacuum produces the field of antigravity that causes the cosmological expansion to accelerate. It is this accelerated expansion that has been discovered in the observations. The discovery of cosmic vacuum radically changes our current understanding of the present state of the Universe. It also poses new challenges to both cosmology and fundamental physics. Why is the density of vacuum what it is? Why do the densities of the cosmic energy components differ in exact value but agree in order of magnitude? On the other hand, the discovery made at large cosmological distances of hundreds and thousands Mpc provides new insights into the dynamics of the nearby Universe, the motions of galaxies in the local volume of 10 - 20 Mpc where the cosmological expansion was originally discovered. (reviews of topical problems)

  2. Closing CMS to hunt cosmic rays

    CERN Multimedia

    Claudia Marcelloni

    2006-01-01

    Every second the Earth is bombarded by billions of cosmic rays and occasionally one of these cosmic particles will collide with the Earth's atmosphere generating a shower of particles known as an 'air shower'. This is similiar to the collisions and subsequent particle showers observed in accelerators such as the LHC. Here the CMS detector is closed so that systems can be tested using muon cosmic rays in the 'Cosmic Challenge'.

  3. Radiation in the Einstein universe and the cosmic background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Segal, I.E.

    1983-01-01

    It is shown that the cosmic background radiation is not at all uniquely or scientifically relatively economically indicative of a ''big bang.'' Specifically, essentially any temporally homogeneous theory in the Einstein universe is consistent with the existence of a cosmic background radiation (CBR) conforming to the Planck law; in particular, the chronometric cosmology is such. It is noted that the Einstein universe appears particularly natural as a habitat for photons by virtue of the absence of infrared divergences and of the absolute convergence of the trace for associated Gibbs-state density matrices. These features are connected with the closed character of space in the Einstein universe, and facilitate the use of the latter in modeling local phenomena, in place of Minkowski space with periodic boundary conditions or the like, with minimal loss of covariance or effect on the wave functions. In particular, the Einstein universe may be used in the analysis of the perturbation of a Planck-law spectrum due to a local nonvanishing isotropic angular momentum of the CBR, of whatever origin. The estimated distortion of the spectrum due to such a kinematically admissible effect is in very good agreement with that observed by Woody and Richards, which is opposite in direction to those earlier predicted by big-bang theories. The theoretical analysis involves a preliminary treatment of equilibria of linear quantum fields with supplementary quasilinear constraints

  4. Interplanetary cosmic-ray scintillations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toptygin, I N; Vasiliev, V N [Kalininskij Sel' skokhozyajstvennyj Inst. (USSR)

    1977-05-01

    The equation for the two-particles cosmic-ray distribution function is derived by means of the Boltzmann kinetic equation averaging. This equation is valid for arbitrary ratio of regular and random parts of the magnetic field. For small energy particles the guiding-center approximation is used. On the basis of the derived equation the dependence between power spectra of cosmic-ray intensity and random magnetic field is obtained. If power spectra are degree functions for high energy particles (approximately 10 GeV nucleon/sup -1/), then the spectral exponent ..gamma.. of magnetic field lies between rho and rho-2, where rho is the spectral exponent of cosmic-ray power spectra. The experimental data concerning moderate energy particles are in accordance with ..gamma..=rho, which demonstrates that the magnetic fluctuations are isotropic or cosmic-ray space gradient is small near the Earth orbit.

  5. Electron photon spectra at atmospheric depths 260 and 400 gm/cm2 derived from the Goddard primary proton spectrum using Fermilab data and usual cascade theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhattacharyya, D.P.; Gautam, V.P.

    1982-01-01

    The integral electron photon spectra of cosmic rays at airplane altitude and Lenin Peak (altitudes 260 and 400 g-cm -2 air) have been estimated from the primary proton spectrum of Goddard Space Flight Group using Fermilab data of pp→π +- +X and conventional cascade theory. The derived electron-photon spectra fits well the experimental data of Ohta et al. (1975) and Cherdyntseva and Nikol'skii (1976) for energies above 4 TeV

  6. ALICE Cosmic Ray Detector

    CERN Multimedia

    Fernandez Tellez, A; Martinez Hernandez, M; Rodriguez Cahuantzi, M

    2013-01-01

    The ALICE underground cavern provides an ideal place for the detection of high energy atmospheric muons coming from cosmic ray showers. ACORDE detects cosmic ray showers by triggering the arrival of muons to the top of the ALICE magnet.

  7. Cosmic Humanity: Utopia, Realities, Prospects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergey Krichevsky

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The philosophical foundations of the theory and practice of the creation of cosmic humanity as a process of the evolution of human civilization, the emergence into space, with the prospect of resettlement outside the Earth are considered. There is a connection between myths, fantasies, ideas, concepts and projects aimed at the exploration of outer space, the creation of cosmic humanity. A new and voluminous definition of cosmic humanity in the evolutionary paradigm is given. Cosmic humanity is (essence and 4 stages of evolution: 1. Humanity living on Earth, sensing, knowing, understanding its cosmic origin, relationship with the cosmos and cosmic destiny. 2. Humanity living on Earth, leading aerospace activity for the purposes of exploration and use of aerospace space (Heaven, Space for survival and development. 3. Humanity living on Earth and outside the Earth — in the solar system, preserving the Earth and mastering the Cosmos for survival and development. 4. Humanity, settled and living in the Cosmos. Now humanity is in the process of transition from the second to the third stage. In the process of this evolution, a complex transformation of man and society takes place. The problem-semantic field of cosmic humanity is described and its general model is presented. The meta-goal-setting is the justification of cosmic humanity with the application of the anthropic principle and its “active” super (post anthropic supplement: “Cosmic humanity has an evolutionary purpose to actively manage evolution: change man, humanity and the universe.” The evolution of the “cosmic dream”, goals and technologies of space activities is formalized in the form of a conceptual model. Challenges and negative trends are considered in connection with the crisis of space activity, criticism and attempts to limit the flights of people into space. The prototype of cosmic humanity, its basis and acting model is the cosmonauts’ community. The main

  8. Microwave SQUID multiplexer demonstration for cosmic microwave background imagers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dober, B.; Becker, D. T.; Bennett, D. A.; Bryan, S. A.; Duff, S. M.; Gard, J. D.; Hays-Wehle, J. P.; Hilton, G. C.; Hubmayr, J.; Mates, J. A. B.; Reintsema, C. D.; Vale, L. R.; Ullom, J. N.

    2017-12-01

    Key performance characteristics are demonstrated for the microwave superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) multiplexer (μmux) coupled to transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers that have been optimized for cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations. In a 64-channel demonstration, we show that the μmux produces a white, input referred current noise level of 29 pA/ √{H z } at a microwave probe tone power of -77 dB, which is well below the expected fundamental detector and photon noise sources for a ground-based CMB-optimized bolometer. Operated with negligible photon loading, we measure 98 pA/ √{H z } in the TES-coupled channels biased at 65% of the sensor normal resistance. This noise level is consistent with that predicted from bolometer thermal fluctuation (i.e., phonon) noise. Furthermore, the power spectral density is white over a range of frequencies down to ˜100 mHz, which enables CMB mapping on large angular scales that constrain the physics of inflation. Additionally, we report cross-talk measurements that indicate a level below 0.3%, which is less than the level of cross-talk from multiplexed readout systems in deployed CMB imagers. These measurements demonstrate the μmux as a viable readout technique for future CMB imaging instruments.

  9. Cosmic Connections:. from Cosmic Rays to Gamma Rays, Cosmic Backgrounds and Magnetic Fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusenko, Alexander

    2013-12-01

    Combined data from gamma-ray telescopes and cosmic-ray detectors have produced some new surprising insights regarding intergalactic and galactic magnetic fields, as well as extragalactic background light. We review some recent advances, including a theory explaining the hard spectra of distant blazars and the measurements of intergalactic magnetic fields based on the spectra of distant sources. Furthermore, we discuss the possible contribution of transient galactic sources, such as past gamma-ray bursts and hypernova explosions in the Milky Way, to the observed ux of ultrahigh-energy cosmicrays nuclei. The need for a holistic treatment of gamma rays, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields serves as a unifying theme for these seemingly unrelated phenomena.

  10. Propagation of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and their secondaries with CRPropa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vliet, Arjen Rene van

    2015-04-01

    Due to experiments like the Pierre Auger Observatory (Auger) and the Telescope Array (TA), high-statistics data is becoming available on the energy spectrum, the composition and the arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs, cosmic rays with energies above ∝ 10 17 eV). To interpret this data in terms of actual astrophysical parameters, or to test astrophysical models against the measured data, dedicated simulations of the propagation of UHECRs from their sources to Earth are needed. To this end, the UHECR propagation code called CRPropa has been developed. It can take into account all relevant interactions with ambient photon backgrounds (pair production, photodisintegration and photopion production) as well as nuclear decay, cosmological evolution effects and deflections in extragalactic and galactic magnetic fields. CRPropa, including its newest features, is described in this thesis. When considering the propagation of ultra-high-energy nuclei, the dominant interaction for most isotopes and energies is photodisintegration. Photodisintegration has been implemented in CRPropa for all relevant isotopes (up to iron) and all relevant photodisintegration channels using cross-section calculations with the publicly-available code called TALYS, including extensions for the low mass numbers. This photodisintegration setup is compared here extensively with the photodisintegration scheme developed by Puget, Stecker and Bredekamp, leading to several improvements on the cross sections implemented in CRPropa. In the interactions of UHECRs with background photon fields, secondary neutrinos and photons, so-called cosmogenic neutrinos and photons, can be created. CRPropa can simulate the production and propagation of these secondary particles as well. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory (IceCube) has recently reported the first observation of extraterrestrial neutrinos in the PeV energy range. In this work is investigated whether these neutrinos could have

  11. Fitting cosmic microwave background data with cosmic strings and inflation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bevis, Neil; Hindmarsh, Mark; Kunz, Martin; Urrestilla, Jon

    2008-01-18

    We perform a multiparameter likelihood analysis to compare measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectra with predictions from models involving cosmic strings. Adding strings to the standard case of a primordial spectrum with power-law tilt ns, we find a 2sigma detection of strings: f10=0.11+/-0.05, where f10 is the fractional contribution made by strings in the temperature power spectrum (at l=10). CMB data give moderate preference to the model ns=1 with cosmic strings over the standard zero-strings model with variable tilt. When additional non-CMB data are incorporated, the two models become on a par. With variable ns and these extra data, we find that f10<0.11, which corresponds to Gmicro<0.7x10(-6) (where micro is the string tension and G is the gravitational constant).

  12. Italian Physical Society DAMPE: A gamma and cosmic ray observatory in space

    CERN Document Server

    D'Urso, D

    2017-01-01

    DAMPE (DArk Matter Particle Explorer) is one of the five satellite missions in the framework of the Strategic Pioneer Research Program in Space Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Launched on December 17th 2015 at 08:12 Beijing time, it is taking data into a sun-synchronous orbit, at the altitude of 500 km. The main scientific objective of DAMPE is to detect electrons and photons in the range 5 GeV–10TeV with unprecedented energy resolution, in order to identify possible Dark Matter signatures. It will also measure the flux of nuclei up to 100TeV with excellent energy resolution. The satellite is equipped with a powerful space telescope for high energy gamma-ray, electron and cosmic rays detection. It consists of a plastic scintillator strips detector (PSD) that serves as anticoincidence detector, a silicon-tungsten tracker (STK), a BGO imaging calorimeter of about 32 radiation lengths, and a neutron detector. With its excellent photon detection capability and its detector performances (at 100...

  13. Photon-photon colliders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sessler, A.M.

    1995-04-01

    Since the seminal work by Ginsburg, et at., the subject of giving the Next Linear Collider photon-photon capability, as well as electron-positron capability, has drawn much attention. A 1990 article by V.I. Teinov describes the situation at that time. In March 1994, the first workshop on this subject was held. This report briefly reviews the physics that can be achieved through the photon-photon channel and then focuses on the means of achieving such a collider. Also reviewed is the spectrum of backscattered Compton photons -- the best way of obtaining photons. We emphasize the spectrum actually obtained in a collider with both polarized electrons and photons (peaked at high energy and very different from a Compton spectrum). Luminosity is estimated for the presently considered colliders, and interaction and conversion-point geometries are described. Also specified are laser requirements (such as wavelength, peak power, and average power) and the lasers that might be employed. These include conventional and free-electron lasers. Finally, we describe the R ampersand D necessary to make either of these approaches viable and explore the use of the SLC as a test bed for a photon-photon collider of very high energy

  14. The MIDAS telescope for microwave detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alvarez-Muñiz, J. [Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Departamento de Física de Partículas, Campus Sur, Universidad, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Amaral Soares, E. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Física, Cidade Universitaria, Caixa Postal 68528, 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Berlin, A.; Bogdan, M. [University of Chicago, Enrico Fermi Institute and Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Boháčová, M. [University of Chicago, Enrico Fermi Institute and Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21 Praha 8 (Czech Republic); Bonifazi, C. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Física, Cidade Universitaria, Caixa Postal 68528, 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Carvalho, W.R. [Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Departamento de Física de Partículas, Campus Sur, Universidad, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Mello Neto, J.R.T. de [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Física, Cidade Universitaria, Caixa Postal 68528, 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Facal San Luis, P., E-mail: facal@kicp.uchicago.edu [University of Chicago, Enrico Fermi Institute and Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Genat, J.F.; Hollon, N.; Mills, E.; Monasor, M.; Privitera, P. [University of Chicago, Enrico Fermi Institute and Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); and others

    2013-08-11

    We present the design, implementation and data taking performance of the MIcrowave Detection of Air Showers (MIDAS) experiment, a large field of view imaging telescope designed to detect microwave radiation from extensive air showers induced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. This novel technique may bring a tenfold increase in detector duty cycle when compared to the standard fluorescence technique based on detection of ultraviolet photons. The MIDAS telescope consists of a 4.5 m diameter dish with a 53-pixel receiver camera, instrumented with feed horns operating in the commercial extended C-Band (3.4–4.2 GHz). A self-trigger capability is implemented in the digital electronics. The main objectives of this first prototype of the MIDAS telescope – to validate the telescope design, and to demonstrate a large detector duty cycle – were successfully accomplished in a dedicated data taking run at the University of Chicago campus prior to installation at the Pierre Auger Observatory. -- Highlights: • The MIDAS objective is to detect ultra high energy cosmic rays using microwaves. • GHz radiation could provide a powerful alternative to current detection methods. • The MIDAS prototype explores the potential of the microwave technique.

  15. The MIDAS telescope for microwave detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Amaral Soares, E.; Berlin, A.; Bogdan, M.; Boháčová, M.; Bonifazi, C.; Carvalho, W.R.; Mello Neto, J.R.T. de; Facal San Luis, P.; Genat, J.F.; Hollon, N.; Mills, E.; Monasor, M.; Privitera, P.

    2013-01-01

    We present the design, implementation and data taking performance of the MIcrowave Detection of Air Showers (MIDAS) experiment, a large field of view imaging telescope designed to detect microwave radiation from extensive air showers induced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. This novel technique may bring a tenfold increase in detector duty cycle when compared to the standard fluorescence technique based on detection of ultraviolet photons. The MIDAS telescope consists of a 4.5 m diameter dish with a 53-pixel receiver camera, instrumented with feed horns operating in the commercial extended C-Band (3.4–4.2 GHz). A self-trigger capability is implemented in the digital electronics. The main objectives of this first prototype of the MIDAS telescope – to validate the telescope design, and to demonstrate a large detector duty cycle – were successfully accomplished in a dedicated data taking run at the University of Chicago campus prior to installation at the Pierre Auger Observatory. -- Highlights: • The MIDAS objective is to detect ultra high energy cosmic rays using microwaves. • GHz radiation could provide a powerful alternative to current detection methods. • The MIDAS prototype explores the potential of the microwave technique

  16. Quasi-B-mode generated by high-frequency gravitational waves and corresponding perturbative photon fluxes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F.Y. Fangyu Li

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Interaction of very low-frequency primordial (relic gravitational waves (GWs to cosmic microwave background (CMB can generate B-mode polarization. Here, for the first time we point out that the electromagnetic (EM response to high-frequency GWs (HFGWs would produce quasi-B-mode distribution of the perturbative photon fluxes. We study the duality and high complementarity between such two B-modes, and it is shown that such two effects are from the same physical origin: the tensor perturbation of the GWs and not the density perturbation. Based on this quasi-B-mode in HFGWs and related numerical calculation, it is shown that the distinguishing and observing of HFGWs from the braneworld would be quite possible due to their large amplitude, higher frequency and very different physical behaviors between the perturbative photon fluxes and background photons, and the measurement of relic HFGWs may also be possible though face to enormous challenge.

  17. Geodesic curve-of-sight formulae for the cosmic microwave background: a unified treatment of redshift, time delay, and lensing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saito, Ryo; Naruko, Atsushi; Hiramatsu, Takashi; Sasaki, Misao

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we introduce a new approach to a treatment of the gravitational effects (redshift, time delay and lensing) on the observed cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies based on the Boltzmann equation. From the Liouville's theorem in curved spacetime, the intensity of photons is conserved along a photon geodesic when non-gravitational scatterings are absent. Motivated by this fact, we derive a second-order line-of-sight formula by integrating the Boltzmann equation along a perturbed geodesic (curve) instead of a background geodesic (line). In this approach, the separation of the gravitational and intrinsic effects are manifest. This approach can be considered as a generalization of the remapping approach of CMB lensing, where all the gravitational effects can be treated on the same footing

  18. Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray, Neutrino, and Photon Propagation and the Multi-Messenger Approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, Andrew; De Castro, Alexandra; Castillo-Ruiz, Edith

    2009-01-01

    The propagation of UHECR nuclei for A = 1(protons) to A = 56(iron) from cosmological sources through extragalactic space is discussed in the first lecture. This is followed in the second and third lectures by a consideration of the generation and propagation of secondary particles produced via the UHECR loss interactions. In the second lecture we focus on the generation of the diffuse cosmogenic UHE-neutrino flux. In the third lecture we investigate the arriving flux of UHE-photon flux at Earth. In the final lecture the results of the previous lectures are put together in order to provide new insights into UHECR sources. The first of these providing a means with which to investigate the local population of UHECR sources through the measurement of the UHECR spectrum and their photon fraction at Earth. The second of these providing contraints on the UHECR source radiation fields through the possible observation at Earth of UHECR nuclei.

  19. An upper limit to the proton fraction in cosmic rays above 10.sup.19./sup. eV from the Pierre Auger Observatory

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Abraham, J.; Aglietta, M.; Aguirre, C.; Boháčová, Martina; Hrabovský, Miroslav; Mandát, Dušan; Nosek, D.; Nožka, Libor; Palatka, Miroslav; Pech, Miroslav; Prouza, Michael; Řídký, Jan; Schovánek, Petr; Šmída, Radomír; Trávníček, Petr

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 27, - (2007), s. 155-168 ISSN 0927-6505 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LA 134; GA MŠk LN00A006; GA MŠk LC527 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100502 Keywords : cosmic rays * ultra-high energy photons * exctensive air shower s * Pierre Auger Observatory Subject RIV: BF - Elementary Particles and High Energy Physics Impact factor: 3.483, year: 2007

  20. Department of Cosmic Ray Physics: Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    2001-01-01

    Full text: The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the area of high-energy physics and cosmic ray physics related to: Experimental and phenomenological studies of Extensive Air Showers induced by cosmic ray particles. Studies of ultra-high energy (above 10 19 eV) cosmic rays: determination of energy and primary particle mass composition. Studies of asymptotic properties of hadronic interactions based on the analysis of cosmic ray propagation through the atmosphere. Studies of mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range 10 15 -10 17 eV. Registration of cosmic ray intensity variation correlated with solar activity. Theoretical and experimental studies of Extensive Air Shower properties are performed mostly based on the results obtained by the Lodz Extensive Air Shower Array. We have noticed unexplainable delayed signals registered about 500-900 microseconds after the main EAS pulse. We prepared hardware for further experimental study of this effect. In September we have started registration of 5 GeV muon flux with the underground muon telescope. We registered 3 decreases of muon intensity correlated with Forbush decreases registered at lower energies. Variations of primary cosmic ray of energies up to about 100 GeV were responsible for our registrations. These set the upper limits for geometrical size of geomagnetic disturbances in interplanetary space. In construction and data interpretation of cosmic ray experiments, the Lodz group collaborates with many foreign institutes and laboratories: Forschungszentrum in Karlsruhe (Germany), College de France, Institute for Nuclear Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Uppsala University (Sweden). We have organised (together with the Physics Department of the University of Lodz) the 17 th European Cosmic Ray Symposium (24-?8 July 2000) in which about 150 physicists participated (about 100 from abroad). (author)

  1. Cosmic rays and global warming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Erlykin, A.D. [P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow (Russian Federation); Sloan, T. [Lancaster University (United Kingdom); Wolfendale, A.W. [Durham University (United Kingdom)

    2010-07-01

    The possible effects of cosmic rays on clouds could contribute to global warming. The argument is that the observed increased solar activity during the last century caused a decrease in the ionization due to cosmic rays since the lower energy cosmic particles are deflected by the magnetic field created by the increasing solar wind. This would lead to a decrease in cloud cover allowing more heating of the earth by the sun. Meteorological data combined to solar activity observations and simulations show that any effect of solar activity on clouds and the climate is likely to be through irradiance rather than cosmic rays. Since solar irradiance transfers 8 orders of magnitude more energy to the atmosphere than cosmic rays it is more plausible that this can produce a real effect. The total contribution of variable solar activity to global warming is shown to be less than 14% of the total temperature rise. (A.C.)

  2. Impact of Cosmic-Ray Transport on Galactic Winds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farber, R.; Ruszkowski, M.; Yang, H.-Y. K.; Zweibel, E. G.

    2018-04-01

    The role of cosmic rays generated by supernovae and young stars has very recently begun to receive significant attention in studies of galaxy formation and evolution due to the realization that cosmic rays can efficiently accelerate galactic winds. Microscopic cosmic-ray transport processes are fundamental for determining the efficiency of cosmic-ray wind driving. Previous studies modeled cosmic-ray transport either via a constant diffusion coefficient or via streaming proportional to the Alfvén speed. However, in predominantly cold, neutral gas, cosmic rays can propagate faster than in the ionized medium, and the effective transport can be substantially larger; i.e., cosmic rays can decouple from the gas. We perform three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations of patches of galactic disks including the effects of cosmic rays. Our simulations include the decoupling of cosmic rays in the cold, neutral interstellar medium. We find that, compared to the ordinary diffusive cosmic-ray transport case, accounting for the decoupling leads to significantly different wind properties, such as the gas density and temperature, significantly broader spatial distribution of cosmic rays, and higher wind speed. These results have implications for X-ray, γ-ray, and radio emission, and for the magnetization and pollution of the circumgalactic medium by cosmic rays.

  3. Dark photons from the center of the Earth: Smoking-gun signals of dark matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Jonathan L.; Smolinsky, Jordan; Tanedo, Philip

    2016-01-01

    Dark matter may be charged under dark electromagnetism with a dark photon that kinetically mixes with the Standard Model photon. In this framework, dark matter will collect at the center of the Earth and annihilate into dark photons, which may reach the surface of the Earth and decay into observable particles. We determine the resulting signal rates, including Sommerfeld enhancements, which play an important role in bringing the Earth's dark matter population to their maximal, equilibrium value. For dark matter masses mX˜100 GeV - 10 TeV , dark photon masses mA'˜MeV -GeV , and kinetic mixing parameters ɛ ˜1 0-9- 1 0-7 , the resulting electrons, muons, photons, and hadrons that point back to the center of the Earth are a smoking-gun signal of dark matter that may be detected by a variety of experiments, including neutrino telescopes, such as IceCube, and space-based cosmic ray detectors, such as Fermi-LAT and AMS. We determine the signal rates and characteristics and show that large and striking signals—such as parallel muon tracks—are possible in regions of the (mA',ɛ ) plane that are not probed by direct detection, accelerator experiments, or astrophysical observations.

  4. Cosmic Topology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luminet, Jean-Pierre

    2015-08-01

    Cosmic Topology is the name given to the study of the overall shape of the universe, which involves both global topological features and more local geometrical properties such as curvature. Whether space is finite or infinite, simply-connected or multi-connected like a torus, smaller or greater than the portion of the universe that we can directly observe, are questions that refer to topology rather than curvature. A striking feature of some relativistic, multi-connected "small" universe models is to create multiples images of faraway cosmic sources. While the most recent cosmological data fit the simplest model of a zero-curvature, infinite space model, they are also consistent with compact topologies of the three homogeneous and isotropic geometries of constant curvature, such as, for instance, the spherical Poincaré Dodecahedral Space, the flat hypertorus or the hyperbolic Picard horn. After a "dark age" period, the field of Cosmic Topology has recently become one of the major concerns in cosmology, not only for theorists but also for observational astronomers, leaving open a number of unsolved issues.

  5. Quasinormal Modes and Strong Cosmic Censorship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardoso, Vitor; Costa, João L.; Destounis, Kyriakos; Hintz, Peter; Jansen, Aron

    2018-01-01

    The fate of Cauchy horizons, such as those found inside charged black holes, is intrinsically connected to the decay of small perturbations exterior to the event horizon. As such, the validity of the strong cosmic censorship (SCC) conjecture is tied to how effectively the exterior damps fluctuations. Here, we study massless scalar fields in the exterior of Reissner-Nordström-de Sitter black holes. Their decay rates are governed by quasinormal modes of the black hole. We identify three families of modes in these spacetimes: one directly linked to the photon sphere, well described by standard WKB-type tools; another family whose existence and time scale is closely related to the de Sitter horizon; finally, a third family which dominates for near-extremally charged black holes and which is also present in asymptotically flat spacetimes. The last two families of modes seem to have gone unnoticed in the literature. We give a detailed description of linear scalar perturbations of such black holes, and conjecture that SCC is violated in the near extremal regime.

  6. Photon technology. Hard photon technology; Photon technology. Hard photon gijutsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    For the application of photon to industrial technologies, in particular, a hard photon technology was surveyed which uses photon beams of 0.1-200nm in wavelength. Its features such as selective atom reaction, dense inner shell excitation and spacial high resolution by quantum energy are expected to provide innovative techniques for various field such as fine machining, material synthesis and advanced inspection technology. This wavelength region has been hardly utilized for industrial fields because of poor development of suitable photon sources and optical devices. The developmental meaning, usable time and issue of a hard photon reduction lithography were surveyed as lithography in ultra-fine region below 0.1{mu}m. On hard photon analysis/evaluation technology, the industrial use of analysis, measurement and evaluation technologies by micro-beam was viewed, and optimum photon sources and optical systems were surveyed. Prediction of surface and surface layer modification by inner shell excitation, the future trend of this process and development of a vacuum ultraviolet light source were also surveyed. 383 refs., 153 figs., 17 tabs.

  7. Separation of gravitational-wave and cosmic-shear contributions to cosmic microwave background polarization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesden, Michael; Cooray, Asantha; Kamionkowski, Marc

    2002-07-01

    Inflationary gravitational waves (GW) contribute to the curl component in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Cosmic shear--gravitational lensing of the CMB--converts a fraction of the dominant gradient polarization to the curl component. Higher-order correlations can be used to map the cosmic shear and subtract this contribution to the curl. Arcminute resolution will be required to pursue GW amplitudes smaller than those accessible by the Planck surveyor mission. The blurring by lensing of small-scale CMB power leads with this reconstruction technique to a minimum detectable GW amplitude corresponding to an inflation energy near 10(15) GeV.

  8. Looking for Cosmic Neutrino Background

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chiaki eYanagisawa

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Since the discovery of neutrino oscillation in atmospheric neutrinos by the Super-Kamiokande experiment in 1998, study of neutrinos has been one of exciting fields in high-energy physics. All the mixing angles were measured. Quests for 1 measurements of the remaining parameters, the lightest neutrino mass, the CP violating phase(s, and the sign of mass splitting between the mass eigenstates m3 and m1, and 2 better measurements to determine whether the mixing angle theta23 is less than pi/4, are in progress in a well-controlled manner. Determining the nature of neutrinos, whether they are Dirac or Majorana particles is also in progress with continuous improvement. On the other hand, although the ideas of detecting cosmic neutrino background have been discussed since 1960s, there has not been a serious concerted effort to achieve this goal. One of the reasons is that it is extremely difficult to detect such low energy neutrinos from the Big Bang. While there has been tremendous accumulation of information on Cosmic Microwave Background since its discovery in 1965, there is no direct evidence for Cosmic Neutrino Background. The importance of detecting Cosmic Neutrino Background is that, although detailed studies of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and Cosmic Microwave Background give information of the early Universe at ~a few minutes old and ~300 k years old, respectively, observation of Cosmic Neutrino Background allows us to study the early Universe at $sim$ 1 sec old. This article reviews progress made in the past 50 years on detection methods of Cosmic Neutrino Background.

  9. Some cosmic radiation dose measurements aboard flights connecting Zagreb Airport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vukovic, B.; Radolic, V.; Lisjak, I.; Vekic, B.; Poje, M.; Planinic, J.

    2008-01-01

    When primary particles from space, mainly protons, enter the atmosphere, they produce interactions with air nuclei, and cosmic-ray showers are induced. The radiation field at aircraft altitude is complex, with different types of particles, mainly photons, electrons, positrons and neutrons, with a large energy range. The non-neutron component of cosmic radiation dose aboard A320 and ATR40 aircraft was measured with TLD-100 (LiF:Mg,Ti) detectors and the Mini 6100 semiconductor dosimeter; the neutron dose was measured with the neutron dosimeter consisted of LR-115 track detector and boron foil BN-1 or 10 B converter. The estimated occupational effective dose for the aircraft crew (A320) working 500 h per year was 1.64 mSv. Another experiment was performed at the flights Zagreb-Paris-Buenos Aires and reversely, when one measured non-neutron cosmic radiation dose; for 26.7 h of flight, the MINI 6100 dosimeter gave an average dose rate of 2.3 μSv/h and the TLD dosimeter registered the dose equivalent of 75 μSv or the average dose rate of 2.7 μSv/h; the neutron dosimeter gave the dose rate of 2.4 μSv/h. In the same month, February 2005, a traveling to Japan (24-h-flight: Zagreb-Frankfurt-Tokyo and reversely) and the TLD-100 measurement showed the average dose rate of 2.4 μSv/h; the neutron dosimeter gave the dose rate of 2.5 μSv/h. Comparing dose rates of the non-neutron component (low LET) and the neutron one (high LET) of the radiation field at the aircraft flight level, we could conclude that the neutron component carried about 50% of the total dose, that was near other known data

  10. Some cosmic radiation dose measurements aboard flights connecting Zagreb Airport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vukovic, B.; Radolic, V. [Department of Physics, University of Osijek, Osijek, P.O. Box 125 (Croatia); Lisjak, I. [Croatia Airlines, Zagreb (Croatia); Vekic, B. [Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Zagreb (Croatia); Poje, M. [Department of Physics, University of Osijek, Osijek, P.O. Box 125 (Croatia); Planinic, J. [Department of Physics, University of Osijek, Osijek, P.O. Box 125 (Croatia)], E-mail: planinic@ffos.hr

    2008-02-15

    When primary particles from space, mainly protons, enter the atmosphere, they produce interactions with air nuclei, and cosmic-ray showers are induced. The radiation field at aircraft altitude is complex, with different types of particles, mainly photons, electrons, positrons and neutrons, with a large energy range. The non-neutron component of cosmic radiation dose aboard A320 and ATR40 aircraft was measured with TLD-100 (LiF:Mg,Ti) detectors and the Mini 6100 semiconductor dosimeter; the neutron dose was measured with the neutron dosimeter consisted of LR-115 track detector and boron foil BN-1 or {sup 10}B converter. The estimated occupational effective dose for the aircraft crew (A320) working 500 h per year was 1.64 mSv. Another experiment was performed at the flights Zagreb-Paris-Buenos Aires and reversely, when one measured non-neutron cosmic radiation dose; for 26.7 h of flight, the MINI 6100 dosimeter gave an average dose rate of 2.3 {mu}Sv/h and the TLD dosimeter registered the dose equivalent of 75 {mu}Sv or the average dose rate of 2.7 {mu}Sv/h; the neutron dosimeter gave the dose rate of 2.4 {mu}Sv/h. In the same month, February 2005, a traveling to Japan (24-h-flight: Zagreb-Frankfurt-Tokyo and reversely) and the TLD-100 measurement showed the average dose rate of 2.4 {mu}Sv/h; the neutron dosimeter gave the dose rate of 2.5 {mu}Sv/h. Comparing dose rates of the non-neutron component (low LET) and the neutron one (high LET) of the radiation field at the aircraft flight level, we could conclude that the neutron component carried about 50% of the total dose, that was near other known data.

  11. Effect of a chameleon scalar field on the cosmic microwave background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, Anne-Christine; Schelpe, Camilla A. O.; Shaw, Douglas J.

    2009-01-01

    We show that a direct coupling between a chameleonlike scalar field and photons can give rise to a modified Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The coupling induces a mixing between chameleon particles and the CMB photons when they pass through the magnetic field of a galaxy cluster. Both the intensity and the polarization of the radiation are modified. The degree of modification depends strongly on the properties of the galaxy cluster such as magnetic field strength and electron number density. Existing SZ measurements of the Coma cluster enable us to place constraints on the photon-chameleon coupling. The constrained conversion probability in the cluster is P Coma (204 GHz) -5 at 95% confidence, corresponding to an upper bound on the coupling strength of g eff (cell) -8 GeV -1 or g eff (Kolmo) -10 GeV -1 , depending on the model that is assumed for the cluster magnetic field structure. We predict the radial profile of the chameleonic CMB intensity decrement. We find that the chameleon effect extends farther toward the edges of the cluster than the thermal SZ effect. Thus we might see a discrepancy between the x-ray emission data and the observed SZ intensity decrement. We further predict the expected change to the CMB polarization arising from the existence of a chameleonlike scalar field. These predictions could be verified or constrained by future CMB experiments.

  12. Cosmic strings and galaxy formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertschinger, Edmund

    1989-01-01

    The cosmogonical model proposed by Zel'dovich and Vilenkin (1981), in which superconducting cosmic strings act as seeds for the origin of structure in the universe, is discussed, summarizing the results of recent theoretical investigations. Consideration is given to the formation of cosmic strings, the microscopic structure of strings, gravitational effects, cosmic string evolution, and the formation of galaxies and large-scale structure. Simulation results are presented in graphs, and several outstanding issues are listed and briefly characterized.

  13. The cosmic spiderweb: equivalence of cosmic, architectural and origami tessellations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neyrinck, Mark C.; Hidding, Johan; Konstantatou, Marina; van de Weygaert, Rien

    2018-04-01

    For over 20 years, the term `cosmic web' has guided our understanding of the large-scale arrangement of matter in the cosmos, accurately evoking the concept of a network of galaxies linked by filaments. But the physical correspondence between the cosmic web and structural engineering or textile `spiderwebs' is even deeper than previously known, and also extends to origami tessellations. Here, we explain that in a good structure-formation approximation known as the adhesion model, threads of the cosmic web form a spiderweb, i.e. can be strung up to be entirely in tension. The correspondence is exact if nodes sampling voids are included, and if structure is excluded within collapsed regions (walls, filaments and haloes), where dark-matter multistreaming and baryonic physics affect the structure. We also suggest how concepts arising from this link might be used to test cosmological models: for example, to test for large-scale anisotropy and rotational flows in the cosmos.

  14. The cosmic spiderweb: equivalence of cosmic, architectural and origami tessellations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neyrinck, Mark C; Hidding, Johan; Konstantatou, Marina; van de Weygaert, Rien

    2018-04-01

    For over 20 years, the term 'cosmic web' has guided our understanding of the large-scale arrangement of matter in the cosmos, accurately evoking the concept of a network of galaxies linked by filaments. But the physical correspondence between the cosmic web and structural engineering or textile 'spiderwebs' is even deeper than previously known, and also extends to origami tessellations. Here, we explain that in a good structure-formation approximation known as the adhesion model, threads of the cosmic web form a spiderweb, i.e. can be strung up to be entirely in tension. The correspondence is exact if nodes sampling voids are included, and if structure is excluded within collapsed regions (walls, filaments and haloes), where dark-matter multistreaming and baryonic physics affect the structure. We also suggest how concepts arising from this link might be used to test cosmological models: for example, to test for large-scale anisotropy and rotational flows in the cosmos.

  15. The cosmic spiderweb: equivalence of cosmic, architectural and origami tessellations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hidding, Johan; Konstantatou, Marina; van de Weygaert, Rien

    2018-01-01

    For over 20 years, the term ‘cosmic web’ has guided our understanding of the large-scale arrangement of matter in the cosmos, accurately evoking the concept of a network of galaxies linked by filaments. But the physical correspondence between the cosmic web and structural engineering or textile ‘spiderwebs’ is even deeper than previously known, and also extends to origami tessellations. Here, we explain that in a good structure-formation approximation known as the adhesion model, threads of the cosmic web form a spiderweb, i.e. can be strung up to be entirely in tension. The correspondence is exact if nodes sampling voids are included, and if structure is excluded within collapsed regions (walls, filaments and haloes), where dark-matter multistreaming and baryonic physics affect the structure. We also suggest how concepts arising from this link might be used to test cosmological models: for example, to test for large-scale anisotropy and rotational flows in the cosmos. PMID:29765637

  16. Inclusive hard processes in photon-photon and photon-proton interactions

    OpenAIRE

    Glasman, Claudia

    1999-01-01

    Measurements of jet, prompt photon, high-pT hadron and heavy quark production in photon-induced processes provide tests of QCD and are sensitive to the photon parton densities. A review of the latest experimental results in photon-photon and photon-proton interactions is presented. Next-to-leading-order QCD calculations for these measurements are discussed.

  17. Dosimetry of environmental radiations (cosmic ray)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamasaki, Keizo

    1978-01-01

    Cosmic ray is dominant as environmental radiation, though the experimental determination made on cosmic ray doses is few in Japan. The free air ionization intensity at sea level due to cosmic ray has been estimated in the Bay of Wakasa, Japan, at middle geomagnetic latitude (25 deg. N), in October 1977. The ionization chambers used were two air and one argon types. Where the responses to cosmic and terrestrial gamma rays were equal, the ionization intensity due to cosmic ray was obtained by subtracting the ionization intensity due to terrestrial gamma ray from the total ionization intensity. As the terrestrial gamma ray, (1) U-238 series, Th-232 series, and K-40 in seawater, (2) K-40 in the material of a wooden ship, and (3) Rn-222 and its daughter products in the atmosphere were considered. The result of free air ionization due to cosmic ray with the argon chamber was slightly smaller than those with the other two air chambers; however, both were in good agreement within standard errors. (JPN.)

  18. Department of Cosmic Ray Physics; Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: Cosmic Rays are energetic particles from outside the Solar System. The energy spectrum (power law energy dependence) suggests a non-thermal origin of these particles. Most of the studies of Cosmic Rays address fundamental problems such as: - the nature of the physical and astrophysical processes responsible for the high energies of particles (up to about 10 20 eV/particle), - estimation of the astrophysical conditions at the acceleration sites and/or a search for sources of Cosmic Rays, - properties of high energy particle interactions at very high energies (nuclear interactions at energies exceeding energies available in the laboratories). Some Cosmic Ray studies might have practical (commercial) implications, e.g. - ''cosmic weather'' forecast - predictions of geomagnetic disturbances related to Solar activity changes (due to large Solar Flares / events of Coronal Mass Ejections); these are important for large electricity networks, gas pipes, radio-wave connections, space missions and satellite experiments. The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the high energy Cosmic Ray field. Energetic Cosmic Ray particles produce cascades of particles in the atmosphere, called Extensive Air Showers (EAS). Registering EAS and their properties is the main theme of experimental studies of very high energy Cosmic Rays. In the Lodz Department we run an Extensive Air Shower array where EAS are registered. We concentrate our experimental research on the explanation of particle detection delayed by hundreds of microseconds with respect to the main EAS signals. In the underground (I5 meters) laboratory we continuously register muon (5 GeV energy threshold) flux with the multidirectional telescope. We have observed several disturbances (Forbush Decreases) in muon counting rates. The interpretation of these events for ''cosmic weather'' and for Cosmic Ray transport models in the interplanetary plasma are on going in collaboration with

  19. Department of Cosmic Ray Physics - Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    2010-01-01

    Full text: The 31 st International Cosmic Ray Conference (31.ICRC) was held in Lodz on 7-15 July 2009. The Conference was organized by the University of Lodz (Department of High Energy Astrophysics and Department of Astrophysics) and IPJ (Department of Cosmic Ray Physics). ICRCs are held every two years and are the largest forums to present and discuss the current status of Cosmic Ray studies. The Conference we co-organized gathered about 750 scientists (including about 50 from Poland). This was a remarkable event. The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the field of high energy Cosmic Rays. Cosmic Rays are energetic panicles from outside the Solar System. Most studies of Cosmic Rays address fundamental problems: - the nature of the physical and astrophysical processes responsible for the high energies of the particles. - experimental search for sources of Cosmic Rays, - studies of the astrophysical conditions at the acceleration sites, - properties of particle interactions at very high energies. Presentation of Cosmic Ray registration to high school students has become a popular way to introduce panicle physics detectors and elementary particle detection techniques to young people, in Lodz and Poznan we organize workshops on particle physics for high school students. This is part of the European activity: EPPOG Masterclass - Hands on CERN. Energetic Cosmic Ray particles produce cascades of panicles in the atmosphere, called Extensive Air Showers (EAS). Registering EASs and their properties is the main means of studying experimentally high energy Cosmic Rays: · The satellite experiment JEM-EUSO will observe EASs from the International Space Station. The main target is to find Cosmic Ray Sources for the highest energy Cosmic Rays. JEM-EUSO will collect a large number of events since it will observe a large area of the atmosphere. We are participating in the preparation of this mission. · The KASCADE-Grande addresses

  20. Detection of ultra-high-energy cosmic radiation at the Pierre Auger Observatory, theoretical study of its propagation through extragalactic space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allard, D.

    2004-10-01

    The Pierre Auger observatory's main aim is to observe the ultra-energetic cosmic ray spectrum with high statistics. Indeed, the spectrum around 10 20 eV is so far only poorly known, due to low statistics and the expected GZK (Gneisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin) cut-off is for the time being not clearly observed. The first part will deal with propagation of charged (protons and nuclei) ultra-energetic cosmic rays in the extragalactic medium. We will investigate the influence of physical parameters, such as the composition of cosmic ray fluxes, on the highest energy spectrum shape. The influence of the turbulent extragalactic magnetic fields on the spectrum of the clusters will also be studied. We will also investigate the possibility to observe gamma ray bursts with the Pierre Auger Observatory by using the single particle technique. We will show how galactic gamma ray bursts could become a persistent and quasi-isotropic source due to the 'Compton trail' induced by Compton scattering of the primary photon beam in the interstellar medium. In the section devoted to simulations, we will develop methods to reconstruct air showers and identify primary cosmic rays. We will also study the aperture of the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger observatory. Finally, we will use the methods developed in the previous chapters to analyze the data of the year 2004 and will give preliminary results. (author)

  1. Photon-photon interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilman, F.J.

    1980-01-01

    A brief summary of the present status of photon-photon interactions is presented. Stress is placed on the use of two-photon collisions to test present ideas on the quark constituents of hadrons and on the theory of strong interactions

  2. Cosmic antimatter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tarle, G.; Swordy, S.

    1998-01-01

    In 1928 Paul Dirac forecasted the existence of antimatter and 4 years later Carl Anderson detected the first antiparticle: the positron in a cloud chamber while studying cosmic radiation. Antiprotons were more difficult to find but in 1955 physicists from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory got some in a particle accelerator. In 1995 a team from the CERN synthesized atoms of anti-hydrogen by binding positrons to antiprotons in a particle accelerator. Astrophysicists have built more and more complex detectors to study cosmic rays. The detector HEAT (high energy antimatter telescope) has been designed to study positrons above the atmosphere. This detector has been launched for the first time in 1994 and has measured cosmic radiation for 32 hours at an altitude of 37000 meters. The results were challenging: whereas the number of low energy positrons detected agrees with the theory, the number of high energy positrons is too important. It suggests the existence of unknown sources of positrons somewhere in the universe. The massive particles that interact weakly (WIMP) could be such sources. This article draws the history of the quest for antimatter and its implications in cosmology, the detector HEAT is described. (A.C.)

  3. Particle Physics at the Cosmic, Intensity, and Energy Frontiers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Essig, Rouven

    2018-04-06

    Major efforts at the Intensity, Cosmic, and Energy frontiers of particle physics are rapidly furthering our understanding of the fundamental constituents of Nature and their interactions. The overall objectives of this research project are (1) to interpret and develop the theoretical implications of the data collected at these frontiers and (2) to provide the theoretical motivation, basis, and ideas for new experiments and for new analyses of experimental data. Within the Intensity Frontier, an experimental search for a new force mediated by a GeV-scale gauge boson will be carried out with the $A'$ Experiment (APEX) and the Heavy Photon Search (HPS), both at Jefferson Laboratory. Within the Cosmic Frontier, contributions are planned to the search for dark matter particles with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and other instruments. A detailed exploration will also be performed of new direct detection strategies for dark matter particles with sub-GeV masses to facilitate the development of new experiments. In addition, the theoretical implications of existing and future dark matter-related anomalies will be examined. Within the Energy Frontier, the implications of the data from the Large Hadron Collider will be investigated. Novel search strategies will be developed to aid the search for new phenomena not described by the Standard Model of particle physics. By combining insights from all three particle physics frontiers, this research aims to increase our understanding of fundamental particle physics.

  4. Primary cosmic ray flux

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanev, Todor

    2001-05-01

    We discuss the primary cosmic ray flux from the point of view of particle interactions and production of atmospheric neutrinos. The overall normalization of the cosmic ray flux and its time variations and site dependence are major ingredients of the atmospheric neutrino predictions and the basis for the derivation of the neutrino oscillation parameters.

  5. Cosmic Ray Physics with ACORDE at LHC

    CERN Document Server

    Pagliarone, C.

    2008-01-01

    The use of large underground high-energy physics experiments, for comic ray studies, have been used, in the past, at CERN, in order to measure, precisely, the inclusive cosmic ray flux in the energy range from 2x10^10 - 2x10^12 eV. ACORDE, ALICE Cosmic Rays DEtector, will act as Level 0 cosmic ray trigger and, together with other ALICE apparatus, will provide precise information on cosmic rays with primary energies around 10^15 - 10^17 eV. This paper reviews the main detector features, the present status, commissioning and integration with other apparatus. Finally, we discuss the ACORDE-ALICE cosmic ray physics program.

  6. Cosmic ray physics with ACORDE at LHC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pagliarone, C; Fernandez-Tellez, A

    2008-01-01

    The use of large underground high-energy physics experiments, for comic ray studies, have been used, in the past, at CERN, in order to measure, precisely, the inclusive cosmic ray flux in the energy range from 2·10 10 to 2· 10 12 eV. ACORDE, ALICE Cosmic Rays DEtector, will act as Level 0 cosmic ray trigger and, together with other ALICE apparatus, will provide precise information on cosmic rays with primary energies around 10 15 to 10 17 eV. This paper reviews the main detector features, the present status, commissioning and integration with other apparatus. Finally, we discuss the ACORDE-ALICE cosmic ray physics program

  7. New detection technologies for ultra-high energy cosmic rays and neutrinos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Böser Sebastian

    2013-06-01

    in dense media provides another promising approachfor the identification of the sources of cosmic rays. The low event rates and large required target volumes limit the experimental methods to far-ranging signatures .from the cascade, such as acoustic emission from the quasi-instantaneous energy deposit or Cherenkov emission from the charged particles in the cascade. Searching for optical Cherenkov photons in a cubic-kilometer of Antarctic ice, the IceCube experiment has recently found an excess of high-energy neutrinos in the TeV-PeV range.Yet its effective volume is too small to detect the GZK flux predicted from interaction of the highest-energy cosmic rays with the ambient cosmic microwave background. Seeking to increase the observed target volume, radio observations of the rim of the moon have energy thresholds well beyond the EeV scale and thus are more likely to find interactions of charged cosmic rays than GZK neutrinos. The currently best sensitivity to this flux is provided from searches for GHz radio emission of neutrino-induced cascades in the antarctic ice from the ANITA ballon experiment. While no high-energy neutrinos have been found, a geomagnetic emission component from air-showers

  8. Cosmic rays measurements between 1 GeV and 1 PeV by AMS and CREAM experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mangin-Brinet, M.

    2007-11-01

    The AMS (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer) and CREAM (Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass) experiments that are devoted to the detection of cosmic radiations have a similar architecture and both use a Cherenkov detector whose scintillating material is a silicon aerogel. The performance of the Cherenkov detector rests on an accurate knowledge of the refractive index of the aerogel plane. This report deals with an adequate methodology of measuring the refractive index. The first chapter reviews the contributions of AMS and CREAM experiments to the physics of cosmic radiations. The second chapter presents different methods used for mapping the refractive index of the aerogel plane. The prism method is based on the measurement of the deflection of a laser beam through the sides of an aerogel tile. The most satisfying method to measure the changes in the refractive index is to use an electron beam, in this case any change infers a change in the emission angle of the Cherenkov photons that can be detected and the value of the refractive index is deduced. A new method based on the deflection of a laser beam on the 2 parallel sides of an aerogel tile has been developed. The characterization of the 2 Cherenkov detectors are given in the second and the third chapter. The last chapter presents some aspects of the simulation works and of the data processing. (A.C.)

  9. Department of Cosmic Ray Physics; Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    2003-01-01

    Full text: Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the area of high-energy physics and cosmic ray physics related to: - Experimental and phenomenological studies of Extensive Air Showers induced by cosmic ray particles. - Studies of ultra-high energy (above 10 19 eV) cosmic rays: determination of energy spectrum and mass composition of primary particles - Studies of asymptotic properties of hadronic interactions based on the analysis of cosmic ray propagation through the atmosphere. - Studies of mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range 10 15 - 10 17 eV. - Registration of cosmic ray intensity variation correlated with solar activity. Theoretical and experimental studies of Extensive Air Shower properties are performed mostly basing on the results obtained by the Lodz Extensive Air Shower Array. We have noticed unexplainable delayed signals registered about 500-900 microseconds after the main EAS pulse. Neutron transport simulations were performed in collaboration with JINR in Dubna. We prepared hardware for further experimental study of this effect. Continuous registrations of 5 GeV muon flux with the underground muon telescope have been carried on over the year 2001. We have detected several changes of muon intensity correlated with Forbush decreases registered at lower energies. We have also started registrations of muon counting rate in the on-surface scintillation detectors. These measurements will be included to the analysis of the disturbed energy spectrum of primary cosmic rays and its dependence on interplanetary disturbances related to the solar activity. In construction and data interpretation of cosmic ray experiments the Lodz group collaborates with many foreign institutes and laboratories: Forschungszentrum in Karlsruhe (Germany), College de France, Institute for Nuclear Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, JINR in Dubna (Russia), Uppsala University (Sweden) and DESY (Germany). We have prepared a

  10. Department of Cosmic Ray Physics: Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    2002-01-01

    Full text:The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the area of high-energy physics and cosmic ray physics related to: * Experimental and phenomenological studies of Extensive Air Showers induced by cosmic ray particles. * Studies of ultra-high energy (above 10 19 eV) cosmic rays: determination of energy spectrum and mass composition of primary particles * Studies of asymptotic properties of hadronic interactions based on the analysis of cosmic ray propagation through the atmosphere. * Studies of mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range 10 15 -10 17 eV. * Registration of cosmic ray intensity variation correlated with solar activity. Theoretical and experimental studies of Extensive Air Shower properties are performed mostly based on the results obtained by the Lodz Extensive Air Shower Array. We have noticed unexplainable delayed signals registered about 500-900 microseconds after the main EAS pulse. We prepared hardware for further experimental study of this effect. Continuous registrations of 5 GeV muon flux with the underground muon telescope have been carried on during 2001. We detected several changes of muon intensity correlated with Forbush decreases registered at lower energies. We have also started registration of the muon counting rate in on-surface scintillation detectors. These measurements will be included to the analysis of the disturbed energy spectrum of primary cosmic rays and its dependence on interplanetary disturbances related to solar activity. In construction and data interpretation of cosmic ray experiments the Lodz group collaborates with many foreign institutes and laboratories: Forschungszentrum in Karlsruhe (Germany), College de France, Institute for Nuclear Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Uppsala University (Sweden) and DESY (Germany). We have prepared a project of large air shower array for studies of cosmic rays up to 10 20 eV. Detectors would be placed on the roofs of high

  11. Muon reconstruction performance using cosmic rays in CMS

    CERN Document Server

    Calderon, Alicia

    2009-01-01

    After the incident with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in September 2008, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) collaboration invested a considerable effort in further refining the understanding of the detector using cosmic muon data. About 300 million cosmic events were recorded with the CMS detector fully operational and the central solenoid switched on at the nominal value of 3.8 Tesla. The resulting data set provides ample statistics to study in great detail the detector performance and allows to analyze properties of cosmic rays. We present recent results on detector performance from the cosmic muon analysis activities and compare cosmic data to dedicated cosmic Monte Carlo samples. These results demonstrate the readiness of the CMS detector to do physics analysis with muons, and the study of cosmic muon properties provides interesting links to astrophysics.

  12. COSMIC-RAY TRANSPORT AND ANISOTROPIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biermann, Peter L. [MPI for Radioastronomy, Auf dem Huegel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Becker Tjus, Julia; Mandelartz, Matthias [Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, Fakultaet fuer Physik and Astronomie, Theoretische Physik I, D-44780 Bochum (Germany); Seo, Eun-Suk [Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

    2013-05-10

    We show that the large-scale cosmic-ray anisotropy at {approx}10 TeV can be explained by a modified Compton-Getting effect in the magnetized flow field of old supernova remnants. Cosmic rays arrive isotropically to the flow field and are then carried along with the flow to produce a large-scale anisotropy in the arrival direction. This approach suggests an optimum energy scale for detecting the anisotropy. Two key assumptions are that propagation is based on turbulence following a Kolmogorov law and that cosmic-ray interactions are dominated by transport via cosmic-ray-excited magnetic irregularities through the stellar wind of an exploding star and its shock shell. A prediction is that the amplitude is smaller at lower energies due to incomplete sampling of the velocity field and also smaller at larger energies due to smearing.

  13. Multi-spectra Cosmic Ray Flux Measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xiaochun; Dayananda, Mathes

    2010-02-01

    The Earth's upper atmosphere is constantly bombarded by rain of charged particles known as primary cosmic rays. These primary cosmic rays will collide with the atmospheric molecules and create extensive secondary particles which shower downward to the surface of the Earth. In recent years, a few studies have been done regarding to the applications of the cosmic ray measurements and the correlations between the Earth's climate conditions and the cosmic ray fluxes [1,2,3]. Most of the particles, which reach to the surface of the Earth, are muons together with a small percentage of electrons, gammas, neutrons, etc. At Georgia State University, multiple cosmic ray particle detectors have been constructed to measure the fluxes and energy distributions of the secondary cosmic ray particles. In this presentation, we will briefly describe these prototype detectors and show the preliminary test results. Reference: [1] K.Borozdin, G.Hogan, C.Morris, W.Priedhorsky, A.Saunders, L.Shultz, M.Teasdale, Nature, Vol.422, 277 (2003). [2] L.V. Egorova, V. Ya Vovk, O.A. Troshichev, Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics 62, 955-966 (2000). [3] Henrik Svensmark, Phy. Rev. Lett. 81, 5027 (1998). )

  14. CONFERENCE: Photon-photon collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1983-01-01

    Despite being difficult to observe, photon-photon collisions have opened up a range of physics difficult, or even impossible, to access by other methods. The progress which has been made in this field was evident at the fifth international workshop on photon-photon collisions, held in Aachen from 13-16 April and attended by some 120 physicists

  15. High energy physics in cosmic rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jones, Lawrence W. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (United States)

    2013-02-07

    In the first half-century of cosmic ray physics, the primary research focus was on elementary particles; the positron, pi-mesons, mu-mesons, and hyperons were discovered in cosmic rays. Much of this research was carried out at mountain elevations; Pic du Midi in the Pyrenees, Mt. Chacaltaya in Bolivia, and Mt. Evans/Echo Lake in Colorado, among other sites. In the 1960s, claims of the observation of free quarks, and satellite measurements of a significant rise in p-p cross sections, plus the delay in initiating accelerator construction programs for energies above 100 GeV, motivated the Michigan-Wisconsin group to undertake a serious cosmic ray program at Echo Lake. Subsequently, with the succession of higher energy accelerators and colliders at CERN and Fermilab, cosmic ray research has increasingly focused on cosmology and astrophysics, although some groups continue to study cosmic ray particle interactions in emulsion chambers.

  16. Cosmic rays, clouds and climate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Svensmark, Henrik [Danish Space Research Institute, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen (Denmark)

    2007-07-01

    Changes in the intensity of galactic cosmic rays seems alter the Earth's cloudiness. A recent experiment has shown how electrons liberated by cosmic rays assist in making aerosols, the building blocks of cloud condensation nuclei, while anomalous climatic trends in Antarctica confirm the role of clouds in helping to drive climate change. Variations in the cosmic-ray influx due to solar magnetic activity account well for climatic fluctuations on decadal, centennial and millennial timescales. Over longer intervals, the changing galactic environment of the Solar System has had dramatic consequences, including Snowball Earth episodes.

  17. High-energy cosmic-ray acceleration

    CERN Document Server

    Bustamante, M; de Paula, W; Duarte Chavez, J A; Gago, A M; Hakobyan, H; Jez, P; Monroy Montañez, J A; Ortiz Velasquez, A; Padilla Cabal, F; Pino Rozas, M; Rodriguez Patarroyo, D J; Romeo, G L; Saldaña-Salazar , U J; Velasquez, M; von Steinkirch, M

    2010-01-01

    We briefly review the basics of ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray acceleration. The Hillas criterion is introduced as a geometrical criterion that must be fulfilled by potential acceleration sites, and energy losses are taken into account in order to obtain a more realistic scenario. The different available acceleration mechanisms are presented, with special emphasis on Fermi shock acceleration and its prediction of a power-law cosmic-ray energy spectrum. We conclude that first-order Fermi acceleration, though not entirely satisfactory, is the most promising mechanism for explaining the ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray flux.

  18. Department of Cosmic Ray Physics - Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    2008-01-01

    Full text: The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the high energy Cosmic Ray field. Cosmic Rays are energetic particles from outside the Solar System. Most of the studies of Cosmic Rays address fundamental problems: · the nature of the physical and astrophysical processes responsible for high energies of particles · an estimation of the astrophysical conditions at the acceleration sites and/or search for sources of Cosmic Rays, · properties of high energy particle interactions at very high energies. Some Cosmic Ray studies might have practical (commercial) implications, e.g. · '' cosmic weather '' forecast - predictions of geomagnetic disturbances related to Solar activity changes (due to large Solar Flares / events of Coronal Mass Ejection); these are important for large electricity networks, gas pipes, radio-wave connections, space missions and satellite experiments. Presentation of Cosmic Ray registration to high school students becomes a popular way to introduce particle physics detectors and elementary particle detection techniques to young people. We organize in Lodz several workshops on particle physics for high school students. This is a part of European activity: EPPOG's Masterclass - Hands on CERN. Energetic Cosmic Ray particles produce cascades of particles in the atmosphere, called Extensive Air Showers (EAS). Registering EAS and their properties is the main way of experimental studies of very high energy Cosmic Rays. In Lodz Department we run Extensive Air Shower array where EAS are continuously being registered. We concentrate on the studies of detection of neutrons correlated with EAS and interpretation of this phenomenon. In 2004 we started realisation of the Roland Maze Project, the network of EAS detectors placed on the roofs of high schools in Lodz. We received funds from the City of Lodz budget to make a pilot project and equip 10 high schools, each with four 1m 2 detectors and GPS. The network is

  19. Recent discoveries from the cosmic microwave background: a review of recent progress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staggs, Suzanne; Dunkley, Jo; Page, Lyman

    2018-04-01

    Measurements of the anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation have provided a wealth of information about the cosmological model that describes the contents and evolution of the universe. These data have led to a standard model described by just six parameters. In this review we focus on discoveries made in the past decade from satellite and ground-based experiments, and look ahead to those anticipated in the coming decade. We provide an introduction to the key CMB observables including temperature and polarization anisotropies, and describe recent progress towards understanding the initial conditions of structure formation, and establishing the properties of the contents of the universe including neutrinos. Results are now being derived both from the primordial CMB signal that traces the behavior of the universe at 400 000 years of cosmic time, as well as from the signals imprinted at later times due to scattering from galaxy clusters, from the motion of electrons in the ionized universe, and from the gravitational lensing of the CMB photons. We describe current experimental methods to measure the CMB, particularly focusing on details relevant for ground and balloon-based instruments, and give an overview of the broad data analysis methods required to convert measurements of the microwave sky into cosmological parameters.

  20. Cosmic rays on earth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allkofer, O.C.; Grieder, P.K.F.

    1984-01-01

    A data collection is presented that covers cosmic rays on earth. Included are all relevant data on flux and intensity measurements, energy spectra, and related data of all primary and secondary components of the cosmic radiation at all levels in the atmosphere, at sea level and underground. In those cases where no useful experimental data have been available, theoretical predictions were substituted. (GSCH)

  1. High-energy cosmic rays

    CERN Document Server

    Cronin, James Watson

    1996-01-01

    Recently two cosmic rays with energy in excess of 2 1020 eV have been recorded. These are some 108 times more energetic than the protons produced by accelerators on earth. There is no credible understanding of the mechanism of acceleration by known a Because of the short mean free path in the cosmic background radiation they must come from nearby distances on a cosmological scale (< 50 Mpc). Their magnetic rigidity suggests that they should point to their source. Lectures will cover the present available data on the highest energy cosmic rays, their detection, possible acceleration mechanisms, their propagation in the galaxy and in extra galactic space and design of new detectors where simulations of air show ers play an important role.

  2. Empirical model for the Earth's cosmic ray shadow at 400 KM: prohibited cosmic ray access

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Humble, J.E.; Smart, D.F.; Shea, M.A.

    1985-01-01

    The possibility of constructing a unit sphere of access that describes the cosmic radiation allowed to an Earth-orbiting spacecraft is discussed. It is found that it is possible to model the occluded portion of the cosmic ray sphere of access as a circular projection with a diameter bounded by the satellite-Earth horizon. Maintaining tangency at the eastern edge of the spacecraft-Earth horizon, this optically occluded area is projected downward by an angle beta which is a function of the magnetic field inclination and cosmic ray arrival direction. This projected plane, corresponding to the forbidden area of cosmic ray access, is bounded by the spacecraft-Earth horizon in easterly directions, and is rotated around the vertical axis by an angle alpha from the eastern direction, where the angle alpha is a function of the offset dipole latitude of the spacecraft

  3. Cosmic ray physics with ACORDE at LHC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pagliarone, C [Universita degli Studi di Cassino and INFN Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo, 3 - Pisa (Italy); Fernandez-Tellez, A [Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla (BUAP), Puebla (Mexico)], E-mail: pagliarone@fnal.gov

    2008-05-15

    The use of large underground high-energy physics experiments, for comic ray studies, have been used, in the past, at CERN, in order to measure, precisely, the inclusive cosmic ray flux in the energy range from 2{center_dot}10{sup 10} to 2{center_dot} 10{sup 12} eV. ACORDE, ALICE Cosmic Rays DEtector, will act as Level 0 cosmic ray trigger and, together with other ALICE apparatus, will provide precise information on cosmic rays with primary energies around 10{sup 15} to 10{sup 17} eV. This paper reviews the main detector features, the present status, commissioning and integration with other apparatus. Finally, we discuss the ACORDE-ALICE cosmic ray physics program.

  4. High-energy cosmic rays and tests of basic principles of Physics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gonzalez-Mestres L.

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available With the present understanding of data, the observed flux suppression for ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR at energies above 4.1019 eV can be a signature of the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK cutoff or be related to a similar mechanism. But it may also correspond, for instance, to the maximum energies available at the relevant sources. In both cases, violations of special relativity modifying cosmic-ray propagation or acceleration at very high energy can potentially play a role. Other violations of fundamental principles of standard particle physics (quantum mechanics, energy and momentum conservation, vacuum homogeneity and “static” properties, effective space dimensions, quark confinement… can also be relevant at these energies. In particular, UHECR data would in principle allow to set bounds on Lorentz symmetry violation (LSV in patterns incorporating a privileged local reference frame (the “vacuum rest frame”, VRF. But the precise analysis is far from trivial, and other effects can also be present. The effective parameters can be related to Planckscale physics, or even to physics beyond Planck scale, as well as to the dynamics and effective symmetries of LSV for nucleons, quarks, leptons and the photon. LSV can also be at the origin of GZK-like effects. In the presence of a VRF, and contrary to a “grand unification” view, LSV and other violations of standard principles can modify the internal structure of particles at very high energy and conventional symmetries may cease to be valid at energies close to the Planck scale. We present an updated discussion of these topics, including experimental prospects, new potentialities for high-energy cosmic ray phenomenology and the possible link with unconventional pre-Big Bang scenarios, superbradyon (superluminal preon patterns… The subject of a possible superluminal propagation of neutrinos at accelerator energies is also dealt with.

  5. Cosmic ray investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zatsepin, Georgii T; Roganova, Tat'yana M

    2009-01-01

    The history of cosmic ray research at the Lebedev Institute beginning with the first work and continuing up to now is reviewed. The milestones and main avenues of research are outlined. Pioneering studies on the nuclear cascade process in extensive air showers, investigations of the Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation, and some work on the origin of cosmic rays are discussed. Recent data on ultrahigh-energy particle detection at the Pierre Auger Observatory and the High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) experiments are presented. (conferences and symposia)

  6. Cosmic Sum Rules

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    T. Frandsen, Mads; Masina, Isabella; Sannino, Francesco

    2011-01-01

    We introduce new sum rules allowing to determine universal properties of the unknown component of the cosmic rays and show how it can be used to predict the positron fraction at energies not yet explored by current experiments and to constrain specific models.......We introduce new sum rules allowing to determine universal properties of the unknown component of the cosmic rays and show how it can be used to predict the positron fraction at energies not yet explored by current experiments and to constrain specific models....

  7. Heterotic cosmic strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, Katrin; Becker, Melanie; Krause, Axel

    2006-01-01

    We show that all three conditions for the cosmological relevance of heterotic cosmic strings, the right tension, stability and a production mechanism at the end of inflation, can be met in the strongly coupled M-theory regime. Whereas cosmic strings generated from weakly coupled heterotic strings have the well-known problems posed by Witten in 1985, we show that strings arising from M5-branes wrapped around 4-cycles (divisors) of a Calabi-Yau in heterotic M-theory compactifications solve these problems in an elegant fashion

  8. Studying Heavy Ion Collisions Using Methods From Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaardhøje J. J.

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available We present and discuss a framework for studying the morphology of high-multiplicity events from relativistic heavy ion collisions using methods commonly employed in the analysis of the photons from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB. The analysis is based on the decomposition of the distribution of the number density of (charged particles expressed in polar and azimuthal coordinates into a sum of spherical harmonic functions. We present an application of the method exploting relevant symmetries to the study of azimuthal correlations arizing from collective flow among charged particles produced in relativistic heavy ion collisions. We discuss perspectives for event-by- event analyses, which with increasing collision energy will eventually open entirely new dimensions in the study of ultrarelaticistic heavy ion reactions.

  9. Single photon light detector for deep ocean applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuno, S.; Babson, J.; Learned, J.G.; O'Connor, D.; Grieder, P.K.F.; Wilson, C.

    1989-01-01

    We have developed a single photon sensitive light detector module which can be operated in the ocean to a depth of 5000 m. It was designed primarily to be used as a Cherenkov light detector in conjunction with the DUMAND (Deep Underwater Muon And Neutrino Detector) experiment. After calibration in the laboratory, seven detectors, assembled in a vertical string geometry, have been operated simultaneously in the deep ocean off the coast of the island of Hawaii. Cosmic ray muons have been recorded successfully at dephts ranging from 2000 to 4000 m. The results have demonstrated the capability of the detector; it fulfills the specifications required for the modules to be used in a deep ocean muon and neutrino detector. (orig.)

  10. Large angle cosmic microwave background fluctuations from cosmic strings with a cosmological constant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landriau, M.; Shellard, E.P.S.

    2004-01-01

    In this paper, we present results for large-angle cosmic microwave background anisotropies generated from high resolution simulations of cosmic string networks in a range of flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universes with a cosmological constant. Using an ensemble of all-sky maps, we compare with the Cosmic Background Explorer data to infer a normalization (or upper bound) on the string linear energy density μ. For a flat matter-dominated model (Ω M =1) we find Gμ/c 2 ≅0.7x10 -6 , which is lower than previous constraints probably because of the more accurate inclusion of string small-scale structure. For a cosmological constant within an observationally acceptable range, we find a relatively weak dependence with Gμ/c 2 less than 10% higher

  11. The IceCube Collaboration: contributions to the 30th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2007)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    IceCube Collaboration; Ackermann, M.

    2007-01-01

    This paper bundles 40 contributions by the IceCube collaboration that were submitted to the 30th International Cosmic Ray Conference ICRC 2007. The articles cover studies on cosmic rays and atmospheric neutrinos, searches for non-localized, extraterrestrial ν e , ν μ and ν τ signals, scans for steady and intermittent neutrino point sources, searches for dark matter candidates, magnetic monopoles and other exotic particles, improvements in analysis techniques, as well as future detector extensions. The IceCube observatory will be finalized in 2011 to form a cubic-kilometer ice-Cherenkov detector at the location of the geographic South Pole. At the present state of construction, IceCube consists of 52 paired IceTop surface tanks and 22 IceCube strings with a total of 1426 Digital Optical Modules deployed at depths up to 2350 m. The observatory also integrates the 19 string AMANDA subdetector, that was completed in 2000 and extends IceCube's reach to lower energies. Before the deployment of IceTop, cosmic air showers were registered with the 30 station SPASE-2 surface array. IceCube's low noise Digital Optical Modules are very reliable, show a uniform response and record waveforms of arriving photons that are resolvable with nanosecond precision over a large dynamic range. Data acquisition, reconstruction and simulation software are running in production mode and the analyses, profiting from the improved data quality and increased overall sensitivity, are well under way

  12. The IceCube Collaboration:contributions to the 30 th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2007),

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    IceCube Collaboration; Ackermann, M.

    2007-11-02

    This paper bundles 40 contributions by the IceCube collaboration that were submitted to the 30th International Cosmic Ray Conference ICRC 2007. The articles cover studies on cosmic rays and atmospheric neutrinos, searches for non-localized, extraterrestrial {nu}{sub e}, {nu}{sub {mu}} and {nu}{sub {tau}} signals, scans for steady and intermittent neutrino point sources, searches for dark matter candidates, magnetic monopoles and other exotic particles, improvements in analysis techniques, as well as future detector extensions. The IceCube observatory will be finalized in 2011 to form a cubic-kilometer ice-Cherenkov detector at the location of the geographic South Pole. At the present state of construction, IceCube consists of 52 paired IceTop surface tanks and 22 IceCube strings with a total of 1426 Digital Optical Modules deployed at depths up to 2350 m. The observatory also integrates the 19 string AMANDA subdetector, that was completed in 2000 and extends IceCube's reach to lower energies. Before the deployment of IceTop, cosmic air showers were registered with the 30 station SPASE-2 surface array. IceCube's low noise Digital Optical Modules are very reliable, show a uniform response and record waveforms of arriving photons that are resolvable with nanosecond precision over a large dynamic range. Data acquisition, reconstruction and simulation software are running in production mode and the analyses, profiting from the improved data quality and increased overall sensitivity, are well under way.

  13. Cosmic radiation exposure to airline flight passenger

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Momose, Mitsuhiro

    2000-01-01

    At the high altitudes, airline flight passengers can be exposed to some levels of cosmic radiation. The purpose of this study was to quantify this radiation exposure. Cosmic radiation was measured during 5 flights using a personal dosimeter (PDM-102, Aloka). Cosmic radiation equivalent dose rates ranged from 0.7 to 1.43 microsieverts per hour, the average rate was 1.08. For the passenger who travels only occasionally, the cosmic radiation levels are well below occupational limits, and the risks are extremely small. (author)

  14. Cosmic radiation exposure to airline flight passenger

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Momose, Mitsuhiro [Shinshu Univ., Matsumoto, Nagano (Japan). School of Medicine

    2000-08-01

    At the high altitudes, airline flight passengers can be exposed to some levels of cosmic radiation. The purpose of this study was to quantify this radiation exposure. Cosmic radiation was measured during 5 flights using a personal dosimeter (PDM-102, Aloka). Cosmic radiation equivalent dose rates ranged from 0.7 to 1.43 microsieverts per hour, the average rate was 1.08. For the passenger who travels only occasionally, the cosmic radiation levels are well below occupational limits, and the risks are extremely small. (author)

  15. Cosmic ray production curves below reworking zones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blanford, G.E.

    1980-01-01

    A method is presented for calculating cosmic ray production profiles below reworking zones. The method uses an input reworking depth determined from data such as signatures in the depth profile of ferromagnetic resonance intensity and input cosmic ray production profiles for an undisturbed surface. Reworking histories are simulated using Monte Carlo techniques, and depth profiles are used to determine cosmic ray exposure age limits with a specified probability. It is shown that the track density profiles predict cosmic ray exposure ages in lunar cores that are consistent with values determined by other methods. Results applied to neutron fluence and spallation rare gases eliminate the use of reworking depth as an adjustable parameter and give cosmic ray exposure ages that are compatible with each other

  16. Department of Cosmic Ray Physics - Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    2007-01-01

    The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the high energy Cosmic Ray field. Cosmic Rays are energetic particles from outside the Solar System. The energy spectrum (power law energy dependence) suggests non-thermal origin of these particles. Most of the studies of Cosmic Rays address fundamental problems: · the nature of the physical and astrophysical processes responsible for high energies of particles (up to about 1020 eV/particle), · an estimation of the astrophysical conditions at the acceleration sites and/or search for sources of Cosmic Rays, · properties of high energy particle interactions at very high energies (nuclear interactions at energies exceeding energy available in the laboratories). Some Cosmic Ray studies might have practical (commercial) implications, e.g.: · '' cosmic weather '' forecast - predictions of geomagnetic disturbances related to Solar activity changes (due to large Solar Flares / events of Coronal Mass Ejection); these are important for large electricity networks, gas pipes, radio-wave connections, space missions and satellite experiments. Presentation of Cosmic Ray registration to high school students becomes a popular way to introduce particle physics detectors and elementary particle detection techniques to young people. We organize in Lodz several workshops on particle physics for high school students. This is a part of European activity: Masterclass - Hands on CERN. Energetic Cosmic Ray particles produce cascades of particles in the atmosphere, called Extensive Air Showers (EAS). Registering EAS and their properties is the main way of experimental studies of very high energy Cosmic Rays. In Lodz Department we run Extensive Air Shower array where EAS are continuously being registered. We concentrate on the studies of detection of neutrons correlated with EAS and interpretation of this phenomenon. Back in 2004 we started realisation of the Roland Maze Project, the network of EAS detectors

  17. Proceedings of the 21. European Cosmic Ray Symposium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiraly, P.; Kudela, K.; Wolfendale, A. W.

    2008-09-01

    Scientific symposium deals with problems of cosmic ray. The Symposium included the following sessions: (1): Relationship of cosmic rays to the environment; (2) Energetic particles and the magnetosphere of the Earth; (3) Energetic particles in the heliosphere; (4) Solar-terrestrial effects on different time scales; (5) Cosmic rays below the knee; (6) Cosmic rays above the knee (7) High energy interactions; (8) GeV and TeV gamma ray astronomy; (9) European projects related to cosmic rays; Future perspectives. Proceedings contains 122 papers dealing with the scope of INIS.

  18. World Ships: The Solar-Photon Sail Option

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matloff, G. L.

    The World Ship, a spacecraft large enough to simulate a small-scale terrestrial internal environment, may be the best feasible option to transfer members of a technological civilization between neighboring stars. Because of the projected size of these spacecraft, journey durations of ~1,000 years seem likely. One of the propulsion options for World Ships is the hyper-thin, likely space-manufactured solar-photon sail, unfurled as close to the migrating civilization's home star as possible. Because the sail and associated structure can be wound around the habitat while not in use, it represents the only known ultimately feasible interstellar propulsion system that can be applied for en route galactic-cosmic ray shielding as well as acceleration/ deceleration. This paper reviews the three suggested sail configurations that can be applied to world ship propulsion: parachute, hollow-body and hoop sails. Possible existing and advanced sail and structure materials and the predicted effects on the sail of the near-Sun space environment are reviewed. Consideration of solar-photon-sail World Ships also affects SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). Can we detect such craft in flight? When in a star's lifetime is migration using such craft likely? What classes of stars are good candidates for solar-sail World-Ship searches?

  19. A Shifting Shield Provides Protection Against Cosmic Rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2017-12-01

    The Sun plays an important role in protecting us from cosmic rays, energetic particles that pelt us from outside our solar system. But can we predict when and how it will provide the most protection, and use this to minimize the damage to both pilotedand roboticspace missions?The Challenge of Cosmic RaysSpacecraft outside of Earths atmosphere and magnetic field are at risk of damage from cosmic rays. [ESA]Galactic cosmic rays are high-energy, charged particles that originate from astrophysical processes like supernovae or even distant active galactic nuclei outside of our solar system.One reason to care about the cosmic rays arriving near Earth is because these particles can provide a significant challenge for space missions traveling above Earths protective atmosphere and magnetic field. Since impacts from cosmic rays can damage human DNA, this risk poses a major barrier to plans for interplanetary travel by crewed spacecraft. And roboticmissions arent safe either: cosmic rays can flip bits, wreaking havoc on spacecraft electronics as well.The magnetic field carried by the solar wind provides a protective shield, deflecting galactic cosmic rays from our solar system. [Walt Feimer/NASA GSFCs Conceptual Image Lab]Shielded by the SunConveniently, we do have some broader protection against galactic cosmic rays: a built-in shield provided by the Sun. The interplanetary magnetic field, which is embedded in the solar wind, deflects low-energy cosmic rays from us at the outer reaches of our solar system, decreasing the flux of these cosmic rays that reach us at Earth.This shield, however, isnt stationary; instead, it moves and changes as the strength and direction of the solar wind moves and changes. This results in a much lower cosmic-ray flux at Earth when solar activity is high i.e., at the peak of the 11-year solar cycle than when solar activity is low. This visible change in local cosmic-ray flux with solar activity is known as solar modulation of the cosmic ray flux

  20. Testing the weak gravity-cosmic censorship connection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crisford, Toby; Horowitz, Gary T.; Santos, Jorge E.

    2018-03-01

    A surprising connection between the weak gravity conjecture and cosmic censorship has recently been proposed. In particular, it was argued that a promising class of counterexamples to cosmic censorship in four-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-Λ theory would be removed if charged particles (with sufficient charge) were present. We test this idea and find that indeed if the weak gravity conjecture is true, one cannot violate cosmic censorship this way. Remarkably, the minimum value of charge required to preserve cosmic censorship appears to agree precisely with that proposed by the weak gravity conjecture.

  1. Cosmic rays at ultra high energies (Neutrinos.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahlers, M.; Ringwald, A.; Tu, H.

    2005-06-01

    Resonant photopion production with the cosmic microwave background predicts a suppression of extragalactic protons above the famous Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff at about E GZK ∼ 5 x 10 10 GeV. Current cosmic ray data measured by the AGASA and HiRes Collaborations do not unambiguously confirm the GZK cutoff and leave a window for speculations about the origin and chemical composition of the highest energy cosmic rays. In this work we analyze the possibility of strongly interacting neutrino primaries and derive model-independent quantitative requirements on the neutrino-nucleon inelastic cross section for a viable explanation of the cosmic ray data. Search results on weakly interacting cosmic particles from the AGASA and RICE experiments are taken into account simultaneously. Using a flexible parameterization of the inelastic neutrino-nucleon cross section we find that a combined fit of the data does not favor the Standard Model neutrino-nucleon inelastic cross section, but requires, at 90% confidence level, a steep increase within one energy decade around E GZK by four orders of magnitude. We illustrate such an enhancement within some extensions of the Standard Model. The impact of new cosmic ray data or cosmic neutrino search results on this scenario, notably from the Pierre Auger Observatory soon, can be immediately evaluated within our approach. (orig.)

  2. Photon-Photon Collisions -- Past and Future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brodsky, Stanley J.

    2005-01-01

    I give a brief review of the history of photon-photon physics and a survey of its potential at future electron-positron colliders. Exclusive hadron production processes in photon-photon and electron-photon collisions provide important tests of QCD at the amplitude level, particularly as measures of hadron distribution amplitudes. There are also important high energy γγ and eγ tests of quantum chromodynamics, including the production of jets in photon-photon collisions, deeply virtual Compton scattering on a photon target, and leading-twist single-spin asymmetries for a photon polarized normal to a production plane. Since photons couple directly to all fundamental fields carrying the electromagnetic current including leptons, quarks, W's and supersymmetric particles, high energy γγ collisions will provide a comprehensive laboratory for Higgs production and exploring virtually every aspect of the Standard Model and its extensions. High energy back-scattered laser beams will thus greatly extend the range of physics of the International Linear Collider

  3. Relativistic transport theory for cosmic-rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Webb, G.M.

    1985-01-01

    Various aspects of the transport of cosmic-rays in a relativistically moving magnetized plasma supporting a spectrum of hydromagnetic waves that scatter the cosmic-rays are presented. A local Lorentz frame moving with the waves or turbulence scattering the cosmic-rays is used to specify the individual particle momentum. The comoving frame is in general a noninertial frame in which the observer's volume element is expanding and shearing, geometric energy change terms appear in the cosmic-ray transport equation which consist of the relativistic generalization of the adiabatic deceleration term and a further term involving the acceleration vector of the scatterers. A relativistic version of the pitch angle evolution equation, including the effects of adiabatic focussing, pitch angle scattering, and energy changes is presented

  4. Cosmic Rays in Intermittent Magnetic Fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukurov, Anvar; Seta, Amit; Bushby, Paul J.; Wood, Toby S.; Snodin, Andrew P.

    2017-01-01

    The propagation of cosmic rays in turbulent magnetic fields is a diffusive process driven by the scattering of the charged particles by random magnetic fluctuations. Such fields are usually highly intermittent, consisting of intense magnetic filaments and ribbons surrounded by weaker, unstructured fluctuations. Studies of cosmic-ray propagation have largely overlooked intermittency, instead adopting Gaussian random magnetic fields. Using test particle simulations, we calculate cosmic-ray diffusivity in intermittent, dynamo-generated magnetic fields. The results are compared with those obtained from non-intermittent magnetic fields having identical power spectra. The presence of magnetic intermittency significantly enhances cosmic-ray diffusion over a wide range of particle energies. We demonstrate that the results can be interpreted in terms of a correlated random walk.

  5. Cosmic Rays in Intermittent Magnetic Fields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shukurov, Anvar; Seta, Amit; Bushby, Paul J.; Wood, Toby S. [School of Mathematics and Statistics, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU (United Kingdom); Snodin, Andrew P., E-mail: a.seta1@ncl.ac.uk, E-mail: amitseta90@gmail.com [Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Applied Science, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok 10800 (Thailand)

    2017-04-10

    The propagation of cosmic rays in turbulent magnetic fields is a diffusive process driven by the scattering of the charged particles by random magnetic fluctuations. Such fields are usually highly intermittent, consisting of intense magnetic filaments and ribbons surrounded by weaker, unstructured fluctuations. Studies of cosmic-ray propagation have largely overlooked intermittency, instead adopting Gaussian random magnetic fields. Using test particle simulations, we calculate cosmic-ray diffusivity in intermittent, dynamo-generated magnetic fields. The results are compared with those obtained from non-intermittent magnetic fields having identical power spectra. The presence of magnetic intermittency significantly enhances cosmic-ray diffusion over a wide range of particle energies. We demonstrate that the results can be interpreted in terms of a correlated random walk.

  6. Semianalytic calculation of cosmic microwave background anisotropies from wiggly and superconducting cosmic strings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rybak, I. Yu.; Avgoustidis, A.; Martins, C. J. A. P.

    2017-11-01

    We study how the presence of world-sheet currents affects the evolution of cosmic string networks, and their impact on predictions for the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies generated by these networks. We provide a general description of string networks with currents and explicitly investigate in detail two physically motivated examples: wiggly and superconducting cosmic string networks. By using a modified version of the CMBact code, we show quantitatively how the relevant network parameters in both of these cases influence the predicted CMB signal. Our analysis suggests that previous studies have overestimated the amplitude of the anisotropies for wiggly strings. For superconducting strings the amplitude of the anisotropies depends on parameters which presently are not well known—but which can be measured in future high-resolution numerical simulations.

  7. Fermi LAT Observation of Diffuse Gamma-Rays Produced through Interactions Between Local Interstellar Matter and High Energy Cosmic Rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdo, A.A.; /Naval Research Lab, Wash., D.C. /Federal City Coll.; Ackermann, M.; /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Ajello, M.; /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Atwood, W.B.; /UC, Santa Cruz; Axelsson, M.; /Stockholm U. /Stockholm U., OKC; Baldini, L.; /INFN, Pisa; Ballet, J.; /DAPNIA, Saclay; Barbiellini, G.; /INFN, Trieste /Trieste U.; Bastieri, D.; /INFN, Padua /Padua U.; Baughman, B.M.; /Ohio State U.; Bechtol, K.; /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Bellazzini, R.; /INFN, Pisa; Berenji, B.; /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Bloom, E.D.; /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Bonamente, E.; /INFN, Perugia /Perugia U.; Borgland, A.W.; /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Bregeon, J.; /INFN, Pisa; Brez, A.; /INFN, Pisa; Brigida, M.; /Bari U. /INFN, Bari; Bruel, P.; /Ecole Polytechnique; Burnett, T.H.; /Washington U., Seattle /Bari U. /INFN, Bari /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /IASF, Milan /Milan Polytechnic /Royal Inst. Tech., Stockholm /Stockholm U., OKC /DAPNIA, Saclay /INFN, Perugia /Perugia U. /NASA, Goddard /Naval Research Lab, Wash., D.C. /George Mason U. /NASA, Goddard /INFN, Perugia /Perugia U. /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /Montpellier U. /Stockholm U. /Stockholm U., OKC /Royal Inst. Tech., Stockholm /ASDC, Frascati /Naval Research Lab, Wash., D.C. /INFN, Trieste /Bari U. /INFN, Bari /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /CENBG, Gradignan /CENBG, Gradignan /Montpellier U. /Bari U. /INFN, Bari /Ecole Polytechnique /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /INFN, Trieste /Hiroshima U. /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park /Stanford U., Phys. Dept. /Bari U. /INFN, Bari /INFN, Bari; /more authors..

    2012-03-30

    Observations by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi mission of diffuse {gamma}-rays in a mid-latitude region in the third quadrant (Galactic longitude l from 200{sup o} to 260{sup o} and latitude |b| from 22{sup o} to 60{sup o}) are reported. The region contains no known large molecular cloud and most of the atomic hydrogen is within 1 kpc of the solar system. The contributions of {gamma}-ray point sources and inverse Compton scattering are estimated and subtracted. The residual {gamma}-ray intensity exhibits a linear correlation with the atomic gas column density in energy from 100 MeV to 10 GeV. The measured integrated {gamma}-ray emissivity is (1.63 {+-} 0.05) x 10{sup -26} photons s{sup -1}sr{sup -1} H-atom{sup -1} and (0.66 {+-} 0.02) x 10{sup -26} photons s{sup -1}sr{sup -1} H-atom{sup -1} above 100 MeV and above 300 MeV, respectively, with an additional systematic error of {approx}10%. The differential emissivity from 100 MeV to 10 GeV agrees with calculations based on cosmic ray spectra consistent with those directly measured, at the 10% level. The results obtained indicate that cosmic ray nuclei spectra within 1 kpc from the solar system in regions studied are close to the local interstellar spectra inferred from direct measurements at the Earth within {approx}10%.

  8. Department of Cosmic Ray Physics - Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J

    2005-01-01

    Full text: The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the high energy Cosmic Ray field. Cosmic Rays are energetic particles from outside the Solar System. The energy spectrum (power law energy dependence) suggests a non-thermal origin of these particles. Most studies of Cosmic Rays address fundamental problems: - the nature of the physical and astrophysical processes responsible for high energies of particles (up to about 10 20 eV/particle), - estimation of the astrophysical conditions at the acceleration sites and/or search for sources of Cosmic Rays, - properties of high energy particle interactions at very high energies (nuclear interactions at energies exceeding energy available in laboratories). - Some Cosmic Ray studies might have practical (commercial) implications, e.g. - ''cosmic weather'' forecast - predictions of geomagnetic disturbances related to Solar activity changes (due to large Solar Flares / events of Coronal Mass Ejection); these are important for large electricity networks, gas pipes, radio-wave connections, space missions and satellite experiments. Presentation of Cosmic Ray registration to high school students is a popular way to introduce particle physics detectors and elementary particle detection techniques to young people. Energetic Cosmic Ray particles produce cascades of particles in the atmosphere, called Extensive Air Showers (EAS). Registering the EAS and their properties is the main way of experimental studies of very high energy Cosmic Rays. In our Lodz Department we run an Extensive Air Shower array where EAS are continuously being registered. We concentrate on the studies of detection of neutrons correlated with EAS and interpretation of this phenomenon. In 2004 we started realisation of the Roland Maze Project, the network of EAS detectors placed on the roofs of high schools in Lodz. We received funds from the City of Lodz's budget to make a pilot project and equip 10 high schools, each with

  9. Department of Cosmic Ray Physics - Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    2009-01-01

    Full text: The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the high-energy Cosmic Ray field. Cosmic Rays are energetic particles from outside the Solar System. Most of the studies of Cosmic Rays address fundamental problems: - the nature of the physical and astrophysical processes responsible for the high energies of the particles - an estimation of the astrophysical conditions at the acceleration sites and/or the search for sources of Cosmic Rays, - properties of high-energy particle interactions at very high energies. Some Cosmic Ray studies might have practical (commercial) implications, e.g. - '' cosmic weather '' forecasting - predictions of geomagnetic disturbances related to Solar activity changes (due to large Solar Flares/Coronal Mass Ejection events); these are important for large electricity networks, gas pipelines, radio-wave connections, space missions and satellite experiments. Presentation of Cosmic Ray registration to high school students has become a popular way to introduce particle physics detectors and elementary particle detection techniques to young people. We organize in Lodz and Poznan workshops on particle physics for high school students. This is a part of the European activity: EPPOG's Masterclass - Hands on CERN. Energetic Cosmic Ray particles produce cascades of particles in the atmosphere, called Extensive Air Showers (EAS). Registering EAS and their properties is the main way of experimentally study's very high energy Cosmic Rays. Locally in Lodz we concentrate on methodological studies of the detection of neutrons correlated with EAS and the interpretation of this phenomenon. We have also performed two series of neutron background measurements in the deep underground Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy (within the ILIAS-TA Project). In 2004, we began the Roland Maze Project, a network of EAS detectors placed on the roofs of high schools in Lodz. The pilot project is to equip 10 high schools, each with four 1m

  10. Cosmic-ray anisotropy studies with IceCube

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNally, Frank

    2014-03-01

    The IceCube neutrino observatory detects tens of billions of energetic muons per year produced by cosmic-ray interactions with the atmosphere. The size of this sample has allowed IceCube to observe a significant anisotropy in arrival direction for cosmic rays with median energies between 20 and 400 TeV. This anisotropy is characterized by a large scale structure of per-mille amplitude accompanied by structures with smaller amplitudes and with typical angular sizes between 10° and 20°. IceTop, the surface component of IceCube, has observed a similar anisotropy in the arrival direction distribution of cosmic rays, extending the study to PeV energies. The better energy resolution of IceTop allows for additional studies of the anisotropy, for example a comparison of the energy spectrum in regions of a cosmic-ray excess or deficit to the rest of the sky. We present an update on the cosmic-ray anisotropy observed with IceCube and IceTop and the results of first studies of the energy spectrum at locations of cosmic-ray excess or deficit.

  11. RELAXATION OF BLAZAR-INDUCED PAIR BEAMS IN COSMIC VOIDS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miniati, Francesco [Physics Department, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, ETH-Zuerich, CH-8093 Zuerich (Switzerland); Elyiv, Andrii, E-mail: fm@phys.ethz.ch [Institut d' Astrophysique et de Geophysique, Universite de Liege, B-4000 Liege (Belgium)

    2013-06-10

    The stability properties of a low-density ultrarelativistic pair beam produced in the intergalactic medium (IGM) by multi-TeV gamma-ray photons from blazars are analyzed. The problem is relevant for probes of magnetic field in cosmic voids through gamma-ray observations. In addition, dissipation of such beams could considerably affect the thermal history of the IGM and structure formation. We use a Monte Carlo method to quantify the properties of the blazar-induced electromagnetic shower, in particular the bulk Lorentz factor and the angular spread of the pair beam generated by the shower, as a function of distance from the blazar itself. We then use linear and nonlinear kinetic theory to study the stability of the pair beam against the growth of electrostatic plasma waves, employing the Monte Carlo results for our quantitative estimates. We find that the fastest growing mode, like any perturbation mode with even a very modest component perpendicular to the beam direction, cannot be described in the reactive regime. Due to the effect of nonlinear Landau damping, which suppresses the growth of plasma oscillations, the beam relaxation timescale is found to be significantly longer than the inverse Compton loss time. Finally, density inhomogeneities associated with cosmic structure induce loss of resonance between the beam particles and plasma oscillations, strongly inhibiting their growth. We conclude that relativistic pair beams produced by blazars in the IGM are stable on timescales that are long compared with the electromagnetic cascades. There appears to be little or no effect of pair beams on the IGM.

  12. Photon Collider Physics with Real Photon Beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gronberg, J; Asztalos, S

    2005-01-01

    Photon-photon interactions have been an important probe into fundamental particle physics. Until recently, the only way to produce photon-photon collisions was parasitically in the collision of charged particles. Recent advances in short-pulse laser technology have made it possible to consider producing high intensity, tightly focused beams of real photons through Compton scattering. A linear e + e - collider could thus be transformed into a photon-photon collider with the addition of high power lasers. In this paper they show that it is possible to make a competitive photon-photon collider experiment using the currently mothballed Stanford Linear Collider. This would produce photon-photon collisions in the GeV energy range which would allow the discovery and study of exotic heavy mesons with spin states of zero and two

  13. Hadron production in photon-photon collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pandita, P.N.; Singh, Y.

    1976-01-01

    We analyze deep-inelastic photon-photon collisions via the two-photon mechanism in electron-positron (-electron) colliding beams in a form especially suitable for experimental analysis. It is shown that by a helicity analysis similar to that used in electroproduction experiments, we can separate five of the eight structure functions describing the process γ* + γ* → hadrons. The helicity cross sections for this process and for the process with one real photon (inelastic electron-photon scattering) are related to structure functions, and are evaluated using quark light-cone algebra. There are anomalous contributions to the structure functions for the inelastic electron-photon scattering which arise both in parton as well as generalized vector-meson-dominance models. This suggests a connection between these two types of models for photon-photon scattering. Further, we use vector-meson dominance to construct a sum rule for sigma/sub gamma//sub gamma/ /sub arrow-right/ from which it is estimated that roughly 20% of the cross section should be built up from higher-mass vector states. Using a spectral representation for the total transverse cross section, and the ''aligned-jet'' vector-dominance model we achieve a connection, via a ''correspondence principle,'' with the parton model for the hadron multiplicities in photon-photon collisions. We also comment on inclusive pion multiplicities and the approach to scaling for photon-photon processes in the light-cone algebra

  14. Photons, photon jets and dark photons at 750 GeV and beyond

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dasgupta, Basudeb; Kopp, Joachim

    2016-03-01

    In new physics searches involving photons at the LHC, one challenge is to distinguish scenarios with isolated photons from models leading to ''photon jets''. For instance, in the context of the 750 GeV diphoton excess, it was pointed out that a true diphoton resonance S → γγ can be mimicked by a process of the form pp → S → aa → 4γ, where S is a new scalar with a mass of 750 GeV and a is a light pseudoscalar decaying to two collinear photons. Photon jets can be distinguished from isolated photons by exploiting the fact that a large fraction of photons convert to an e + e - pair inside the inner detector. In this note, we quantify this discrimination power, and we study how the sensitivity of future searches differs for photon jets compared to isolated photons. We also investigate how our results depend on the lifetime of the particle(s) decaying to the photon jet. Finally, we discuss the extension to S → A'A' → e + e - e + e - , where there are no photons at all but the dark photon A' decays to e + e - pairs. Our results will be useful in future studies of the putative 750 GeV signal, but also more generally in any new physics search involving hard photons.

  15. Inverse photon-photon processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carimalo, C.; Crozon, M.; Kesler, P.; Parisi, J.

    1981-12-01

    We here consider inverse photon-photon processes, i.e. AB → γγX (where A, B are hadrons, in particular protons or antiprotons), at high energies. As regards the production of a γγ continuum, we show that, under specific conditions the study of such processes might provide some information on the subprocess gg γγ, involving a quark box. It is also suggested to use those processes in order to systematically look for heavy C = + structures (quarkonium states, gluonia, etc.) showing up in the γγ channel. Inverse photon-photon processes might thus become a new and fertile area of investigation in high-energy physics, provided the difficult problem of discriminating between direct photons and indirect ones can be handled in a satisfactory way

  16. Radiation Backgrounds at Cosmic Dawn: X-Rays from Compact Binaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madau, Piero; Fragos, Tassos

    2017-05-01

    We compute the expected X-ray diffuse background and radiative feedback on the intergalactic medium (IGM) from X-ray binaries prior to and during the epoch of reionization. The cosmic evolution of compact binaries is followed using a population synthesis technique that treats separately neutron stars and black hole binaries in different spectral states and is calibrated to reproduce the observed X-ray properties of galaxies at z ≲ 4. Together with an updated empirical determination of the cosmic history of star formation, recent modeling of the stellar mass-metallicity relation, and a scheme for absorption by the IGM that accounts for the presence of ionized H II bubbles during the epoch of reionization, our detailed calculations provide refined predictions of the X-ray volume emissivity and filtered radiation background from “normal” galaxies at z ≳ 6. Radiative transfer effects modulate the background spectrum, which shows a characteristic peak between 1 and 2 keV. Because of the energy dependence of photoabsorption, soft X-ray photons are produced by local sources, while more energetic radiation arrives unattenuated from larger cosmological volumes. While the filtering of X-ray radiation through the IGM slightly increases the mean excess energy per photoionization, it also weakens the radiation intensity below 1 keV, lowering the mean photoionization and heating rates. Numerical integration of the rate and energy equations shows that the contribution of X-ray binaries to the ionization of the bulk IGM is negligible, with the electron fraction never exceeding 1%. Direct He I photoionizations are the main source of IGM heating, and the temperature of the largely neutral medium in between H II cavities increases above the temperature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) only at z ≲ 10, when the volume filling factor of H II bubbles is already ≳0.1. Therefore, in this scenario, it is only at relatively late epochs that neutral intergalactic hydrogen

  17. Radiation Backgrounds at Cosmic Dawn: X-Rays from Compact Binaries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Madau, Piero [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Fragos, Tassos [Geneva Observatory, University of Geneva, Chemin des Maillettes 51, 1290 Sauverny (Switzerland)

    2017-05-01

    We compute the expected X-ray diffuse background and radiative feedback on the intergalactic medium (IGM) from X-ray binaries prior to and during the epoch of reionization. The cosmic evolution of compact binaries is followed using a population synthesis technique that treats separately neutron stars and black hole binaries in different spectral states and is calibrated to reproduce the observed X-ray properties of galaxies at z ≲ 4. Together with an updated empirical determination of the cosmic history of star formation, recent modeling of the stellar mass–metallicity relation, and a scheme for absorption by the IGM that accounts for the presence of ionized H ii bubbles during the epoch of reionization, our detailed calculations provide refined predictions of the X-ray volume emissivity and filtered radiation background from “normal” galaxies at z ≳ 6. Radiative transfer effects modulate the background spectrum, which shows a characteristic peak between 1 and 2 keV. Because of the energy dependence of photoabsorption, soft X-ray photons are produced by local sources, while more energetic radiation arrives unattenuated from larger cosmological volumes. While the filtering of X-ray radiation through the IGM slightly increases the mean excess energy per photoionization, it also weakens the radiation intensity below 1 keV, lowering the mean photoionization and heating rates. Numerical integration of the rate and energy equations shows that the contribution of X-ray binaries to the ionization of the bulk IGM is negligible, with the electron fraction never exceeding 1%. Direct He i photoionizations are the main source of IGM heating, and the temperature of the largely neutral medium in between H ii cavities increases above the temperature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) only at z ≲ 10, when the volume filling factor of H ii bubbles is already ≳0.1. Therefore, in this scenario, it is only at relatively late epochs that neutral intergalactic

  18. USING COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND LENSING TO CONSTRAIN THE MULTIPLICATIVE BIAS OF COSMIC SHEAR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vallinotto, Alberto

    2012-01-01

    Weak gravitational lensing is one of the key probes of cosmology. Cosmic shear surveys aimed at measuring the distribution of matter in the universe are currently being carried out (Pan-STARRS) or planned for the coming decade (DES, LSST, EUCLID, WFIRST). Crucial to the success of these surveys is the control of systematics. In this work, a new method to constrain one such family of systematics, known as multiplicative bias, is proposed. This method exploits the cross-correlation between weak-lensing measurements from galaxy surveys and the ones obtained from high-resolution cosmic microwave background experiments. This cross-correlation is shown to have the power to break the degeneracy between the normalization of the matter power spectrum and the multiplicative bias of cosmic shear and to be able to constrain the latter to a few percent.

  19. A two-zone cosmic ray propagation model and its implication of the surviving fraction of radioactive cosmic ray isotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simon, M.; Scherzer, R.; Enge, W.

    1977-01-01

    In cosmic ray propagation calculations one can usually assume a homogeneous distribution of interstellar matter. The crucial astrophysical parameters in these models are: The path length distribution, the age of the cosmic ray particles and the interstellar matter density. These values are interrelated. The surviving fraction of radioactive cosmic ray isotopes is often used to determine a mean matter density of that region, where the cosmic ray particles may mainly reside. Using a Monte Carlo Propagation Program we calculated the change in the surviving fraction quantitatively assuming a region around the sources with higher matter density. (author)

  20. Reionization and its imprint of the cosmic microwave background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodelson, Scott; Jubas, Jay M.

    1995-01-01

    Early reionization changes the pattern of anisotropies expected in the cosmic microwave backgrond. To explore these changes, we derive from first principles the equations governing anisotropies, focusing on the interactions of photons with electrons. Vishniac (1987) claimed that second-order terms can be large in a reionized universe, so we derive equations correct to second order in the perturbations. There are many more second-order terms than were considered by Vishniac. To understand the basic physics involved, we present a simple analytic approximation to the first-order equation. Then, turning to the second order equation, we show that the Vishniac term is indeed the only important one. We also present numerical results for a variety of ionization histories (in a standard cold dark matter universe) and show quantitatively how the signal in several experiments depends on the ionization history. The most pronounced indication of a reionized universe would be seen in very small scale experiments; the expected signal in the Owens Valley experiment is smaller by a factor of order 10 if the last scattering surface is at a redshift z approximately = 100 as it would be if the universe were reionized very early. On slightly larger scales, the expected signal in a reionized universe is smaller than it would be with standard recombination, but only a factor of 2 or so. The signal is even smaller in these experiments in the intermediate case where some photons last scattered at the standard recombination epoch.

  1. Photon-photon collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burke, D.L.

    1982-10-01

    Studies of photon-photon collisions are reviewed with particular emphasis on new results reported to this conference. These include results on light meson spectroscopy and deep inelastic e#betta# scattering. Considerable work has now been accumulated on resonance production by #betta##betta# collisions. Preliminary high statistics studies of the photon structure function F 2 /sup #betta#/(x,Q 2 ) are given and comments are made on the problems that remain to be solved

  2. Photon-photon collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haissinski, J.

    1986-06-01

    The discussions presented in this paper deal with the following points: distinctive features of gamma-gamma collisions; related processes; photon-photon elastic scattering in the continuum and γγ →gg; total cross section; γγ → V 1 V 2 (V=vector meson); radiative width measurements and light meson spectroscopy; exclusive channels at large /t/; jets and inclusive particle distribution in γγ collisions; and, the photon structure function F γ 2

  3. Cosmic censorship and test particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Needham, T.

    1980-01-01

    In this paper one unambiguous prediction of cosmic censorship is put to the test, namely that it should be impossible to destroy a black hole (i.e. eliminate its horizon) by injecting test particles into it. Several authors have treated this problem and have not found their conclusions in contradiction with the prediction. Here we prove that if a general charged spinning particle (with parameters very much smaller than the respective hole parameters) is injected in an arbitrary manner into an extreme Kerr-Newman black hole, then cosmic censorship is upheld. As a by-product of the analysis a natural proof is given of the Christodoulou-Ruffini conditions on the injection of a spinless particle which yield a reversible black-hole transformation. Finally we consider the injection of particles with parameters that are not small compared with those of the hole, for which cosmic censorship is apparently violated. By assuming the validity of cosmic censorship we are led to a few conjectures concerning the extent of the particle's interaction with the hole while approaching it

  4. Design and operation of a field telescope for cosmic ray geophysical tomography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Lesparre

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The cosmic ray muon tomography gives an access to the density structure of geological targets. In the present article we describe a muon telescope adapted to harsh environmental conditions. In particular the design optimizes the total weight and power consumption to ease the deployment and increase the autonomy of the detector. The muon telescopes consist of at least two scintillator detection matrices readout by photosensors via optical fibres. Two photosensor options have been studied. The baseline option foresees one multianode photomultiplier (MAPM per matrix. A second option using one multipixel photon counter (MPPC per bar is under development. The readout electronics and data acquisition system developed for both options are detailed. We present a first data set acquired in open-sky conditions compared with the muon flux detected across geological objects.

  5. Future Extensive Air Shower arrays: From Gamma-Ray Astronomy to Cosmic Rays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sciascio Giuseppe Di

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite large progresses in building new detectors and in the analysis techniques, the key questions concerning the origin, acceleration and propagation of Galactic Cosmic Rays are still open. A number of new EAS arrays is in progress. The most ambitious and sensitive project between them is LHAASO, a new generation multi-component experiment to be installed at very high altitude in China (Daocheng, Sichuan province, 4400 m a.s.l.. The experiment will face the open problems through a combined study of photon- and charged particle-induced extensive air showers in the wide energy range 1011 – 1018 eV. In this paper the status of the experiment will be summarized, the science program presented and the outlook discussed in comparison with leading new projects.

  6. Cosmic Strings and Their Induced Non-Gaussianities in the Cosmic Microwave Background

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christophe Ringeval

    2010-01-01

    small fraction of the CMB angular power spectrum, cosmic strings could actually be the main source of its non-Gaussianities. In this paper, after having reviewed the basic cosmological properties of a string network, we present the signatures Nambu-Goto cosmic strings would induce in various observables ranging from the one-point function of the temperature anisotropies to the bispectrum and trispectrum. It is shown that string imprints are significantly different than those expected from the primordial type of non-Gaussianity and could therefore be easily distinguished.

  7. Department of Cosmic Ray Physics - Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabelski, J.

    2006-01-01

    The Department of Cosmic Ray Physics in Lodz is involved in basic research in the high energy Cosmic Ray field. Cosmic Rays are energetic particles from outside the Solar System. The energy spectrum (power law energy dependence) suggests a non-thermal origin of these particles. Most of the studies of Cosmic Rays address fundamental problems: · The nature of the physical and astrophysical processes responsible for the high energies of the particles (up to about 1020 eV/particle), · An estimation of the astrophysical conditions at the acceleration sites and/or search for sources of Cosmic Rays, · properties of high energy particle interactions at very high energies (nuclear interactions at energies exceeding energy available in the laboratories). Some Cosmic Ray studies might have practical (commercial) implications, e.g. · 'cosmic weather' forecast - predictions of geomagnetic disturbances related to Solar activity changes (due to large Solar Flares / events of Coronal Mass Ejection); these are important for large electricity networks, gas pipes, radio-wave connections, space missions and satellite experiments. Presentation of Cosmic Ray registration to high school students becomes a popular way to introduce particle physics detectors and elementary particle detection techniques to young people. Energetic Cosmic Ray particles produce cascades of particles in the atmosphere, called Extensive Air Showers (EAS). Registering EAS and their properties is the main way of experimental studies of very high energy Cosmic Rays. In the Lodz Department we run the Extensive Air Shower array where EAS are being registered. We concentrate on the studies of detection of neutrons correlated with EAS and interpretation of this phenomenon. In 2004, we started realisation of the Roland Maze Project, the network of EAS detectors placed on roofs of high schools in Lodz. We received funds from the City of Lodz budget to make a pilot project and equip 10 high schools, each with four 1 m

  8. Tracing the cosmic web

    Science.gov (United States)

    Libeskind, Noam I.; van de Weygaert, Rien; Cautun, Marius; Falck, Bridget; Tempel, Elmo; Abel, Tom; Alpaslan, Mehmet; Aragón-Calvo, Miguel A.; Forero-Romero, Jaime E.; Gonzalez, Roberto; Gottlöber, Stefan; Hahn, Oliver; Hellwing, Wojciech A.; Hoffman, Yehuda; Jones, Bernard J. T.; Kitaura, Francisco; Knebe, Alexander; Manti, Serena; Neyrinck, Mark; Nuza, Sebastián E.; Padilla, Nelson; Platen, Erwin; Ramachandra, Nesar; Robotham, Aaron; Saar, Enn; Shandarin, Sergei; Steinmetz, Matthias; Stoica, Radu S.; Sousbie, Thierry; Yepes, Gustavo

    2018-01-01

    The cosmic web is one of the most striking features of the distribution of galaxies and dark matter on the largest scales in the Universe. It is composed of dense regions packed full of galaxies, long filamentary bridges, flattened sheets and vast low-density voids. The study of the cosmic web has focused primarily on the identification of such features, and on understanding the environmental effects on galaxy formation and halo assembly. As such, a variety of different methods have been devised to classify the cosmic web - depending on the data at hand, be it numerical simulations, large sky surveys or other. In this paper, we bring 12 of these methods together and apply them to the same data set in order to understand how they compare. In general, these cosmic-web classifiers have been designed with different cosmological goals in mind, and to study different questions. Therefore, one would not a priori expect agreement between different techniques; however, many of these methods do converge on the identification of specific features. In this paper, we study the agreements and disparities of the different methods. For example, each method finds that knots inhabit higher density regions than filaments, etc. and that voids have the lowest densities. For a given web environment, we find a substantial overlap in the density range assigned by each web classification scheme. We also compare classifications on a halo-by-halo basis; for example, we find that 9 of 12 methods classify around a third of group-mass haloes (i.e. Mhalo ∼ 1013.5 h-1 M⊙) as being in filaments. Lastly, so that any future cosmic-web classification scheme can be compared to the 12 methods used here, we have made all the data used in this paper public.

  9. Angular correlation of cosmic neutrinos with ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays and implications for their sources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moharana, Reetanjali; Razzaque, Soebur, E-mail: reetanjalim@uj.ac.za, E-mail: srazzaque@uj.ac.za [Department of Physics, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006 (South Africa)

    2015-08-01

    Cosmic neutrino events detected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory with energy 0∼> 3 TeV have poor angular resolutions to reveal their origin. Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), with better angular resolutions at 0>6 EeV energies, can be used to check if the same astrophysical sources are responsible for producing both neutrinos and UHECRs. We test this hypothesis, with statistical methods which emphasize invariant quantities, by using data from the Pierre Auger Observatory, Telescope Array and past cosmic-ray experiments. We find that the arrival directions of the cosmic neutrinos are correlated with 0≥ 10 EeV UHECR arrival directions at confidence level ≈ 90%. The strength of the correlation decreases with decreasing UHECR energy and no correlation exists at energy 0∼ 6 EeV . A search in astrophysical databases within 3{sup o} of the arrival directions of UHECRs with energy 0≥ 10 EeV, that are correlated with the IceCube cosmic neutrinos, resulted in 18 sources from the Swift-BAT X-ray catalog with redshift z≤ 0.06. We also found 3 objects in the Kühr catalog of radio sources using the same criteria. The sources are dominantly Seyfert galaxies with Cygnus A being the most prominent member. We calculate the required neutrino and UHECR fluxes to produce the observed correlated events, and estimate the corresponding neutrino luminosity (25 TeV–2.2 PeV) and cosmic-ray luminosity (500 TeV–180 EeV), assuming the sources are the ones we found in the Swift-BAT and Kühr catalogs. We compare these luminosities with the X-ray luminosity of the corresponding sources and discuss possibilities of accelerating protons to 0∼> 10 EeV and produce neutrinos in these sources.

  10. Cosmic ray modulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal Mishra, Rekha; Mishra, Rajesh Kumar

    2016-07-01

    Propagation of cosmic rays to and inside the heliosphere, encounter an outward moving solar wind with cyclic magnetic field fluctuation and turbulence, causing convection and diffusion in the heliosphere. Cosmic ray counts from the ground ground-based neutron monitors at different cut of rigidity show intensity changes, which are anti-correlated with sunspot numbers. They also lose energy as they propagate towards the Earth and experience various types of modulations due to different solar activity indices. In this work, we study the first three harmonics of cosmic ray intensity on geo-magnetically quiet days over the period 1965-2014 for Beijing, Moscow and Tokyo neutron monitoring stations located at different cut off rigidity. The amplitude of first harmonic remains high for low cutoff rigidity as compared to high cutoff rigidity on quiet days. The diurnal amplitude significantly decreases during solar activity minimum years. The diurnal time of maximum significantly shifts to an earlier time as compared to the corotational direction having different cutoff rigidities. The time of maximum for first harmonic significantly shifts towards later hours and for second harmonic it shifts towards earlier hours at low cutoff rigidity station as compared to the high cut off rigidity station on quiet days. The amplitude of second/third harmonics shows a good positive correlation with solar wind velocity, while the others (i.e. amplitude and phase) have no significant correlation on quiet days. The amplitude and direction of the anisotropy on quiet days does not show any significant dependence on high-speed solar wind streams for these neutron monitoring stations of different cutoff rigidity threshold. Keywords: cosmic ray, cut off rigidity, quiet days, harmonics, amplitude, phase.

  11. Cosmic logic: a computational model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vanchurin, Vitaly

    2016-01-01

    We initiate a formal study of logical inferences in context of the measure problem in cosmology or what we call cosmic logic. We describe a simple computational model of cosmic logic suitable for analysis of, for example, discretized cosmological systems. The construction is based on a particular model of computation, developed by Alan Turing, with cosmic observers (CO), cosmic measures (CM) and cosmic symmetries (CS) described by Turing machines. CO machines always start with a blank tape and CM machines take CO's Turing number (also known as description number or Gödel number) as input and output the corresponding probability. Similarly, CS machines take CO's Turing number as input, but output either one if the CO machines are in the same equivalence class or zero otherwise. We argue that CS machines are more fundamental than CM machines and, thus, should be used as building blocks in constructing CM machines. We prove the non-computability of a CS machine which discriminates between two classes of CO machines: mortal that halts in finite time and immortal that runs forever. In context of eternal inflation this result implies that it is impossible to construct CM machines to compute probabilities on the set of all CO machines using cut-off prescriptions. The cut-off measures can still be used if the set is reduced to include only machines which halt after a finite and predetermined number of steps

  12. The intergalactic propagation of ultrahigh energy cosmic ray nuclei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hooper, Dan; /Fermilab; Sarkar, Subir; /Oxford U., Theor. Phys.; Taylor, Andrew M.; /Oxford U.

    2006-08-01

    We investigate the propagation of ultra-high energy cosmic ray nuclei (A = 1-56) from cosmologically distant sources through the cosmic radiation backgrounds. Various models for the injected composition and spectrum and of the cosmic infrared background are studied using updated photodisintegration cross-sections. The observational data on the spectrum and the composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays are jointly consistent with a model where all of the injected primary cosmic rays are iron nuclei (or a mixture of heavy and light nuclei).

  13. Are we making progress in finding the sources of the most energetic cosmic rays?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hillas, A. M.

    1999-01-01

    There is progress, in the sense that although the energies assigned to cosmic rays by air shower arrays may need reducing by about 20%, energy measurements are consistent at about this level, and several experiments now accord with a spectrum which astonishingly shows no GZK cut-off near 10 20 eV, greatly limiting the possible source regions. The simplest interpretation is that few cosmic rays above 10 19 eV come from hundreds of Mpc, contrary to expectation on geometrical grounds. Most of the arrival directions of showers above 4 x 10 19 eV show little correlation with the supergalaxy or with matter concentrations within 200 Mpc. The implications of the spectrum and the arrival directions are discussed. The most likely explanations of their unexpected features are either (a) that these cosmic rays come mainly from the decay of cosmological relic particles clustered in a large galactic halo (though not if photons really do form a large part of the decay spectrum), or (b) that local intergalactic magnetic fields are unexpectedly strong, and disguise the position of and enhance one extraordinary source within a few Mpc, or (c) most particles above 10 19 eV are very different from protons after all, and do not have a threshold for serious energy loss as low as 10 20 eV, or (d) that there is a conspiracy of matching fluxes, so that most cosmic rays above 10 19 eV are from widespread extragalactic sources, but a superimposed hard spectrum from decaying halo relic particles neatly reduces the magnitude of the GZK fall-off above 10 20 eV. Several close pairs of arrival directions may yet turn out to be accidental, but if not, explanations (a) and (b) fail. There are several diagnostic tests to be made by the well-placed first (Southern) Auger Project detector and the High-Resolution Fly's Eye detector

  14. Measurement of Feynman-x spectra of photons and neutrons in the very forward direction in deep-inelastic scattering at HERA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andreev, V.; Baghdasaryan, A.; Begzsuren, K.

    2014-03-01

    Measurements of normalised cross sections for the production of photons and neutrons at very small angles with respect to the proton beam direction in deep-inelastic ep scattering at HERA are presented as a function of the Feynman variable x F and of the centre-of-mass energy of the virtual photon-proton system W. The data are taken with the H1 detector in the years 2006 and 2007 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 131 pb -1 . The measurement is restricted to photons and neutrons in the pseudorapidity range η > 7.9 and covers the range of negative four momentum transfer squared at the positron vertex 6 2 2 , of inelasticity 0.05 F dependent cross sections is investigated. Predictions of deep-inelastic scattering models and of models for hadronic interactions of high energy cosmic rays are compared to the measured cross sections.

  15. Two-dimensional 'photon fluid': effective photon-photon interaction and physical realizations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiao, R Y; Hansson, T H; Leinaas, J M; Viefers, S

    2004-01-01

    We describe a recently developed effective theory for atom-mediated photon-photon interactions in a two-dimensional 'photon fluid' confined to a Fabry-Perot resonator. The photons in the lowest longitudinal cavity mode will appear as massive bosons interacting via a renormalized delta-function potential with a strength determined by physical parameters such as the density of atoms and the detuning of the photons relative to the resonance frequency of the atoms. We discuss novel quantum phenomena for photons, such as Bose-Einstein condensation and bound state formation, as well as possible experimental scenarios based on Rydberg atoms in a microwave cavity, or alkali atoms in an optical cavity

  16. Working Around Cosmic Variance: Remote Quadrupole Measurements of the CMB

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adil, Arsalan; Bunn, Emory

    2018-01-01

    Anisotropies in the CMB maps continue to revolutionize our understanding of the Cosmos. However, the statistical interpretation of these anisotropies is tainted with a posteriori statistics. The problem is particularly emphasized for lower order multipoles, i.e. in the cosmic variance regime of the power spectrum. Naturally, the solution lies in acquiring a new data set – a rather difficult task given the sample size of the Universe.The CMB temperature, in theory, depends on: the direction of photon propagation, the time at which the photons are observed, and the observer’s location in space. In existing CMB data, only the first parameter varies. However, as first pointed out by Kamionkowski and Loeb, a solution lies in making the so-called “Remote Quadrupole Measurements” by analyzing the secondary polarization produced by incoming CMB photons via the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) effect. These observations allow us to measure the projected CMB quadrupole at the location and look-back time of a galaxy cluster.At low redshifts, the remote quadrupole is strongly correlated to the CMB anisotropy from our last scattering surface. We provide here a formalism for computing the covariance and relation matrices for both the two-point correlation function on the last scattering surface of a galaxy cluster and the cross correlation of the remote quadrupole with the local CMB. We then calculate these matrices based on a fiducial model and a non-standard model that suppresses power at large angles for ~104 clusters up to z=2. We anticipate to make a priori predictions of the differences between our expectations for the standard and non-standard models. Such an analysis is timely in the wake of the CMB S4 era which will provide us with an extensive SZ cluster catalogue.

  17. Jet and hadron production in photon-photon collisions

    OpenAIRE

    Soldner-Rembold, Stefan

    1999-01-01

    Di-jet and inclusive charged hadron production cross-sections measured in photon-photon collisions by OPAL are compared to NLO pQCD calculations. Jet shapes measured in photon-photon scattering by OPAL, in deep-inelastic ep scattering by H1 and in photon-proton scattering by ZEUS are shown to be consistent in similar kinematic ranges. New results from TOPAZ on prompt photon production in photon-photon interactions are presented.

  18. Radiative Transfer Simulations of Cosmic Reionization With Pop II and III Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trac, Hy; Cen, Renyue

    2008-03-01

    We have simulated 3 large volume, high resolution realizations of cosmic reionization using a hybrid code that combines a N-body algorithm for dark matter, prescriptions for baryons and star formation, and a radiative transfer algorithm for ionizing photons. Our largest simulation, with 24 billion particles in a 100 Mpc/h box, simultaneously provides (1) the mass resolution needed to resolve dark matter halos down to a virial temperatures of 104 K and (2) the volume needed to fairly sample highly biased sources and large HII regions. We model the stellar initial mass function (IMF) by following the spatially dependent gas metallicity evolution, and distinguish between the first generation (Population III) stars and the second generation (Population II) stars. The Population III stars, with a top-heavy IMF, produce an order of magnitude more ionizing photons at high redshifts z>~10, resulting in a more extended reionization. In our simulations, complete overlap of HII regions occurs at z~6.5 and the computed mass and volume weighted residual HI fractions at 5measurements from SDSS. The values for the Thomson optical depth are consistent within 1-σ of the current best-fit value from the WMAP Year 3 data release.

  19. To the problem of superfluous cosmic radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Savenko, I.A.; Saraeva, M.A.; Shavrin, P.I.

    1979-01-01

    From consideration of a number of basic works on the excessive cosmic radiation given is the most probable composition (electron, proton, and nuclear components) of this radiation in equatorial regions at altitudes corresponding to minimum altitudes of the drift trajectories hsub(min) <= 0, in case of detecting by detector on the artificial satellite of the Earth (ASE) with the mass up to 1t and of the heavier ASE. The disagreement in spectra of solar cosmic rays obtained along the latitude effect on the ASE. ''Molniya-1'' and in the experiments out of the magnetosphere on the ASE ''Explorer-41'' is explained by excessive radiation production of solar cosmic rays. The comparison of readings of the neutron channel with those of the charged particle channels of the apparatus on the ASE ''Molniya-1'' during the proton event on 25.01.1971 does not contradict to the supposition on the similarity of excessive cosmic radiation production of galactic and solar cosmic rays

  20. Cosmic rays and tests of fundamental principles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez-Mestres, Luis

    2011-03-01

    It is now widely acknowledged that cosmic rays experiments can test possible new physics directly generated at the Planck scale or at some other fundamental scale. By studying particle properties at energies far beyond the reach of any man-made accelerator, they can yield unique checks of basic principles. A well-known example is provided by possible tests of special relativity at the highest cosmic-ray energies. But other essential ingredients of standard theories can in principle be tested: quantum mechanics, uncertainty principle, energy and momentum conservation, effective space-time dimensions, hamiltonian and lagrangian formalisms, postulates of cosmology, vacuum dynamics and particle propagation, quark and gluon confinement, elementariness of particles…Standard particle physics or string-like patterns may have a composite origin able to manifest itself through specific cosmic-ray signatures. Ultra-high energy cosmic rays, but also cosmic rays at lower energies, are probes of both "conventional" and new Physics. Status, prospects, new ideas, and open questions in the field are discussed.

  1. Cosmic rays and tests of fundamental principles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez-Mestres, Luis

    2011-01-01

    It is now widely acknowledged that cosmic rays experiments can test possible new physics directly generated at the Planck scale or at some other fundamental scale. By studying particle properties at energies far beyond the reach of any man-made accelerator, they can yield unique checks of basic principles. A well-known example is provided by possible tests of special relativity at the highest cosmic-ray energies. But other essential ingredients of standard theories can in principle be tested: quantum mechanics, uncertainty principle, energy and momentum conservation, effective space-time dimensions, hamiltonian and lagrangian formalisms, postulates of cosmology, vacuum dynamics and particle propagation, quark and gluon confinement, elementariness of particles... Standard particle physics or string-like patterns may have a composite origin able to manifest itself through specific cosmic-ray signatures. Ultra-high energy cosmic rays, but also cosmic rays at lower energies, are probes of both 'conventional' and new Physics. Status, prospects, new ideas, and open questions in the field are discussed.

  2. Low-energy cosmic rays in the Orion region

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pohl, M.

    1998-01-01

    The recently observed nuclear gamma-ray line emission from the Orion complex implies a high flux of low-energy cosmic rays (LECR) with unusual abundance. This cosmic ray component would dominate the energy density, pressure, and ionising power of cosmic rays, and thus would have a strong impact...

  3. Does a cosmic censor exist

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Israel, W.

    1984-01-01

    A distinction is drawn between the event horizon conjecture (EHC), the conjecture that an event horizon forms in a gravitational collapse, and cosmic censorship, the idea that every singularity which develops in the course of collapse must be enclosed within a horizon. It is argued that a body of circumstantial evidence seems to favor EHC, but cosmic censorship seems contraindicated

  4. Cosmic Rays and Climate

    CERN Document Server

    Kirkby, Jasper

    2007-01-01

    Among the most puzzling questions in climate change is that of solar-climate variability, which has attracted the attention of scientists for more than two centuries. Until recently, even the existence of solar-climate variability has been controversial—perhaps because the observations had largely involved correlations between climate and the sunspot cycle that had persisted for only a few decades. Over the last few years, however, diverse reconstructions of past climate change have revealed clear associations with cosmic ray variations recorded in cosmogenic isotope archives, providing persuasive evidence for solar or cosmic ray forcing of the climate. However, despite the increasing evidence of its importance, solar-climate variability is likely to remain controversial until a physical mechanism is established. Although this remains a mystery, observations suggest that cloud cover may be influenced by cosmic rays, which are modulated by the solar wind and, on longer time scales, by the geomagnetic fiel...

  5. Photons, photon jets, and dark photons at 750 GeV and beyond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasgupta, Basudeb; Kopp, Joachim; Schwaller, Pedro

    2016-01-01

    In new physics searches involving photons at the LHC, one challenge is to distinguish scenarios with isolated photons from models leading to "photon jets". For instance, in the context of the 750 GeV diphoton excess, it was pointed out that a true diphoton resonance [Formula: see text] can be mimicked by a process of the form [Formula: see text], where S is a new scalar with a mass of 750 GeV and a is a light pseudoscalar decaying to two collinear photons. Photon jets can be distinguished from isolated photons by exploiting the fact that a large fraction of photons convert to an [Formula: see text] pair inside the inner detector. In this note, we quantify this discrimination power, and we study how the sensitivity of future searches differs for photon jets compared to isolated photons. We also investigate how our results depend on the lifetime of the particle(s) decaying to the photon jet. Finally, we discuss the extension to [Formula: see text], where there are no photons at all but the dark photon [Formula: see text] decays to [Formula: see text] pairs. Our results will be useful in future studies of the putative 750 GeV signal, but also more generally in any new physics search involving hard photons.

  6. Atmospheric and biospheric effects of cosmic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cardenas, Rolando

    2007-01-01

    We briefly review and classify the action that different sources of cosmic radiations might have had on Earth climate and biosphere in the geological past and at present times. We present the action of both sparse explosive phenomena, like gamma-ray bursts and supernovae, and permanent ones like cosmic rays and ultraviolet radiation backgrounds. Very energetic cosmic radiation coming from explosions can deplete the ozone lawyer due to initial ionization reactions, while soft backgrounds might trigger low altitude cloud formation through certain microphysical amplification processes. We examine a hypothesis concerning the potential role of cosmic rays on present Global Climatic Change. We also present the potential of UV astronomy to probe some of above scenarios, and speak on the possibilities for the Cuban participation in the international mega-project World Space Observatory, a UV telescope to be launched in the period 2007-2009. (Author)

  7. Cosmology with cosmic shear observations: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilbinger, Martin

    2015-07-01

    Cosmic shear is the distortion of images of distant galaxies due to weak gravitational lensing by the large-scale structure in the Universe. Such images are coherently deformed by the tidal field of matter inhomogeneities along the line of sight. By measuring galaxy shape correlations, we can study the properties and evolution of structure on large scales as well as the geometry of the Universe. Thus, cosmic shear has become a powerful probe into the nature of dark matter and the origin of the current accelerated expansion of the Universe. Over the last years, cosmic shear has evolved into a reliable and robust cosmological probe, providing measurements of the expansion history of the Universe and the growth of its structure. We review here the principles of weak gravitational lensing and show how cosmic shear is interpreted in a cosmological context. Then we give an overview of weak-lensing measurements, and present the main observational cosmic-shear results since it was discovered 15 years ago, as well as the implications for cosmology. We then conclude with an outlook on the various future surveys and missions, for which cosmic shear is one of the main science drivers, and discuss promising new weak cosmological lensing techniques for future observations.

  8. Search for photons with energies above 10{sup 18} eV using the hybrid detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aab, A. [Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics (IMAPP), Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Abreu, P.; Andringa, S. [Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas—LIP and Instituto Superior Técnico—IST, Universidade de Lisboa—UL (Portugal); Aglietta, M. [Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino (INAF), Torino (Italy); Samarai, I. Al [Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies (LPNHE), Universités Paris 6 et Paris 7, CNRS-IN2P3 (France); Albuquerque, I.F.M. [Universidade de São Paulo, Inst. de Física, São Paulo (Brazil); Allekotte, I. [Centro Atómico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro (CNEA-UNCuyo-CONICET) (Argentina); Almela, A.; Andrada, B. [Instituto de Tecnologías en Detección y Astropartículas (CNEA, CONICET, UNSAM), Centro Atómico Constituyentes, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (Argentina); Castillo, J. Alvarez [Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México (Mexico); Alvarez-Muñiz, J. [Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Anastasi, G.A. [Gran Sasso Science Institute (INFN), L' Aquila (Italy); Anchordoqui, L., E-mail: auger_spokespersons@fnal.gov [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Lehman College, City University of New York (United States); and others

    2017-04-01

    A search for ultra-high energy photons with energies above 1 EeV is performed using nine years of data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory in hybrid operation mode. An unprecedented separation power between photon and hadron primaries is achieved by combining measurements of the longitudinal air-shower development with the particle content at ground measured by the fluorescence and surface detectors, respectively. Only three photon candidates at energies 1–2 EeV are found, which is compatible with the expected hadron-induced background. Upper limits on the integral flux of ultra-high energy photons of 0.027, 0.009, 0.008, 0.008 and 0.007 km{sup −2} sr{sup −1} yr{sup −1} are derived at 95% C.L. for energy thresholds of 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 EeV. These limits bound the fractions of photons in the all-particle integral flux below 0.1%, 0.15%, 0.33%, 0.85% and 2.7%. For the first time the photon fraction at EeV energies is constrained at the sub-percent level. The improved limits are below the flux of diffuse photons predicted by some astrophysical scenarios for cosmogenic photon production. The new results rule-out the early top-down models − in which ultra-high energy cosmic rays are produced by, e.g., the decay of super-massive particles − and challenge the most recent super-heavy dark matter models.

  9. Hadronic photon-photon interactions at high energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engel, R.; Siegen Univ.; Ranft, J.

    1996-01-01

    Photon-photon collisions are investigated in the framework of the two-component Dual Parton Model. The model contains contributions from direct, resolved soft and resolved hard interactions. All free parameters of the model are determined in fits to hadron-hadron and photon-hadron cross section data. The model is shown to agree well to hadron production data from hadron-hadron and photon-hadron collisions. The multiparticle production in hadron-hadron, photon-hadron and photon-photon collisions as predicted by the model is compared. Strong differences are only found as function of the transverse momentum variable. (author)

  10. Cosmic ray riddle solved?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1995-01-01

    Full text: Physicists from Japan and the United States have discovered a possible answer to the puzzle of the origin of high energy cosmic rays that bombard Earth from all directions in space. Using data from the Japanese/US X-ray astronomical satellite ASCA, physicists have found strong evidence for the production of cosmic particles in the shock wave of a supernova remnant, the expanding fireball produced by the explosion of a star. Primary cosmic rays, mostly electrons and protons, travel near the speed of light. Each second, approximately 4 such particles cross one square centimetre of space just outside the Earth's atmosphere. Subsequently, collisions of these primary particles with atoms in the upper atmosphere produce slower secondary particles. Ever since the discovery of cosmic rays early this century, scientists have debated the origin of these particles and how they can be accelerated to such high speeds. Supernova remnants have long been thought to provide the high energy component, but the evidence has been lacking until now. The international team of investigators used the satellite to determine that cosmic rays are generated profusely in the remains of the supernova of 1006 AD - which appeared to medieval viewers to be as bright as the Moon - and that they are accelerated to high velocities by an iterative process first suggested by Enrico Fermi in 1949. Using solid-state X-ray cameras, the ASCA satellite records simultaneous images and spectra of X-rays from celestial sources, allowing astronomers to distinguish different types of X-ray emission. The tell-tale clue to the discovery was the detection of two diametrically opposite regions in the rapidly expanding supernova remnant, the debris from the stellar explosion. The two regions glow intensely from the synchrotron radiation produced when fast-moving electrons are bent by a magnetic field. The remainder of the supernova remnant, in contrast, emits ordinary ''thermal'' X

  11. Photon-photon collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Field, J.H.

    1984-01-01

    The current status, both theoretical and experimental, of two photon collision physics is reviewed with special emphasis on recent experimental results from e + e - storage rings. After a complete presentation of the helicity amplitude formalism for the general process e + e - → Xe + e - , various approximations (transverse photon, Weisaecker Williams) are discussed. Beam polarisation effects and radiative corrections are also briefly considered. A number of specific processes, for which experimental results are now available, are then described. In each case existing theoretical prediction are confronted with experimental results. The processes described include single resonance production, lepton and hadron pair production, the structure functions of the photon, the production of high Psub(T) jets and the total photon photon cross section. In the last part of the review the current status of the subject is summarised and some comments are made on future prospects. These include both extrapolations of current research to higher energy machines (LEP, HERA) as well as a brief mention of both the technical realisation and the physics interest of the real γγ and eγ collisions which may be possible using linear electron colliders in the 1 TeV energy range

  12. Photon-photon collisions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brodsky, S.J.

    1985-01-01

    The study of photon-photon collisions has progressed enormously, stimulated by new data and new calculational tools for QCD. In the future we can expect precise determinations of ..cap alpha../sub s/ and ..lambda../sup ms/ from the ..gamma..*..gamma.. ..-->.. ..pi../sup 0/ form factor and the photon structure function, as well as detailed checks of QCD, determination of the shape of the hadron distribution amplitudes from ..gamma gamma.. ..-->.. H anti H, reconstruction of sigma/sub ..gamma gamma../ from exclusive channels at low W/sub ..gamma gamma../, definitive studies of high p/sub T/ hadron and jet production, and studies of threshold production of charmed systems. Photon-photon collisions, along with radiative decays of the psi and UPSILON, are ideal for the study of multiquark and gluonic resonances. We have emphasized the potential for resonance formation near threshold in virtually every hadronic exclusive channel, including heavy quark states c anti c c anti c, c anti c u anti u, etc. At higher energies SLC, LEP, ...) parity-violating electroweak effects and Higgs production due to equivalent Z/sup 0/ and W/sup + -/ beams from e ..-->.. eZ/sup 0/ and e ..-->.. nu W will become important. 44 references.

  13. Photon-photon collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brodsky, S.J.

    1985-01-01

    The study of photon-photon collisions has progressed enormously, stimulated by new data and new calculational tools for QCD. In the future we can expect precise determinations of α/sub s/ and Λ/sup ms/ from the γ*γ → π 0 form factor and the photon structure function, as well as detailed checks of QCD, determination of the shape of the hadron distribution amplitudes from γγ → H anti H, reconstruction of sigma/sub γγ/ from exclusive channels at low W/sub γγ/, definitive studies of high p/sub T/ hadron and jet production, and studies of threshold production of charmed systems. Photon-photon collisions, along with radiative decays of the psi and UPSILON, are ideal for the study of multiquark and gluonic resonances. We have emphasized the potential for resonance formation near threshold in virtually every hadronic exclusive channel, including heavy quark states c anti c c anti c, c anti c u anti u, etc. At higher energies SLC, LEP, ...) parity-violating electroweak effects and Higgs production due to equivalent Z 0 and W +- beams from e → eZ 0 and e → nu W will become important. 44 references

  14. Cosmic Ray Interactions in Shielding Materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aguayo Navarrete, Estanislao; Kouzes, Richard T.; Ankney, Austin S.; Orrell, John L.; Berguson, Timothy J.; Troy, Meredith D.

    2011-01-01

    This document provides a detailed study of materials used to shield against the hadronic particles from cosmic ray showers at Earth's surface. This work was motivated by the need for a shield that minimizes activation of the enriched germanium during transport for the MAJORANA collaboration. The materials suitable for cosmic-ray shield design are materials such as lead and iron that will stop the primary protons, and materials like polyethylene, borated polyethylene, concrete and water that will stop the induced neutrons. The interaction of the different cosmic-ray components at ground level (protons, neutrons, muons) with their wide energy range (from kilo-electron volts to giga-electron volts) is a complex calculation. Monte Carlo calculations have proven to be a suitable tool for the simulation of nucleon transport, including hadron interactions and radioactive isotope production. The industry standard Monte Carlo simulation tool, Geant4, was used for this study. The result of this study is the assertion that activation at Earth's surface is a result of the neutronic and protonic components of the cosmic-ray shower. The best material to shield against these cosmic-ray components is iron, which has the best combination of primary shielding and minimal secondary neutron production.

  15. Cosmic gamma-ray background radiation. Current understandings and problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inoue, Yoshiyuki

    2015-01-01

    The cosmic gamma-ray background radiation is one of the most fundamental observables in the gamma-ray band. Although the origin of the cosmic gamma-ray background radiation has been a mystery for a long time, the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope has recently measured it at 0.1-820 GeV and revealed that the cosmic GeV gamma-ray background is composed of blazars, radio galaxies, and star-forming galaxies. However, Fermi still leaves the following questions. Those are dark matter contribution, origins of the cosmic MeV gamma-ray background, and the connection to the IceCube TeV-PeV neutrino events. In this proceeding, I will review the current understandings of the cosmic gamma-ray background and discuss future prospects of cosmic gamma-ray background radiation studies. (author)

  16. Phenomenology of cosmic phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaempfer, B.; Lukacs, B.; Paal, G.

    1989-11-01

    The evolution of the cosmic matter from Planck temperature to the atomic combination temperature is considered from a phenomenological point of view. Particular emphasis is devoted to the sequence of cosmic phase transitions. The inflationary era at the temperature of the order of the grand unification energy scale and the quantum chromodynamic confinement transition are dealt with in detail. (author) 131 refs.; 26 figs

  17. Cosmic microwave background, where next?

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2009-01-01

    Ground-based, balloon-borne and space-based experiments will observe the Cosmic Microwave Background in greater details to address open questions about the origin and the evolution of the Universe. In particular, detailed observations the polarization pattern of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation have the potential to directly probe physics at the GUT scale and illuminate aspects of the physics of the very early Universe.

  18. Cosmic rays and Earth's climate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svensmark, Henrik

    2000-01-01

    During the last solar cycle the Earth's cloud cover underwent a modulation in phase with the cosmic ray flux. Assuming that there is a causal relationship between the two, it is expected and found that the Earth's temperature follows more closely decade variations in cosmic ray flux than other...... solar activity parameters. If the relationship is real the state of the Heliosphere affects the Earth's climate....

  19. The Spine of the Cosmic Web

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aragón-Calvo, Miguel A.; Platen, Erwin; van de Weijgaert, Rien; Szalay, Alexander S.

    2010-01-01

    We present the SpineWeb framework for the topological analysis of the Cosmic Web and the identification of its walls, filaments, and cluster nodes. Based on the watershed segmentation of the cosmic density field, the SpineWeb method invokes the local adjacency properties of the boundaries between

  20. The Spine of the Cosmic Web

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aragón-Calvo, Miguel A.; Platen, Erwin; van de Weijgaert, Rien; Szalay, Alexander S.

    We present the SpineWeb framework for the topological analysis of the Cosmic Web and the identification of its walls, filaments, and cluster nodes. Based on the watershed segmentation of the cosmic density field, the SpineWeb method invokes the local adjacency properties of the boundaries between

  1. NEXUS: tracing the cosmic web connection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cautun, Marius; van de Weygaert, Rien; Jones, Bernard J. T.

    2013-01-01

    We introduce the NEXUS algorithm for the identification of cosmic web environments: clusters, filaments, walls and voids. This is a multiscale and automatic morphological analysis tool that identifies all the cosmic structures in a scale free way, without preference for a certain size or shape. We

  2. Photon correlation in single-photon frequency upconversion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Xiaorong; Huang, Kun; Pan, Haifeng; Wu, E; Zeng, Heping

    2012-01-30

    We experimentally investigated the intensity cross-correlation between the upconverted photons and the unconverted photons in the single-photon frequency upconversion process with multi-longitudinal mode pump and signal sources. In theoretical analysis, with this multi-longitudinal mode of both signal and pump sources system, the properties of the signal photons could also be maintained as in the single-mode frequency upconversion system. Experimentally, based on the conversion efficiency of 80.5%, the joint probability of simultaneously detecting at upconverted and unconverted photons showed an anti-correlation as a function of conversion efficiency which indicated the upconverted photons were one-to-one from the signal photons. While due to the coherent state of the signal photons, the intensity cross-correlation function g(2)(0) was shown to be equal to unity at any conversion efficiency, agreeing with the theoretical prediction. This study will benefit the high-speed wavelength-tunable quantum state translation or photonic quantum interface together with the mature frequency tuning or longitudinal mode selection techniques.

  3. Smooth halos in the cosmic web

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaite, José, E-mail: jose.gaite@upm.es [Physics Dept., ETSIAE, IDR, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pza. Cardenal Cisneros 3, E-28040 Madrid (Spain)

    2015-04-01

    Dark matter halos can be defined as smooth distributions of dark matter placed in a non-smooth cosmic web structure. This definition of halos demands a precise definition of smoothness and a characterization of the manner in which the transition from smooth halos to the cosmic web takes place. We introduce entropic measures of smoothness, related to measures of inequality previously used in economy and with the advantage of being connected with standard methods of multifractal analysis already used for characterizing the cosmic web structure in cold dark matter N-body simulations. These entropic measures provide us with a quantitative description of the transition from the small scales portrayed as a distribution of halos to the larger scales portrayed as a cosmic web and, therefore, allow us to assign definite sizes to halos. However, these ''smoothness sizes'' have no direct relation to the virial radii. Finally, we discuss the influence of N-body discreteness parameters on smoothness.

  4. Lightning Discharges, Cosmic Rays and Climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Sanjay; Siingh, Devendraa; Singh, R. P.; Singh, A. K.; Kamra, A. K.

    2018-03-01

    The entirety of the Earth's climate system is continuously bombarded by cosmic rays and exhibits about 2000 thunderstorms active at any time of the day all over the globe. Any linkage among these vast systems should have global consequences. Numerous studies done in the past deal with partial links between some selected aspects of this grand linkage. Results of these studies vary from weakly to strongly significant and are not yet complete enough to justify the physical mechanism proposed to explain such links. This review is aimed at presenting the current understanding, based on the past studies on the link between cosmic ray, lightning and climate. The deficiencies in some proposed links are pointed out. Impacts of cosmic rays on engineering systems and the possible effects of cosmic rays on human health are also briefly discussed. Also enumerated are some problems for future work which may help in developing the grand linkage among these three vast systems.

  5. Smooth halos in the cosmic web

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaite, José

    2015-01-01

    Dark matter halos can be defined as smooth distributions of dark matter placed in a non-smooth cosmic web structure. This definition of halos demands a precise definition of smoothness and a characterization of the manner in which the transition from smooth halos to the cosmic web takes place. We introduce entropic measures of smoothness, related to measures of inequality previously used in economy and with the advantage of being connected with standard methods of multifractal analysis already used for characterizing the cosmic web structure in cold dark matter N-body simulations. These entropic measures provide us with a quantitative description of the transition from the small scales portrayed as a distribution of halos to the larger scales portrayed as a cosmic web and, therefore, allow us to assign definite sizes to halos. However, these ''smoothness sizes'' have no direct relation to the virial radii. Finally, we discuss the influence of N-body discreteness parameters on smoothness

  6. Cosmic ray antimatter and baryon symmetric cosmology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stecker, F. W.; Protheroe, R. J.; Kazanas, D.

    1982-01-01

    The relative merits and difficulties of the primary and secondary origin hypotheses for the observed cosmic-ray antiprotons, including the new low-energy measurement of Buffington, et al. We conclude that the cosmic-ray antiproton data may be evidence for antimatter galaxies and baryon symmetric cosmology. The present bar P data are consistent with a primary extragalactic component having /p=/equiv 1+/- 3.2/0.7x10 = to the -4 independent of energy. We propose that the primary extragalactic cosmic ray antiprotons are most likely from active galaxies and that expected disintegration of bar alpha/alpha ban alpha/alpha. We further predict a value for ban alpha/alpha =/equiv 10 to the -5, within range of future cosmic ray detectors.

  7. Solar flares and the cosmic ray intensity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hatton, C.J.

    1980-01-01

    The relationship between the cosmic ray intensity and solar activity during solar cycle 20 is discussed. A model is developed whereby it is possible to simulate the observed cosmic ray intensity from the observed number of solar flares of importance >= 1. This model leads to a radius for the modulation region of 60-70 AU. It is suggested that high speed solar streams also made a small contribution to the modulation of cosmic rays during solar cycle 20. (orig.)

  8. Cosmic-ray-modified stellar winds. III. A numerical iterative approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, C.M.; Jokipii, J.R.; Webb, G.M.

    1988-01-01

    A numerical iterative method is used to determine the modification of a stellar wind flow with a termination shock by the galactic cosmic rays. A two-fluid model consisting of cosmic rays and thermal stellar wind gas is used in which the cosmic rays are coupled to the background flow via scattering with magnetohydrodynamic waves or irregularities. A polytropic model is used to describe the thermal stellar wind gas, and the cosmic-rays are modeled as a hot, low-density gas with negligible mass flux. The positive galactic cosmic-ray pressure gradient serves to brake the outflowing stellar wind gas, and the cosmic rays modify the location of the critical point of the wind, the location of the shock, the wind fluid velocity profile, and the thermal gas entropy constants on both sides of the shock. The transfer of energy to the cosmic rays results in an outward radial flux of cosmic-ray energy. 21 references

  9. Pair production in the gravitational field of a cosmic string

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harari, Diego D.; Skarzhinsky, Vladimir D.

    1990-04-01

    We show that many elementary particle physics processes, such as pair production by a high energy photon, that take place in Minkowski space only if a non-uniform external field provides for momentum non-conservation, do occur in the space-time around a straight cosmic string, even though the space is locally flat and there is no local gravitational potential. We exemplify this mechanism through the evaluation of the cross section per unit length of string for the decay of a massless scalar particle into a pair of massive particles. The cross sections for this kind of processes are typically small. Nevertheless, it is interesting to realize how these reactions occur due to topological properties of space, rather than to the action of a local field. V.S. is grateful to Mario Castagnino for hospitality at the Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio during a visit while this work was done.

  10. A disintegrating cosmic string

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griffiths, J B; Docherty, P

    2002-01-01

    We present a simple sandwich gravitational wave of the Robinson-Trautman family. This is interpreted as representing a shock wave with a spherical wavefront which propagates into a Minkowski background minus a wedge (i.e. the background contains a cosmic string). The deficit angle (the tension) of the string decreases through the gravitational wave, which then ceases. This leaves an expanding spherical region of Minkowski space behind it. The decay of the cosmic string over a finite interval of retarded time may be considered to generate the gravitational wave. (letter to the editor)

  11. Feasibility study on a cosmic-ray level gauge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuda, H.; Fukaya, M.; Minato, S.

    1989-01-01

    Cosmic-ray intensities were measured at the stairs in a subway station in Nagoya City, inside a tall concrete building and under a cylindrical water tank, to examine the feasibility of a cosmic-ray level gauge. The measured results agreed quite well with the theoretical calculations. These results show that a cosmic-ray level gauge is feasible. (author)

  12. Alteration of Organic Compounds in Small Bodies and Cosmic Dusts by Cosmic Rays and Solar Radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Kensei; Kaneko, Takeo; Mita, Hajime; Obayashi, Yumiko; Takahashi, Jun-ichi; Sarker, Palash K.; Kawamoto, Yukinori; Okabe, Takuto; Eto, Midori; Kanda, Kazuhiro

    2012-07-01

    A wide variety of complex organic compounds have been detected in extraterrestrial bodies like carbonaceous chondrites and comets, and their roles in the generation of terrestrial life are discussed. It was suggested that organics in small bodies were originally formed in ice mantles of interstellar dusts in dense cloud. Irradiation of frozen mixture of possible interstellar molecules including CO (or CH _{3}OH), NH _{3} and H _{2}O with high-energy particles gave complex amino acid precursors with high molecular weights [1]. Such complex organic molecules were taken in planetesimals or comets in the early solar system. In prior to the generation of the terrestrial life, extraterrestrial organics were delivered to the primitive Earth by such small bodies as meteorites, comets and space dusts. These organics would have been altered by cosmic rays and solar radiation (UV, X-rays) before the delivery to the Earth. We examined possible alteration of amino acids, their precursors and nucleic acid bases in interplanetary space by irradiation with high energy photons and heavy ions. A mixture of CO, NH _{3} and H _{2}O was irradiated with high-energy protons from a van de Graaff accelerator (TIT, Japan). The resulting products (hereafter referred to as CAW) are complex precursors of amino acids. CAW, amino acids (dl-Isovaline, glycine), hydantoins (amino acid precursors) and nucleic acid bases were irradiated with continuous emission (soft X-rays to IR; hereafter referred to as soft X-rays irradiation) from BL-6 of NewSUBARU synchrotron radiation facility (Univ. Hyogo). They were also irradiated with heavy ions (eg., 290 MeV/u C ^{6+}) from HIMAC accelerator (NIRS, Japan). After soft X-rays irradiation, water insoluble materials were formed. After irradiation with soft X-rays or heavy ions, amino acid precursors (CAW and hydantoins) gave higher ratio of amino acids were recovered after hydrolysis than free amino acids. Nucleic acid bases showed higher stability than free

  13. Simulation of ultra-high energy photon propagation in the geomagnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homola, P.; Góra, D.; Heck, D.; Klages, H.; PeĶala, J.; Risse, M.; Wilczyńska, B.; Wilczyński, H.

    2005-12-01

    The identification of primary photons or specifying stringent limits on the photon flux is of major importance for understanding the origin of ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic rays. UHE photons can initiate particle cascades in the geomagnetic field, which leads to significant changes in the subsequent atmospheric shower development. We present a Monte Carlo program allowing detailed studies of conversion and cascading of UHE photons in the geomagnetic field. The program named PRESHOWER can be used both as an independent tool or together with a shower simulation code. With the stand-alone version of the code it is possible to investigate various properties of the particle cascade induced by UHE photons interacting in the Earth's magnetic field before entering the Earth's atmosphere. Combining this program with an extensive air shower simulation code such as CORSIKA offers the possibility of investigating signatures of photon-initiated showers. In particular, features can be studied that help to discern such showers from the ones induced by hadrons. As an illustration, calculations for the conditions of the southern part of the Pierre Auger Observatory are presented. Catalogue identifier:ADWG Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADWG Program obtainable: CPC Program Library, Quen's University of Belfast, N. Ireland Computer on which the program has been thoroughly tested:Intel-Pentium based PC Operating system:Linux, DEC-Unix Programming language used:C, FORTRAN 77 Memory required to execute with typical data:Recipes, http://www.nr.com]. Nature of the physical problem:Simulation of a cascade of particles initiated by UHE photon passing through the geomagnetic field above the Earth's atmosphere. Method of solution: The primary photon is tracked until its conversion into ee pair or until it reaches the upper atmosphere. If conversion occurred each individual particle in the resultant preshower is checked for either bremsstrahlung radiation (electrons) or

  14. One century of cosmic rays – A particle physicist's view

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sutton Christine

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Experiments on cosmic rays and the elementary particles share a common history that dates back to the 19th century. Following the discovery of radioactivity in the 1890s, the paths of the two fields intertwined, especially during the decades after the discovery of cosmic rays. Experiments demonstrated that the primary cosmic rays are positively charged particles, while other studies of cosmic rays revealed various new sub-atomic particles, including the first antiparticle. Techniques developed in common led to the birth of neutrino astronomy in 1987 and the first observation of a cosmic γ-ray source by a ground-based cosmic-ray telescope in 1989.

  15. GALAXY EVOLUTION AT HIGH REDSHIFT: OBSCURED STAR FORMATION, GRB RATES, COSMIC REIONIZATION, AND MISSING SATELLITES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lapi, A.; Mancuso, C.; Celotti, A.; Danese, L. [SISSA, Via Bonomea 265, I-34136 Trieste (Italy)

    2017-01-20

    We provide a holistic view of galaxy evolution at high redshifts z ≳ 4, which incorporates the constraints from various astrophysical/cosmological probes, including the estimate of the cosmic star formation rate (SFR) density from UV/IR surveys and long gamma-ray burst (GRBs) rates, the cosmic reionization history following the latest Planck measurements, and the missing satellites issue. We achieve this goal in a model-independent way by exploiting the SFR functions derived by Mancuso et al. on the basis of an educated extrapolation of the latest UV/far-IR data from HST / Herschel , and already tested against a number of independent observables. Our SFR functions integrated down to a UV magnitude limit M {sub UV} ≲ −13 (or SFR limit around 10{sup −2} M {sub ⊙} yr{sup −1}) produce a cosmic SFR density in excellent agreement with recent determinations from IR surveys and, taking into account a metallicity ceiling Z ≲ Z {sub ⊙}/2, with the estimates from long GRB rates. They also yield a cosmic reionization history consistent with that implied by the recent measurements of the Planck mission of the electron scattering optical depth τ {sub es} ≈ 0.058; remarkably, this result is obtained under a conceivable assumption regarding the average value f {sub esc} ≈ 0.1 of the escape fraction for ionizing photons. We demonstrate via the abundance-matching technique that the above constraints concurrently imply galaxy formation becoming inefficient within dark matter halos of mass below a few 10{sup 8} M {sub ⊙}; pleasingly, such a limit is also required so as not to run into the missing satellites issue. Finally, we predict a downturn of the Galaxy luminosity function faintward of M {sub UV} ≲ −12, and stress that its detailed shape, to be plausibly probed in the near future by the JWST , will be extremely informative on the astrophysics of galaxy formation in small halos, or even on the microscopic nature of the dark matter.

  16. Measurement of photon production in the very forward direction in deep-inelastic scattering at HERA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aaron, F.D. [National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering (NIPNE), Bucharest (Romania); Bucharest Univ. (Romania). Faculty of Physics; Alexa, C. [National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering (NIPNE), Bucharest (Romania); Andreev, V. [Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow (RU)] (and others)

    2011-06-15

    The production of photons at very small angles with respect to the proton beam direction is studied in deep-inelastic positron-proton scattering at HERA. The data are taken with the H1 detector in the years 2006 and 2007 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 126 pb{sup -1}. The analysis covers the range of negative four momentum transfer squared at the positron vertex 6photon with pseudorapidity {eta}>7.9 as a function of its transverse momentum p{sub T}{sup lead} and longitudinal momentum fraction of the incoming proton x{sub L}{sup lead}. In addition, the cross sections are studied as a function of the sum of the longitudinal momentum fraction x{sub L}{sup sum} of all photons in the pseudorapidity range {eta}>7.9. The cross sections are normalised to the inclusive deep-inelastic scattering cross section and compared to the predictions of models of deep-inelastic scattering and models of the hadronic interactions of high energy cosmic rays. (orig.)

  17. Measurement of photon production in the very forward direction in deep-inelastic scattering at HERA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aaron, F.D.; Alexa, C.; Rotaru, M.; Stoicea, G. [National Inst. for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Bucharest (Romania); Andreev, V.; Belousov, A.; Eliseev, A.; Fomenko, A.; Gogitidze, N.; Lebedev, A.; Malinovski, E.; Rusakov, S.; Shtarkov, L.N.; Soloviev, Y.; Vazdik, Y. [Lebedev Physical Inst., Moscow (Russian Federation); Backovic, S.; Dubak, A.; Lastovicka-Medin, G.; Picuric, I.; Raicevic, N. [Univ. of Montenegro, Podgorica (ME); Baghdasaryan, A.; Baghdasaryan, S.; Zohrabyan, H. [Yerevan Physics Inst. (Armenia); Barrelet, E. [Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6, LPNHE, Paris (France); Univ. Denis Diderot Paris 7, CNRS/IN2P3, Paris (France); Bartel, W.; Belov, P.; Brandt, G.; Brinkmann, M.; Britzger, D.; Campbell, A.J.; Eckerlin, G.; Elsen, E.; Felst, R.; Fischer, D.J.; Fleischer, M.; Gayler, J.; Ghazaryan, S.; Glazov, A.; Gouzevitch, M.; Grebenyuk, A.; Grell, B.R.; Habib, S.; Haidt, D.; Helebrant, C.; Kleinwort, C.; Kogler, R.; Kraemer, M.; Levonian, S.; Lipka, K.; List, J.; Meyer, A.B.; Meyer, J.; Niebuhr, C.; Nowak, K.; Olsson, J.E.; Pahl, P.; Panagoulias, I.; Papadopoulou, T.; Petrukhin, A.; Piec, S.; Pitzl, D.; Schmitt, S.; Sefkow, F.; South, D.; Steder, M.; Wuensch, E. [DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Begzsuren, K.; Ravdandorj, T.; Tseepeldorj, B. [Inst. of Physics and Technology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia); Bizot, J.C.; Brisson, V.; Delcourt, B.; Jacquet, M.; Pascaud, C.; Tran, T.H.; Zhang, Z.; Zomer, F. [Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS/IN2P3, LAL, Orsay (France); Boudry, V.; Moreau, F.; Specka, A. [Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS/IN2P3, LLR, Palaiseau (France); Bozovic-Jelisavcic, I.; Mudrinic, M.; Pandurovic, M.; Smiljanic, I. [Univ. of Belgrade, Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Belgrade (RS); Bracinik, J.; Kenyon, I.R.; Newman, P.R.; Thompson, P.D. [Univ. of Birmingham (United Kingdom); Bruncko, D.; Cerny, V.; Ferencei, J. [Slovak Academy of Sciences, Inst. of Experimental Physics, Kosice (Slovakia)] [and others

    2011-10-15

    The production of photons at very small angles with respect to the proton beam direction is studied in deep-inelastic positron-proton scattering at HERA. The data are taken with the H1 detector in the years 2006 and 2007 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 126 pb{sup -1}. The analysis covers the range of negative four momentum transfer squared at the positron vertex 6photon with pseudorapidity {eta}>7.9 as a function of its transverse momentum p{sub T}{sup lead} and longitudinal momentum fraction of the incoming proton x{sub L}{sup lead}. In addition, the cross sections are studied as a function of the sum of the longitudinal momentum fraction x{sub L}{sup sum} of all photons in the pseudorapidity range {eta}>7.9. The cross sections are normalised to the inclusive deep-inelastic scattering cross section and compared to the predictions of models of deep-inelastic scattering and models of the hadronic interactions of high energy cosmic rays. (orig.)

  18. Fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banday, A.J.; Wolfendale, A.W.

    1990-01-01

    In view of the importance to contemporary cosmology, and to our understanding of the Universe, of the precise nature of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) spectrum, we consider the effects on this spectrum of contamination by other radiation fields of both galactic and extragalactic origin. Particular attention is given to the significance of measurements of the fluctuations in the 'background' radiation detected at 10.46 GHz and we conclude that these fluctuations are of the same magnitude as those expected from galactic cosmic-ray effects. A more detailed study of the cosmic-ray induced fluctuations and measurements at higher frequencies will be needed before genuine CMB fluctuations can be claimed. (author)

  19. Cosmic growth history and expansion history

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Linder, Eric V.

    2005-01-01

    The cosmic expansion history tests the dynamics of the global evolution of the universe and its energy density contents, while the cosmic growth history tests the evolution of the inhomogeneous part of the energy density. Precision comparison of the two histories can distinguish the nature of the physics responsible for the accelerating cosmic expansion: an additional smooth component--dark energy--or a modification of the gravitational field equations. With the aid of a new fitting formula for linear perturbation growth accurate to 0.05%-0.2%, we separate out the growth dependence on the expansion history and introduce a new growth index parameter γ that quantifies the gravitational modification

  20. Robustness of cosmic neutrino background detection in the cosmic microwave background

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Audren, Benjamin [Institut de Théorie des Phénomènes Physiques, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015, Lausanne (Switzerland); Bellini, Emilio; Cuesta, Antonio J.; Verde, Licia [Institut de Ciències del Cosmos, Universitat de Barcelona, IEEC-UB, Martí i Franquès 1, E08028 Barcelona (Spain); Gontcho, Satya Gontcho A; Pérez-Ràfols, Ignasi [Dept. d' Astronomia i Meteorologia, Institut de Ciències del Cosmos, Universitat de Barcelona, IEEC-UB, Martí i Franquès 1, E08028 Barcelona (Spain); Lesgourgues, Julien [CERN, Theory Division, CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Niro, Viviana [Departamento de Física Teórica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Instituto de Física Teórica UAM/CSIC, Calle Nicolás Cabrera 13-15, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid (Spain); Pellejero-Ibanez, Marcos; Tramonte, Denis [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), C/Vía Láctea s/n, E-38200, La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Poulin, Vivian [LAPTh, Université de Savoie, CNRS, B.P.110, Annecy-le-Vieux F-74941 (France); Tram, Thomas, E-mail: emilio.bellini@icc.ub.edu [Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Dennis Sciama Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3FX (United Kingdom)

    2015-03-01

    The existence of a cosmic neutrino background can be probed indirectly by CMB experiments, not only by measuring the background density of radiation in the universe, but also by searching for the typical signatures of the fluctuations of free-streaming species in the temperature and polarisation power spectrum. Previous studies have already proposed a rather generic parametrisation of these fluctuations, that could help to discriminate between the signature of ordinary free-streaming neutrinos, or of more exotic dark radiation models. Current data are compatible with standard values of these parameters, which seems to bring further evidence for the existence of a cosmic neutrino background. In this work, we investigate the robustness of this conclusion under various assumptions. We generalise the definition of an effective sound speed and viscosity speed to the case of massive neutrinos or other dark radiation components experiencing a non-relativistic transition. We show that current bounds on these effective parameters do not vary significantly when considering an arbitrary value of the particle mass, or extended cosmological models with a free effective neutrino number, dynamical dark energy or a running of the primordial spectrum tilt. We conclude that it is possible to make a robust statement about the detection of the cosmic neutrino background by CMB experiments.

  1. DAMPE: A gamma and cosmic ray observatory in space

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Urso, D.; Dampe Collaboration

    2017-05-01

    DAMPE (DArk Matter Particle Explorer) is one of the five satellite missions in the framework of the Strategic Pioneer Research Program in Space Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Launched on December 17th 2015 at 08:12 Beijing time, it is taking data into a sun-synchronous orbit, at the altitude of 500km. The main scientific objective of DAMPE is to detect electrons and photons in the range 5GeV-10TeV with unprecedented energy resolution, in order to identify possible Dark Matter signatures. It will also measure the flux of nuclei up to 100TeV with excellent energy resolution. The satellite is equipped with a powerful space telescope for high energy gamma-ray, electron and cosmic rays detection. It consists of a plastic scintillator strips detector (PSD) that serves as anti-coincidence detector, a silicon-tungsten tracker (STK), a BGO imaging calorimeter of about 32 radiation lengths, and a neutron detector. With its excellent photon detection capability and its detector performances (at 100GeV energy resolution ˜1% , angular resolution ˜0.1° , the DAMPE mission is well placed to make strong contributions to high-energy gamma-ray observations: it covers the gap between space and ground observation; it will allow to detect a line signature in the gamma-ray spectrum, if present, in the sub-TeV to TeV region; it will allow a high precision gamma-ray astronomy. A report on the mission goals and status will be discussed, together with in-orbit first data coming from space.

  2. Collisions of cosmic F- and D-strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, N.

    2004-01-01

    Recent theoretical advances and upcoming experimental measurements make the testing of generic predictions of string theory models of cosmology feasible. Brane anti-brane models of inflation within superstring theory are promising as string theory descriptions of the physics of the early universe. While varied in their construction, these models can have the generic and observable consequence that cosmic strings will be abundant in the early universe. This leads to possible detectable effects in the cosmic microwave background, gravitational wave physics and gravitational lensing. Detailed calculations of cosmic string interactions within string theory are presented, in order to distinguish these cosmic strings from those in more conventional theories; these interaction probabilities can be very different from conventional 4-dimension strings, providing the possibility of experimental tests of string theory. (authors)

  3. Aerosols Produced by Cosmic Rays

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enghoff, Martin Andreas Bødker

    an experiment in order to investigate the underlying microphysical processes. The results of this experiment will help to understand whether ionization from cosmic rays, and by implication the related processes in the universe, has a direct influence on Earth’s atmosphere and climate. Since any physical...... mechanism linking cosmic rays to clouds and climate is currently speculative, there have been various suggestions of the role atmospheric ions may play; these involve any one of a number of processes from the nucleation of aerosols up to the collection processes of cloud droplets. We have chosen to start......Satellite observations have shown that the Earth’s cloud cover is strongly correlated with the galactic cosmic ray flux. While this correlation is indicative of a possible physical connection, there is currently no confirmation that a physical mechanism exists. We are therefore setting up...

  4. Cosmic rays, clouds, and climate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marsh, N.; Svensmark, Henrik

    2000-01-01

    cloud radiative properties. Thus, a moderate influence on atmospheric aerosol distributions from cosmic ray ionisation would have a strong influence on the Earth's radiation budget. Historical evidence over the past 1000 years indicates that changes in climate have occurred in accord with variability......A correlation between a global average of low cloud cover and the flux of cosmic rays incident in the atmosphere has been observed during the last solar cycle. The ionising potential of Earth bound cosmic rays are modulated by the state of the heliosphere, while clouds play an important role...... in the Earth's radiation budget through trapping outgoing radiation and reflecting incoming radiation. If a physical link between these two features can be established, it would provide a mechanism linking solar activity and Earth's climate. Recent satellite observations have further revealed a correlation...

  5. Cosmic Rays and Extensive Air Showers

    CERN Document Server

    Stanev, Todor

    2010-01-01

    We begin with a brief introduction of the cosmic ray energy spectrum and its main features. At energies higher than 105 GeV cosmic rays are detected by the showers they initiate in the atmosphere. We continues with a brief description of the energy spectrum and composition derived from air shower data.

  6. The History of Cosmic Ray Studies after Hess

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grupen, Claus, E-mail: grupen@physik.uni-siegen.de

    2013-06-15

    The discovery of cosmic rays by Victor Hess was confirmed with balloon flights at higher altitudes by Kolhörster. Soon the interest turned into questions about the nature of cosmic rays: gamma rays or particles? Subsequent investigations have established cosmic rays as the birthplace of elementary particle physics. The 1936 Nobel prize was shared between Victor Hess and Carl Anderson. Anderson discovered the positron in a cloud chamber. The positron was predicted by Dirac several years earlier. Many new results came now from studies with cloud chambers and nuclear emulsions. Anderson and Neddermeyer saw the muon, which for some time was considered to be a candidate for the Yukawa particle responsible for nuclear binding. Lattes, Powell, Occhialini and Muirhead clarified the situation by the discovery of the charged pions in cosmic rays. Rochester and Butler found V's, which turned out to be short-lived neutral kaons decaying into a pair of charged pions. Λ's, Σ's and Ξ's were found in cosmic rays using nuclear emulsions. After that period, accelerators and storage rings took over. The unexpected renaissance of cosmic rays started with the search for solar neutrinos and the observation of the supernova 1987A and other accelerators in the sky. With the observation of neutrino oscillations one began to look beyond the standard model of elementary particles. After 100 years of cosmic ray research we are again at the beginning of a new era, and cosmic rays may contribute to solve the many open questions, like dark matter and dark energy, by providing energies well beyond those of earth-bound accelerators.

  7. COSMOS: the COsmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Zreda

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The newly-developed cosmic-ray method for measuring area-average soil moisture at the hectometer horizontal scale is being implemented in the COsmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System (or the COSMOS. The stationary cosmic-ray soil moisture probe measures the neutrons that are generated by cosmic rays within air and soil and other materials, moderated by mainly hydrogen atoms located primarily in soil water, and emitted to the atmosphere where they mix instantaneously at a scale of hundreds of meters and whose density is inversely correlated with soil moisture. The COSMOS has already deployed more than 50 of the eventual 500 cosmic-ray probes, distributed mainly in the USA, each generating a time series of average soil moisture over its horizontal footprint, with similar networks coming into existence around the world. This paper is written to serve a community need to better understand this novel method and the COSMOS project. We describe the cosmic-ray soil moisture measurement method, the instrument and its calibration, the design, data processing and dissemination used in the COSMOS project, and give example time series of soil moisture obtained from COSMOS probes.

  8. SSNTD-supersymmetry theory unifying cosmic and nucleonic matters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swarup, R.

    2011-01-01

    rise to the differences between ordinary particles and their superpartners well coupled with SSNTD type Cosmic Ray Tracks. While reviewing supersymmetry with supergravity every quantum particle can be imagined as little spinning top, the spin taking on only the discrete values 0, 1/2, 1, 3/2, 2 and so on in certain units (say Planck Constant h divided by 2Π). Spin s=0 means top does not spin. Spin s=1/2 means a specific amount of spin and spin s=1 means twice of this amount and so on. The pion, a strongly interacting hadron, has spin s=0. The proton, neutron, quarks and leptons all have spin s=1/2 while photon and weak Gluon W and G have spin 1 and spin s=2 for Graviton. For the first time the mathematical imagination saw the possibility that all quantum particles, not just those of same spin, are components of a single master super field endowed with supersymmetry. The SSNTD analog of stellar and cosmic worlds really describe specially structured space-time drains of sizes 10 -9 -10 -24 cm and various multiples in the lower dimensions having ranges nano-nano(nn), nano-micro-pico/Fermi/femto/atto/zepto/yocto: (np), (nf) (nft), (na), (nz), (nY)... (npfazy) transporting Geo-Cosmic matters as resonant quantum tunnels. Such states are attained as transverse fluctuations in SSNTD type geometrical constructs obeying quantum tunneling type characteristic behaviours. The supersymmetry breakings emerges through spin fractionalization such as s=1/3,1/4,1/5,1/6,1/8..... whose matrices formulated accordingly. (author)

  9. Photon-photon and photon-hadron processes in relativistic heavy ion collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baron, N.C.

    1993-11-01

    Photon-photon and photon-hadron interactions in relativistic heavy ion collisions are studied in the framework of the impact parameter dependent equivalent photon approximation. Improvements of this method, like formfactor inclusion and geometrical modifications are developed. In disruptive relativistic heavy ion collisions where the heavy ions overlapp during the collision, electromagnetic processes are an important background to other mechanisms. In peripheral (non-disruptive) relativistic heavy ion collisions where the ions pass each other without strong interactions, the electromagnetic processes can be studied in their pure form. The lepton pair production is an important diagnostic tool in relativistic heavy ion collisions. The coherent γγ lepton pair production is therefore extensively studied in disruptive but also in non-disruptive collisions. The effects of strong interactions on the coherent γγ lepton pair production in disruptive collisions are discussed in terms of a simple stopping model. Coherent γγ dielectron production contributes to the dilepton production in high energy hadron-hadron collisions. As an example, the coherent dielectron production in π - p collisions is studied in terms of the equivalent photon approximation. Peripheral ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions open up new possibilities for γγ physics. Taking into account γA background reactions, typical γγ processes in the relevant invariant mass ranges are discussed. The extreme high energy part of the equivalent photon spectrum leads to hard photon-parton reactions. As a potential tool to investigate the gluon distribution function of nucleons, thee q anti q production via the γg fusion in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions is studied. It is the purpose of this work to investigate how photon-photon and photon-hadron reactions in relativistic heavy ion collisions may contribute to the understanding of QCD and the standard model. (orig.) [de

  10. High-energy cosmic-ray acceleration

    OpenAIRE

    Bustamante, M; Carrillo Montoya, G; de Paula, W; Duarte Chavez, J A; Gago, A M; Hakobyan, H; Jez, P; Monroy Montañez, J A; Ortiz Velasquez, A; Padilla Cabal, F; Pino Rozas, M; Rodriguez Patarroyo, D J; Romeo, G L; Saldaña-Salazar , U J; Velasquez, M

    2010-01-01

    We briefly review the basics of ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray acceleration. The Hillas criterion is introduced as a geometrical criterion that must be fulfilled by potential acceleration sites, and energy losses are taken into account in order to obtain a more realistic scenario. The different available acceleration mechanisms are presented, with special emphasis on Fermi shock acceleration and its prediction of a power-law cosmic-ray energy spectrum. We conclude that first-order Fermi accelera...

  11. Cosmic Rays in the Heliosphere: Requirements for Future Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mewaldt, R. A.

    2013-06-01

    Since the publication of Cosmic Rays in the Heliosphere in 1998 there has been great progress in understanding how and why cosmic rays vary in space and time. This paper discusses measurements that are needed to continue advances in relating cosmic ray variations to changes in solar and interplanetary activity and variations in the local interstellar environment. Cosmic ray acceleration and transport is an important discipline in space physics and astrophysics, but it also plays a critical role in defining the radiation environment for humans and hardware in space, and is critical to efforts to unravel the history of solar activity. Cosmic rays are measured directly by balloon-borne and space instruments, and indirectly by ground-based neutron, muon and neutrino detectors, and by measurements of cosmogenic isotopes in ice cores, tree-rings, sediments, and meteorites. The topics covered here include: what we can learn from the deep 2008-2009 solar minimum, when cosmic rays reached the highest intensities of the space era; the implications of 10Be and 14C isotope archives for past and future solar activity; the effects of variations in the size of the heliosphere; opportunities provided by the Voyagers for discovering the origin of anomalous cosmic rays and measuring cosmic-ray spectra in interstellar space; and future space missions that can continue the exciting exploration of the heliosphere that has occurred over the past 50 years.

  12. Activation measurements for fast neutrons. Part D. Evaluation of cosmic-ray-induced 63Ni background in copper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruehm, Werner; Rugel, Georg; Faestermann, Thomas

    2005-01-01

    As a result of a joint collaboration between the University of Utah, LLNL, the Technical University Munich and the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, it became possible to determine A-bomb induced 63 Ni in pure copper samples from Hiroshima beyond a ground range of 1,000 m (see Chapter 9, Part B). The low 63 Ni activities induced in copper samples due to neutrons from the A-bomb explosion at large distance require, however, a careful discussion of the fraction of 63 Ni produced in these samples due to cosmic radiation. In this section, an analysis of the production of 63 Ni in copper samples due to cosmic radiation is performed. Production due to neutrons, protons, stopped muons, and photonuclear reactions is discussed. It is obvious from Figure 1 (Pfennig et al. 1995) that a variety of reactions induced by neutrons, protons, muons and photons can contribute to the production of 63 Ni in copper. The most important of these processes will be discussed here. Since the cross-sections for the production of 63 Ni in copper samples due to fast and stopped muons were not known, they were determined experimentally. (J.P.N.)

  13. Cosmic Shear With ACS Pure Parallels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhodes, Jason

    2002-07-01

    Small distortions in the shapes of background galaxies by foreground mass provide a powerful method of directly measuring the amount and distribution of dark matter. Several groups have recently detected this weak lensing by large-scale structure, also called cosmic shear. The high resolution and sensitivity of HST/ACS provide a unique opportunity to measure cosmic shear accurately on small scales. Using 260 parallel orbits in Sloan textiti {F775W} we will measure for the first time: beginlistosetlength sep0cm setlengthemsep0cm setlengthopsep0cm em the cosmic shear variance on scales Omega_m^0.5, with signal-to-noise {s/n} 20, and the mass density Omega_m with s/n=4. They will be done at small angular scales where non-linear effects dominate the power spectrum, providing a test of the gravitational instability paradigm for structure formation. Measurements on these scales are not possible from the ground, because of the systematic effects induced by PSF smearing from seeing. Having many independent lines of sight reduces the uncertainty due to cosmic variance, making parallel observations ideal.

  14. High-energy cosmic rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaisser, Thomas K. [Bartol Research Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (United States)]. E-mail: gaisser@bartol.udel.edu; Stanev, Todor [Bartol Research Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (United States)

    2006-10-17

    After a brief review of galactic cosmic rays in the GeV to TeV energy range, we describe some current problems of interest for particles of very high energy. Particularly interesting are two features of the spectrum, the knee above 10{sup 15} eV and the ankle above 10{sup 18} eV. An important question is whether the highest-energy particles are of extra-galactic origin and, if so, at what energy the transition occurs. A theme common to all energy ranges is use of nuclear abundances as a tool for understanding the origin of the cosmic radiation.

  15. Educational Cosmic Ray Arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soluk, R. A.

    2006-01-01

    In the last decade a great deal of interest has arisen in using sparse arrays of cosmic ray detectors located at schools as a means of doing both outreach and physics research. This approach has the unique advantage of involving grade school students in an actual ongoing experiment, rather then a simple teaching exercise, while at the same time providing researchers with the basic infrastructure for installation of cosmic ray detectors. A survey is made of projects in North America and Europe and in particular the ALTA experiment at the University of Alberta which was the first experiment operating under this paradigm

  16. The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation-A Unique Window on the Early Universe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinshaw, Gary

    2010-01-01

    The cosmic microwave background radiation is the remnant heat from the Big Bang. It provides us with a unique probe of conditions in the early universe, long before any organized structures had yet formed. The anisotropy in the radiation's brightness yields important clues about primordial structure and additionally provides a wealth of information about the physics of the early universe. Within the framework of inflationary dark matter models, observations of the anisotropy on sub-degree angular scales reveals the signatures of acoustic oscillations of the photon-baryon fluid at a redshift of 11 00. Data from the first seven years of operation of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite provide detailed full-sky maps of the cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization anisotropy. Together, the data provide a wealth of cosmological information, including the age of the universe, the epoch when the first stars formed, and the overall composition of baryonic matter, dark matter, and dark energy. The results also provide constraints on the period of inflationary expansion in the very first moments of time. WMAP, part of NASA's Explorers program, was launched on June 30, 2001. The WMAP satellite was produced in a partnership between the Goddard Space Flight Center and Princeton University. The WMAP team also includes researchers at the Johns Hopkins University; the Canadian Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics; University of Texas; Oxford University; University of Chicago; Brown University; University of British Columbia; and University of California, Los Angeles.

  17. The absence of distortion in the cosmic microwave background spectrum and superconducting cosmic strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez, N.; Signore, M.

    1990-01-01

    From the results of recent measurements we place new constraints on superconducting cosmic strings (SCS) and on their cosmological evolution, independently of numerical simulation results. The absence of distortion in the cosmic microwave background radiation (MBR) spectrum recently reported from the preliminary data of the COBE (Cosmic background explorer) satellite, together with the available MBR angular temperature ΔT/T measurements and the latest fast pulsar timings, allow us to obtain (i) the electromagnetic-to-gravitational radiation ratio released by SCS loops, f -2 , (ii) the chemical potential due to SCS, μ 0SCS -3 , (iii) constraints on the loop evolution parameters which we confront to those given by numerical simulations, and (iv) limits on the string parameter Gμ: those obtained from COBE's data (Gμ -6 ) converge to those given by the latest PSR 1937+21 timing. Both limits on Gμ are reduced by an order of magnitude when taking into account numerical simulation results. (orig.)

  18. Long-term and transient time variation of cosmic ray fluxes detected in Argentina by CARPET cosmic ray detector

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Mendonça, R. R. S.; Raulin, J.-P.; Bertoni, F. C. P.; Echer, E.; Makhmutov, V. S.; Fernandez, G.

    2011-07-01

    We present results obtained at El Leoncito (CASLEO, San Juan, Argentina) with the CARPET charged particles detector installed in April 2006. The observed modulation of the cosmic ray flux is discussed as a function of its time variability and it is related to longer solar activity variations and to shorter variations during solar and geomagnetic transient activity. Short period (few minutes, few hours) cosmic ray modulation events are observed during rain time (precipitation) and significant variations of the atmospheric electric field. Complementary observations of the atmospheric electric field indicate that its time variations play an important role in the detected cosmic ray event.

  19. The ALTA cosmic ray experiment electronics system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brouwer, W.; Burris, W.J.; Caron, B.; Hewlett, J.; Holm, L.; Hamilton, A.; McDonald, W.J.; Pinfold, J.L.; Price, P.; Schaapman, J.R.; Sibley, L.; Soluk, R.A.; Wampler, L.J.

    2005-01-01

    Understanding the origin and propagation of high-energy cosmic rays is a fundamental area of astroparticle physics with major unanswered questions. The study of cosmic rays with energy more than 10 14 eV, probed only by ground-based experiments, has been restricted by the low particle flux. The Alberta Large-area Time-coincidence Array (ALTA) uses a sparse array of cosmic ray detection stations located in high schools across a large geographical area to search for non-random high-energy cosmic ray phenomena. Custom-built ALTA electronics is based on a modular board design. Its function is to control the detectors at each ALTA site allowing precise measurements of event timing and energy in the local detectors as well as time synchronization of all of the sites in the array using the global positioning system

  20. Voids and the Cosmic Web: cosmic depression & spatial complexity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van de Weygaert, Rien; Shandarin, S.; Saar, E.; Einasto, J.

    2016-01-01

    Voids form a prominent aspect of the Megaparsec distribution of galaxies and matter. Not only do theyrepresent a key constituent of the Cosmic Web, they also are one of the cleanest probesand measures of global cosmological parameters. The shape and evolution of voids are highly sensitive tothe

  1. Can cosmic shear shed light on low cosmic microwave background multipoles?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesden, Michael; Kamionkowski, Marc; Cooray, Asantha

    2003-11-28

    The lowest multipole moments of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are smaller than expected for a scale-invariant power spectrum. One possible explanation is a cutoff in the primordial power spectrum below a comoving scale of k(c) approximately equal to 5.0 x 10(-4) Mpc(-1). Such a cutoff would increase significantly the cross correlation between the large-angle CMB and cosmic-shear patterns. The cross correlation may be detectable at >2sigma which, combined with the low CMB moments, may tilt the balance between a 2sigma result and a firm detection of a large-scale power-spectrum cutoff. The cutoff also increases the large-angle cross correlation between the CMB and the low-redshift tracers of the mass distribution.

  2. Muon Production in Relativistic Cosmic-Ray Interactions

    OpenAIRE

    Klein, Spencer

    2009-01-01

    Cosmic-rays with energies up to $3\\times10^{20}$ eV have been observed. The nuclear composition of these cosmic rays is unknown but if the incident nuclei are protons then the corresponding center of mass energy is $\\sqrt{s_{nn}} = 700$ TeV. High energy muons can be used to probe the composition of these incident nuclei. The energy spectra of high-energy ($>$ 1 TeV) cosmic ray induced muons have been measured with deep underground or under-ice detectors. These muons come from pion and kaon de...

  3. High energy cosmic rays: sources and fluxes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanev, Todor; Gaisser, Thomas K.; Tilav, Serap

    2014-04-01

    We discuss the production of a unique energy spectrum of the high energy cosmic rays detected with air showers by shifting the energy estimates of different detectors. After such a spectrum is generated we fit the spectrum with three or four populations of cosmic rays that might be accelerated at different cosmic ray sources. We also present the chemical composition that the fits of the spectrum generates and discuss some new data sets presented this summer at the ICRC in Rio de Janeiro that may require new global fits.

  4. Photonic Crystals Towards Nanoscale Photonic Devices

    CERN Document Server

    Lourtioz, Jean-Michel; Berger, Vincent; Gérard, Jean-Michel; Maystre, Daniel; Tchelnokov, Alexei; Pagnoux, Dominique

    2008-01-01

    Just like the periodical crystalline potential in solid state crystals determines their properties for the conduction of electrons, the periodical structuring of photonic crystals leads to envisioning the possibility of achieving a control of the photon flux in dielectric and metallic materials. The use of photonic crystals as cages for storing, filtering or guiding light at the wavelength scale paves the way to the realization of optical and optoelectronic devices with ultimate properties and dimensions. This will contribute towards meeting the demands for greater miniaturization imposed by the processing of an ever increasing number of data. Photonic Crystals will provide students and researchers from different fields with the theoretical background required for modelling photonic crystals and their optical properties, while at the same time presenting the large variety of devices, ranging from optics to microwaves, where photonic crystals have found application. As such, it aims at building bridges between...

  5. Photonic Crystals Towards Nanoscale Photonic Devices

    CERN Document Server

    Lourtioz, Jean-Michel; Berger, Vincent; Gérard, Jean-Michel; Maystre, Daniel; Tchelnokov, Alexis

    2005-01-01

    Just like the periodical crystalline potential in solid-state crystals determines their properties for the conduction of electrons, the periodical structuring of photonic crystals leads to envisioning the possibility of achieving a control of the photon flux in dielectric and metallic materials. The use of photonic crystals as a cage for storing, filtering or guiding light at the wavelength scale thus paves the way to the realisation of optical and optoelectronic devices with ultimate properties and dimensions. This should contribute toward meeting the demands for a greater miniaturisation that the processing of an ever increasing number of data requires. Photonic Crystals intends at providing students and researchers from different fields with the theoretical background needed for modelling photonic crystals and their optical properties, while at the same time presenting the large variety of devices, from optics to microwaves, where photonic crystals have found applications. As such, it aims at building brid...

  6. Ultra high-energy cosmic ray composition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Longley, N.P.

    1993-01-01

    The Soudan 2 surface-underground cosmic ray experiment can simultaneously measure surface shower size, underground muon multiplicity, and underground muon separation for ultra high energy cosmic ray showers. These measurements are sensitive to the primary composition. Analysis for energies from 10 1 to 10 4 TeV favors a light flux consisting of predominantly H and He nuclei

  7. Cosmic-ray exposure records and origins of meteorites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reedy, R.C.

    1985-01-01

    The cosmic-ray records of meteorites can be used to infer much about their origins and recent histories. Some meteorites had simple cosmic-ray exposure histories, while others had complex exposure histories with their cosmogenic products made both before and after a collision in space. The methods used to interpret meteorites' cosmic-ray records, especially identifying simple or complex exposure histories, often are inadequate. Besides spallogenic radionuclides and stable nuclides, measurements of products that have location-sensitive production rates, such as the tracks of heavy cosmic-ray nuclei or neutron-capture nuclides, are very useful in accurately determining a meteorite's history. Samples from different, known locations of a meteorite help in studying the cosmic-ray record. Such extensive sets of meteorite measurements, plus theoretical modeling of complex histories, will improve our ability to predict the production of cosmogenic nuclides in meteorites, to distinguish simple and complex exposure histories, and to better determine exposure ages

  8. Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays: Facts, Myths, and Legends

    CERN Document Server

    Anchordoqui, Luis Alfredo

    2013-06-27

    This is a written version of a series of lectures aimed at graduate students in astrophysics/particle theory/particle experiment. In the first part, we explain the important progress made in recent years towards understanding the experimental data on cosmic rays with energies > 10^8 GeV. We begin with a brief survey of the available data, including a description of the energy spectrum, mass composition, and arrival directions. At this point we also give a short overview of experimental techniques. After that, we introduce the fundamentals of acceleration and propagation in order to discuss the conjectured nearby cosmic ray sources, and emphasize some of the prospects for a new (multi-particle) astronomy. Next, we survey the state of the art regarding the ultrahigh energy cosmic neutrinos which should be produced in association with the observed cosmic rays. In the second part, we summarize the phenomenology of cosmic ray air showers. We explain the hadronic interaction models used to extrapolate results from ...

  9. Cosmic string induced CMB maps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landriau, M.; Shellard, E. P. S.

    2011-01-01

    We compute maps of CMB temperature fluctuations seeded by cosmic strings using high resolution simulations of cosmic strings in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe. We create full-sky, 18 deg. and 3 deg. CMB maps, including the relevant string contribution at each resolution from before recombination to today. We extract the angular power spectrum from these maps, demonstrating the importance of recombination effects. We briefly discuss the probability density function of the pixel temperatures, their skewness, and kurtosis.

  10. Cosmic Ray Physics with the IceCube Observatory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolanoski, H

    2013-01-01

    The IceCube Neutrino Observatory with its 1-km 3 in-ice detector and the 1-km 2 surface detector (IceTop) constitutes a three-dimensional cosmic ray detector well suited for general cosmic ray physics. Various measurements of cosmic ray properties, such as energy spectra, mass composition and anisotropies, have been obtained from analyses of air showers at the surface and/or atmospheric muons in the ice.

  11. Interpreting the cosmic ray composition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O' C Drury, L.; Ellisson, D.C; Meyer, J.-P

    2000-01-31

    The detailed pattern of elemental abundances in the Galactic Cosmic Rays is well determined at energies of a few GeV per nucleon. After correction for propagation effects the inferred source composition shows significant deviations from the standard pattern of Galactic elemental abundances. These deviations, surprisingly overabundances of the heavy elements relative to Hydrogen, are clearly a significant clue to the origin of the cosmic rays, but one which has proven very difficult to interpret. We have recently shown that the 'standard' model for the origin of the bulk of the Galactic cosmic rays, namely acceleration by the diffusive shock acceleration process at the strong shocks associated with supernova remnants, can quantitatively explain all features of the source composition if the acceleration occurs from a dusty interstellar medium. This success must be regarded as one of the stronger pieces of evidence in favour of the standard model.

  12. Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass

    CERN Multimedia

    Baylon cardiel, J L; Wallace, K C; Anderson, T B; Copley, M

    The cosmic-ray energetics and mass (CREAM) investigation is designed to measure cosmic-ray composition to the supernova energy scale of 10$^{15}$ eV in a series of ultra long duration balloon (ULDB) flights. The first flight is planned to be launched from Antarctica in December 2004. The goal is to observe cosmic-ray spectral features and/or abundance changes that might signify a limit to supernova acceleration. The particle ($\\{Z}$) measurements will be made with a timing-based charge detector and a pixelated silicon charge detector to minimize the effect of backscatter from the calorimeter. The particle energy measurements will be made with a transition radiation detector (TRD) for $\\{Z}$ > 3 and a sampling tungsten/scintillator calorimeter for $\\{Z}$ $\\geq$1 particles, allowing inflight cross calibration of the two detectors. The status of the payload construction and flight preparation are reported in this paper.

  13. Interpreting the cosmic ray composition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'C Drury, L.; Ellisson, D.C; Meyer, J.-P.

    2000-01-01

    The detailed pattern of elemental abundances in the Galactic Cosmic Rays is well determined at energies of a few GeV per nucleon. After correction for propagation effects the inferred source composition shows significant deviations from the standard pattern of Galactic elemental abundances. These deviations, surprisingly overabundances of the heavy elements relative to Hydrogen, are clearly a significant clue to the origin of the cosmic rays, but one which has proven very difficult to interpret. We have recently shown that the 'standard' model for the origin of the bulk of the Galactic cosmic rays, namely acceleration by the diffusive shock acceleration process at the strong shocks associated with supernova remnants, can quantitatively explain all features of the source composition if the acceleration occurs from a dusty interstellar medium. This success must be regarded as one of the stronger pieces of evidence in favour of the standard model

  14. The New BBN Model with the Photon Cooling, X Particle, and the Primordial Magnetic Field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamazaki, Dai G.; Kusakabe, Motohiko; Kajino, Toshitaka; Mathews, Grant. J.; Cheoun, Myung-Ki

    The Big bang nucleosynthesis theory accurately reproduces the abundances of light elements in the Universe, except for 7Li abundance. Calculated 7Li abundance with the baryon to photon ratio fixed by the observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is inconsistent with the observed 7Li abundance on the surface of metal-poor halo stars, and this problem is called "Li problem". Previous studies proposing solutions of this 7Li problem include photon cooling (possibly via the Bose-Einstein condensation of a scalar particle), the decay of a long-lived X particle (possibly the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle), or an energy density of a primordial magnetic field (PMF). We mention analyzed results of these solutions both separately and in concert, and the constraint on the X particles and the PMF parameters from observed light element abundances with likelihood analysis. We can discover parameter ranges of the X particles which can solve the Li problem and constrain the energy density of the PMF.

  15. Measurement of Photon Production in the Very Forward Direction in Deep-Inelastic Scattering at HERA

    CERN Document Server

    Aaron, F.D.; Andreev, V.; Backovic, S.; Baghdasaryan, A.; Baghdasaryan, S.; Barrelet, E.; Bartel, W.; Begzsuren, K.; Belousov, A.; Belov, P.; Bizot, J.C.; Boudry, V.; Bozovic-Jelisavcic, I.; Bracinik, J.; Brandt, G.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Britzger, D.; Bruncko, D.; Bunyatyan, A.; Bystritskaya, L.; Campbell, A.J.; Cantun Avila, K.B.; Ceccopieri, F.; Cerny, K.; Cerny, V.; Chekelian, V.; Contreras, J.G.; Coughlan, J.A.; Cvach, J.; Dainton, J.B.; Daum, K.; Delcourt, B.; Delvax, J.; De Wolf, E.A.; Diaconu, C.; Dobre, M.; Dodonov, V.; Dossanov, A.; Dubak, A.; Eckerlin, G.; Egli, S.; Eliseev, A.; Elsen, E.; Favart, L.; Fedotov, A.; Felst, R.; Feltesse, J.; Ferencei, J.; Fischer, D.J.; Fleischer, M.; Fomenko, A.; Gabathuler, E.; Gayler, J.; Ghazaryan, S.; Glazov, A.; Goerlich, L.; Gogitidze, N.; Gouzevitch, M.; Grab, C.; Grebenyuk, A.; Greenshaw, T.; Grell, B.R.; Grindhammer, G.; Habib, S.; Haidt, D.; Helebrant, C.; Henderson, R.C.W.; Hennekemper, E.; Henschel, H.; Herbst, M.; Herrera, G.; Hildebrandt, M.; Hiller, K.H.; Hoffmann, D.; Horisberger, R.; Hreus, T.; Huber, F.; Jacquet, M.; Janssen, X.; Jonsson, L.; Jung, H.; Kapichine, M.; Kenyon, I.R.; Kiesling, C.; Klein, M.; Kleinwort, C.; Kluge, T.; Kogler, R.; Kostka, P.; Kraemer, M.; Kretzschmar, J.; Kruger, K.; Landon, M.P.J.; Lange, W.; Lastovicka-Medin, G.; Laycock, P.; Lebedev, A.; Lendermann, V.; Levonian, S.; Lipka, K.; List, B.; List, J.; Lopez-Fernandez, R.; Lubimov, V.; Lytkin, L.; Makankine, A.; Malinovski, E.; Marage, P.; Martyn, H.U.; Maxfield, S.J.; Mehta, A.; Meyer, A.B.; Meyer, H.; Meyer, J.; Mikocki, S.; Milcewicz-Mika, I.; Moreau, F.; Morozov, A.; Morris, J.V.; Mudrinic, M.; Muller, K.; Naumann, Th.; Newman, P.R.; Niebuhr, C.; Nikitin, D.; Nowak, G.; Nowak, K.; Olsson, J.E.; Ozerov, D.; Pahl, P.; Palichik, V.; Panagoulias, I.; Pandurovic, M.; Papadopoulou, Th.; Pascaud, C.; Patel, G.D.; Perez, E.; Petrukhin, A.; Picuric, I.; Piec, S.; Pirumov, H.; Pitzl, D.; Placakyte, R.; Pokorny, B.; Polifka, R.; Povh, B.; Radescu, V.; Raicevic, N.; Ravdandorj, T.; Reimer, P.; Rizvi, E.; Robmann, P.; Roosen, R.; Rostovtsev, A.; Rotaru, M.; Tabasco, J.E.Ruiz; Rusakov, S.; Salek, D.; Sankey, D.P.C.; Sauter, M.; Sauvan, E.; Schmitt, S.; Schoeffel, L.; Schoning, A.; Schultz-Coulon, H.C.; Sefkow, F.; Shtarkov, L.N.; Shushkevich, S.; Sloan, T.; Smiljanic, I.; Soloviev, Y.; Sopicki, P.; South, D.; Spaskov, V.; Specka, A.; Staykova, Z.; Steder, M.; Stella, B.; Stoicea, G.; Straumann, U.; Sykora, T.; Thompson, P.D.; Tran, T.H.; Traynor, D.; Truol, P.; Tsakov, I.; Tseepeldorj, B.; Turnau, J.; Urban, K.; Valkarova, A.; Vallee, C.; Van Mechelen, P.; Vazdik, Y.; Wegener, D.; Wunsch, E.; Zacek, J.; Zalesak, J.; Zhang, Z.; Zhokin, A.; Zohrabyan, H.; Zomer, F.

    2011-01-01

    The production of photons at very small angles with respect to the proton beam direction is studied in deep-inelastic positron-proton scattering at HERA. The data are taken with the H1 detector in the years 2006 and 2007 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of $126 \\mathrm{pb}^{-1}$. The analysis covers the range of negative four momentum transfer squared at the positron vertex $67.9$ as a function of its transverse momentum $p_T^{lead}$ and longitudinal momentum fraction of the incoming proton $x_L^{lead}$. In addition, the cross sections are studied as a function of the sum of the longitudinal momentum fraction $x_L^{sum}$ of all photons in the pseudorapidity range $\\eta>7.9$. The cross sections are normalised to the inclusive deep-inelastic scattering cross section and compared to the predictions of models of deep-inelastic scattering and models of the hadronic interactions of high energy cosmic rays.

  16. Cosmic gamma bursts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ehstulin, I.V.

    1980-01-01

    A brief consideration is being given to the history of cosmic gamma burst discovery and modern knowledge of their properties. The time dependence of gamma bursts is described and their possible sources are discussed

  17. Structure formation cosmic rays: Identifying observational constraints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prodanović T.

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Shocks that arise from baryonic in-fall and merger events during the structure formation are believed to be a source of cosmic rays. These "structure formation cosmic rays" (SFCRs would essentially be primordial in composition, namely, mostly made of protons and alpha particles. However, very little is known about this population of cosmic rays. One way to test the level of its presence is to look at the products of hadronic reactions between SFCRs and the ISM. A perfect probe of these reactions would be Li. The rare isotope Li is produced only by cosmic rays, dominantly in αα → 6Li fusion reactions with the ISM helium. Consequently, this nuclide provides a unique diagnostic of the history of cosmic rays. Exactly because of this unique property is Li affected most by the presence of an additional cosmic ray population. In turn, this could have profound consequences for the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis: cosmic rays created during cosmic structure formation would lead to pre-Galactic Li production, which would act as a "contaminant" to the primordial 7Li content of metalpoor halo stars. Given the already existing problem of establishing the concordance between Li observed in halo stars and primordial 7Li as predicted by the WMAP, it is crucial to set limits to the level of this "contamination". However, the history of SFCRs is not very well known. Thus we propose a few model-independent ways of testing the SFCR species and their history, as well as the existing lithium problem: 1 we establish the connection between gamma-ray and Li production, which enables us to place constraints on the SFCR-made lithium by using the observed Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background (EGRB; 2 we propose a new site for testing the primordial and SFCR-made lithium, namely, low-metalicity High-Velocity Clouds (HVCs, which retain the pre-Galactic composition without any significant depletion. Although using one method alone may not give us strong constraints, using them in

  18. Constraints on cosmic opacity and beyond the standard model physics from cosmological distance measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avgoustidis, Anastasios; Redondo, Javier; Verde, Licia; Jimenez, Raul

    2010-04-01

    We update constraints on cosmic opacity by combining recent SN Type Ia data compilation with the latest measurements of the Hubble expansion at redshifts between 0 and 2. The new constraint on the parameter ε parametrising deviations from the luminosity-angular diameter distance relation (d L =d A (1+z) 2+ε ), is ε=-0.04 -0.07 +0.08 (2-σ). For the redshift range between 0.2 and 0.35 this corresponds to an opacity Δτ<0.012 (95% C.L.), a factor of 2 stronger than the previous constraint. Various models of beyond the standard model physics that predict violation of photon number conservation contribute to the opacity and can be equally constrained. In this paper we put new limits on axion-like particles, including chameleons, and minicharged particles. (orig.)

  19. 14. European cosmic ray symposium. Symposium program and abstracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-08-01

    The abstracts of the 14. European Cosmic Ray Symposium are presented. The papers cover a large variety of topics in cosmic ray physics, both from the theoretical and the experimental point of view. Sun physics, and the effects on the inner heliosphere, the composition, and the properties of the primary and secondary cosmic radiation, galactic acceleration and the results of accelerator physics relevant to cosmic radiation physics, and the description and the results of large detector systems are presented. 63 items are indexed for INIS database. (K.A.)

  20. Cosmic Censorship for Gowdy Spacetimes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ringström, Hans

    2010-01-01

    Due to the complexity of Einstein's equations, it is often natural to study a question of interest in the framework of a restricted class of solutions. One way to impose a restriction is to consider solutions satisfying a given symmetry condition. There are many possible choices, but the present article is concerned with one particular choice, which we shall refer to as Gowdy symmetry. We begin by explaining the origin and meaning of this symmetry type, which has been used as a simplifying assumption in various contexts, some of which we shall mention. Nevertheless, the subject of interest here is strong cosmic censorship. Consequently, after having described what the Gowdy class of spacetimes is, we describe, as seen from the perspective of a mathematician, what is meant by strong cosmic censorship. The existing results on cosmic censorship are based on a detailed analysis of the asymptotic behavior of solutions. This analysis is in part motivated by conjectures, such as the BKL conjecture, which we shall therefore briefly describe. However, the emphasis of the article is on the mathematical analysis of the asymptotics, due to its central importance in the proof and in the hope that it might be of relevance more generally. The article ends with a description of the results that have been obtained concerning strong cosmic censorship in the class of Gowdy spacetimes.

  1. Comparing cosmic web classifiers using information theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leclercq, Florent [Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG), University of Portsmouth, Dennis Sciama Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3FX (United Kingdom); Lavaux, Guilhem; Wandelt, Benjamin [Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), UMR 7095, CNRS – UPMC Université Paris 6, Sorbonne Universités, 98bis boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris (France); Jasche, Jens, E-mail: florent.leclercq@polytechnique.org, E-mail: lavaux@iap.fr, E-mail: j.jasche@tum.de, E-mail: wandelt@iap.fr [Excellence Cluster Universe, Technische Universität München, Boltzmannstrasse 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany)

    2016-08-01

    We introduce a decision scheme for optimally choosing a classifier, which segments the cosmic web into different structure types (voids, sheets, filaments, and clusters). Our framework, based on information theory, accounts for the design aims of different classes of possible applications: (i) parameter inference, (ii) model selection, and (iii) prediction of new observations. As an illustration, we use cosmographic maps of web-types in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to assess the relative performance of the classifiers T-WEB, DIVA and ORIGAMI for: (i) analyzing the morphology of the cosmic web, (ii) discriminating dark energy models, and (iii) predicting galaxy colors. Our study substantiates a data-supported connection between cosmic web analysis and information theory, and paves the path towards principled design of analysis procedures for the next generation of galaxy surveys. We have made the cosmic web maps, galaxy catalog, and analysis scripts used in this work publicly available.

  2. Comparing cosmic web classifiers using information theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leclercq, Florent; Lavaux, Guilhem; Wandelt, Benjamin; Jasche, Jens

    2016-01-01

    We introduce a decision scheme for optimally choosing a classifier, which segments the cosmic web into different structure types (voids, sheets, filaments, and clusters). Our framework, based on information theory, accounts for the design aims of different classes of possible applications: (i) parameter inference, (ii) model selection, and (iii) prediction of new observations. As an illustration, we use cosmographic maps of web-types in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to assess the relative performance of the classifiers T-WEB, DIVA and ORIGAMI for: (i) analyzing the morphology of the cosmic web, (ii) discriminating dark energy models, and (iii) predicting galaxy colors. Our study substantiates a data-supported connection between cosmic web analysis and information theory, and paves the path towards principled design of analysis procedures for the next generation of galaxy surveys. We have made the cosmic web maps, galaxy catalog, and analysis scripts used in this work publicly available.

  3. Cosmic microwave background theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bond, J. Richard

    1998-01-01

    A long-standing goal of theorists has been to constrain cosmological parameters that define the structure formation theory from cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy experiments and large-scale structure (LSS) observations. The status and future promise of this enterprise is described. Current band-powers in ℓ-space are consistent with a ΔT flat in frequency and broadly follow inflation-based expectations. That the levels are ∼(10−5)2 provides strong support for the gravitational instability theory, while the Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS) constraints on energy injection rule out cosmic explosions as a dominant source of LSS. Band-powers at ℓ ≳ 100 suggest that the universe could not have re-ionized too early. To get the LSS of Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE)-normalized fluctuations right provides encouraging support that the initial fluctuation spectrum was not far off the scale invariant form that inflation models prefer: e.g., for tilted Λ cold dark matter sequences of fixed 13-Gyr age (with the Hubble constant H0 marginalized), ns = 1.17 ± 0.3 for Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR) only; 1.15 ± 0.08 for DMR plus the SK95 experiment; 1.00 ± 0.04 for DMR plus all smaller angle experiments; 1.00 ± 0.05 when LSS constraints are included as well. The CMB alone currently gives weak constraints on Λ and moderate constraints on Ωtot, but theoretical forecasts of future long duration balloon and satellite experiments are shown which predict percent-level accuracy among a large fraction of the 10+ parameters characterizing the cosmic structure formation theory, at least if it is an inflation variant. PMID:9419321

  4. Carl Sagan's Cosmic Connection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagan, Carl; Agel, Jerome

    2000-08-01

    Foreword Freeman Dyson; Personal reflections Ann Druyan; Preface; Part I. Cosmic Perspective: 1. A transitional animal; 2. The Unicorn of Cetus; 3. A message from earth; 4. A message to earth; 5. Experiments in utopias; 6. Chauvinism; 7. Space exploration as a human enterprise I. The scientific interest; 8. Space exploration as a human enterprise II. The public interest; 9. Space exploration as a human enterprise III. The historical interest; Part II. The Solar System: 10. On teaching the first grade; 11. 'The ancient and legendary Gods of old'; 12. The Venus detective story; 13. Venus is hell; 14. Science and 'intelligence'; 15. The moons of Barsoom; 16. The mountains of Mars I. Observations from earth; 17. The mountains of Mars II. Observations from space; 18. The canals of Mars; 19. The lost pictures of Mars; 20. The Ice Age and the cauldron; 21. Beginnings and ends of the Earth; 22. Terraforming the plants; 23. The exploration and utlization of the solar system; Part III. Beyond the Solar System: 24. Some of my best friends are dolphins; 25. 'Hello, central casting? Send me twenty extraterrestrials'; 26. The cosmic connection; 27. Extraterrestrial life: an idea whose time has come; 28. Has the Earth been visited?; 29. A search strategy for detecting extraterrestrial intelligence; 30. If we succeed 31. Cables, drums, and seashells; 32. The night freight to the stars; 33. Astroengineering; 34. Twenty questions: a classification of cosmic civilisations; 35. Galactic cultural exchanges; 36. A passage to elsewhere; 37. Starfolk I. A Fable; 38. Starfolk II. A future; 39. Starfolk III. The cosmic Cheshire cats; Epilog David Morrison; Index.

  5. Photonics

    CERN Document Server

    Andrews, David L

    2015-01-01

    Discusses the basic physical principles underlying Biomedical Photonics, spectroscopy and microscopy This volume discusses biomedical photonics, spectroscopy and microscopy, the basic physical principles underlying the technology and its applications. The topics discussed in this volume are: Biophotonics; Fluorescence and Phosphorescence; Medical Photonics; Microscopy; Nonlinear Optics; Ophthalmic Technology; Optical Tomography; Optofluidics; Photodynamic Therapy; Image Processing; Imaging Systems; Sensors; Single Molecule Detection; Futurology in Photonics. Comprehensive and accessible cov

  6. Isotropic blackbody cosmic microwave background radiation as evidence for a homogeneous universe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clifton, Timothy; Clarkson, Chris; Bull, Philip

    2012-08-03

    The question of whether the Universe is spatially homogeneous and isotropic on the largest scales is of fundamental importance to cosmology but has not yet been answered decisively. Surprisingly, neither an isotropic primary cosmic microwave background (CMB) nor combined observations of luminosity distances and galaxy number counts are sufficient to establish such a result. The inclusion of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in CMB observations, however, dramatically improves this situation. We show that even a solitary observer who sees an isotropic blackbody CMB can conclude that the Universe is homogeneous and isotropic in their causal past when the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect is present. Critically, however, the CMB must either be viewed for an extended period of time, or CMB photons that have scattered more than once must be detected. This result provides a theoretical underpinning for testing the cosmological principle with observations of the CMB alone.

  7. Quasars at the Cosmic Dawn: effects on Reionization properties in cosmological simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garaldi, Enrico; Compostella, Michele; Porciani, Cristiano

    2018-05-01

    We study a model of cosmic reionization where quasars (QSOs) are the dominant source of ionizing photons at all relevant epochs. We employ a suite of adaptive hydrodynamical simulations post-processed with a multi-wavelength Monte Carlo radiative-transfer code and calibrate them in order to accurately reproduce the observed quasar luminosity function and emissivity evolution. Our results show that the QSO-only model fails in reproducing key observables linked to the Helium reionization, as the temperature evolution of the inter-galactic medium (IGM) and the HeII effective optical depth in synthetic Lyα spectra. Nevertheless, we find hints that an increased quasar contribution can explain recent measurements of a large inhomogeneity in the IGM at redshift z ~ 5. Finally, we devise a method capable of constraining the QSOs contribution to the reionization from the properties of the HeII Lyα forest at z ~ 3.5.

  8. Cosmic censorship, black holes, and particle orbits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hiscock, W.A.

    1979-01-01

    One of the main reasons for believing in the cosmic censorship hypothesis is the disquieting nature of the alternative: the existence of naked singularities, and hence loss of predictability, the possibility of closed timelike lines and so forth. The consequences of assuming the cosmic hypothesis can also be somewhat strange and unexpected. In particular, Hawking's black hole area theorem is applied to the study of particle orbits near a Schwarzschild black hole. If the cosmic censorship hypothesis (and hence the area theorem) is true, then there exist stable near-circular orbits arbitrarily close to the horizon at r = 2M. (author)

  9. Cosmic-ray antimatter - A primary origin hypothesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stecker, F. W.; Protheroe, R. J.; Kazanas, D.

    1983-01-01

    The present investigation is concerned with the possibility that the observed cosmic-ray protons are of primary extragalactic origin, taking into account the significance of the current antiproton data. Attention is given to questions regarding primary antiprotons, antihelium fluxes, and the propagation of extragalactic cosmic rays. It is concluded that the primary origin hypothesis should be considered as a serious alternative explanation for the cosmic-ray antiproton fluxes. Such extragalactic primary origin can be considered in the context of a baryon symmetric domain cosmology. The fluxes and propagation characteristics suggested are found to be in rough agreement with the present antiproton data.

  10. Wavelet-Bayesian inference of cosmic strings embedded in the cosmic microwave background

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEwen, J. D.; Feeney, S. M.; Peiris, H. V.; Wiaux, Y.; Ringeval, C.; Bouchet, F. R.

    2017-12-01

    Cosmic strings are a well-motivated extension to the standard cosmological model and could induce a subdominant component in the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), in addition to the standard inflationary component. The detection of strings, while observationally challenging, would provide a direct probe of physics at very high-energy scales. We develop a framework for cosmic string inference from observations of the CMB made over the celestial sphere, performing a Bayesian analysis in wavelet space where the string-induced CMB component has distinct statistical properties to the standard inflationary component. Our wavelet-Bayesian framework provides a principled approach to compute the posterior distribution of the string tension Gμ and the Bayesian evidence ratio comparing the string model to the standard inflationary model. Furthermore, we present a technique to recover an estimate of any string-induced CMB map embedded in observational data. Using Planck-like simulations, we demonstrate the application of our framework and evaluate its performance. The method is sensitive to Gμ ∼ 5 × 10-7 for Nambu-Goto string simulations that include an integrated Sachs-Wolfe contribution only and do not include any recombination effects, before any parameters of the analysis are optimized. The sensitivity of the method compares favourably with other techniques applied to the same simulations.

  11. Cosmic strings in a braneworld theory with metastable gravitons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lue, Arthur

    2002-01-01

    If the graviton possesses an arbitrarily small (but nonvanishing) mass, perturbation theory implies that cosmic strings have a nonzero Newtonian potential. Nevertheless in Einstein gravity, where the graviton is strictly massless, the Newtonian potential of a cosmic string vanishes. This discrepancy is an example of the van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov (VDVZ) discontinuity. We present a solution for the metric around a cosmic string in a braneworld theory with a graviton metastable on the brane. This theory possesses those features that yield a VDVZ discontinuity in massive gravity, but nevertheless is generally covariant and classically self-consistent. Although the cosmic string in this theory supports a nontrivial Newtonian potential far from the source, one can recover the Einstein solution in a region near the cosmic string. That latter region grows as the graviton's effective linewidth vanishes (analogous to a vanishing graviton mass), suggesting the lack of a VDVZ discontinuity in this theory. Moreover, the presence of scale dependent structure in the metric may have consequences for the search for cosmic strings through gravitational lensing techniques

  12. Current constraints on the cosmic growth history

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bean, Rachel; Tangmatitham, Matipon

    2010-01-01

    We present constraints on the cosmic growth history with recent cosmological data, allowing for deviations from ΛCDM as might arise if cosmic acceleration is due to modifications to general relativity or inhomogeneous dark energy. We combine measures of the cosmic expansion history, from Type 1a supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, and the cosmic microwave background (CMB), with constraints on the growth of structure from recent galaxy, CMB, and weak lensing surveys along with integated Sachs Wolfe-galaxy cross correlations. Deviations from ΛCDM are parameterized by phenomenological modifications to the Poisson equation and the relationship between the two Newtonian potentials. We find modifications that are present at the time the CMB is formed are tightly constrained through their impact on the well-measured CMB acoustic peaks. By contrast, constraints on late-time modifications to the growth history, as might arise if modifications are related to the onset of cosmic acceleration, are far weaker, but remain consistent with ΛCDM at the 95% confidence level. For these late-time modifications we find that differences in the evolution on large and small scales could provide an interesting signature by which to search for modified growth histories with future wide angular coverage, large scale structure surveys.

  13. Xenia: A Probe of Cosmic Chemical Evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kouveliotou, Chryssa; Piro, L.

    2008-01-01

    Xenia is a concept study for a medium-size astrophysical cosmology mission addressing the Cosmic Origins key objective of NASA's Science Plan. The fundamental goal of this objective is to understand the formation and evolution of structures on various scales from the early Universe to the present time (stars, galaxies and the cosmic web). Xenia will use X-and y-ray monitoring and wide field X-ray imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy to collect essential information from three major tracers of these cosmic structures: the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM), Galaxy Clusters and Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). Our goal is to trace the chemo-dynamical history of the ubiquitous warm hot diffuse baryon component in the Universe residing in cosmic filaments and clusters of galaxies up to its formation epoch (at z =0-2) and to map star formation and galaxy metal enrichment into the re-ionization era beyond z 6. The concept of Xenia (Greek for "hospitality") evolved in parallel with the Explorer of Diffuse Emission and GRB Explosions (EDGE), a mission proposed by a multinational collaboration to the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015. Xenia incorporates the European and Japanese collaborators into a U.S. led mission that builds on the scientific objectives and technological readiness of EDGE.

  14. Xenia: A Probe of Cosmic Chemical Evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kouveliotou, Chryssa; Piro, L.; Xenia Collaboration

    2008-03-01

    Xenia is a concept study for a medium-size astrophysical cosmology mission addressing the Cosmic Origins key objective of NASA's Science Plan. The fundamental goal of this objective is to understand the formation and evolution of structures on various scales from the early Universe to the present time (stars, galaxies and the cosmic web). Xenia will use X-and γ-ray monitoring and wide field X-ray imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy to collect essential information from three major tracers of these cosmic structures: the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM), Galaxy Clusters and Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). Our goal is to trace the chemo-dynamical history of the ubiquitous warm hot diffuse baryon component in the Universe residing in cosmic filaments and clusters of galaxies up to its formation epoch (at z =0-2) and to map star formation and galaxy metal enrichment into the re-ionization era beyond z 6. The concept of Xenia (Greek for "hospitality") evolved in parallel with the Explorer of Diffuse Emission and GRB Explosions (EDGE), a mission proposed by a multinational collaboration to the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015. Xenia incorporates the European and Japanese collaborators into a U.S. led mission that builds on the scientific objectives and technological readiness of EDGE.

  15. The Cosmic Ray Tracking (CRT) detector system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernloehr, K.; Gamp, S.; Hermann, G.; Hofmann, W.; Kihm, T.; Knoeppler, J.; Leffers, G.; Matheis, V.; Panter, M.; Trunk, U.; Ulrich, M.; Wolf, T.; Zink, R.; Heintze, J.

    1996-01-01

    The Cosmic Ray Tracking (CRT) project represents a study on the use of tracking detectors of the time projection chamber type to detect secondary cosmic ray particles in extensive air showers. In reconstructing the arrival direction of the primary cosmic ray particles, the CRT detectors take advantage of the angular correlation of secondary particles with the cosmic rays leading to these air showers. In this paper, the detector hardware including the custom-designed electronics system is described in detail. A CRT detector module provides an active area of 2.5 m 2 and allows to measure track directions with a precision of 0.4 circle . It consists of two circular drift chambers of 1.8 m diameter with six sense wires each, and a 10 cm thick iron plate between the two chambers. Each detector has a local electronics box with a readout, trigger, and monitoring system. The detectors can distinguish penetrating muons from other types of charged secondaries. A large detector array could be used to search for γ-ray point sources at energies above several TeV and for studies of the cosmic-ray composition. Ten detectors are in operation at the site of the HEGRA air shower array. (orig.)

  16. Modelization, fabrication and evaluation avalanche photodiodes polarized in Geiger mode for the single photon in astrophysics applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pellion, D.

    2008-12-01

    The genesis of the work presented in this this is in the field of very high energy astrophysics. One century ago, scientists identified a new type of messenger coming from space: cosmic rays. This radiation consists of particles (photons or other) of very high energy which bombard the Earth permanently. The passage of cosmic radiations in the Earth's atmosphere results in the creation of briefs luminous flashes (5 ns) of very low intensity (1 pW), a Cherenkov flash, and then becomes visible on the ground. In the current state of the art the best detector of light today is the Photomultiplier tube (PMT), thanks to its characteristics of sensitivity and speed. But there are some drawbacks: low quantum efficiency, cost, weight etc. We present in this thesis a new alternative technology: silicon photon counters, made of photodiodes polarized in Geiger mode. This operating mode makes it possible to obtain an effect of multiplication comparable to that of the PMT. A physical and electrical model was developed to reproduce the behaviour of this detector. We then present in this thesis work an original technological process allowing the realization of these devices in the Center of Technology of LAAS-CNRS, with the simulation of each operation of the process. We developed a scheme for the electric characterization of the device, from the static mode to the dynamic mode, in order to check conformity with SILVACO simulations and to the initial model. Results are already excellent, given this is only a first prototype step, and comparable with the results published in the literature. These silicon devices can intervene in all the applications where there is a photomultiplier and replace it. The applications are thus very numerous and the growth of the market of these detectors is very fast. We present a first astrophysical experiment installed at the 'Pic du Midi' site which has detected Cherenkov flashes from cosmic rays with this new semiconductor technology. (author)

  17. The Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, C. L.

    1994-12-01

    The properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation provide unique constraints on the history and evolution of the universe. The first detection of anisotropy of the microwave radiation was reported by the COBE Team in 1992, based on the first year of flight data. The latest analyses of the first two years of COBE data are reviewed in this talk, including the amplitude of the microwave anisotropy as a function of angular scale and the statistical nature of the fluctuations. The two-year results are generally consistent with the earlier first year results, but the additional data allow for a better determination of the key cosmological parameters. In this talk the COBE results are compared with other observational anisotropy results and directions for future cosmic microwave anisotropy observations will be discussed. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC) is responsible for the design, development, and operation of the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE). Scientific guidance is provided by the COBE Science Working Group.

  18. Search for antimatter in 1012 eV cosmic rays using Artemis method and interpretation of the cosmic rays spectrum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pomarede, D.

    1999-04-01

    This thesis is divided into three parts. The first part is a review of the present knowledge of the antimatter and of the cosmic rays. Theoretical and experimental aspects are presented. It is demonstrated that a measurement of the antimatter abundance in TeV cosmic rays is of fundamental interest, and would establish the symmetric or asymmetric nature of the Universe. The second part is dedicated to the method of antimatter research through the Earth Moon ion spectrometer (ARTEMIS). The account is given of the winter 1996-97 41-nights observation campaign undertaken at the Whipple Observatory in Arizona (USA). A 109 photomultiplier camera is operated on the 40 meter telescope to detect by Cherenkov imaging the cosmic ray initiated showers. We describe the performance of an optical filter used to reduce the noise. The development and the utilization of a simulation program are described. The main work is the analysis of the data: data characterization, understanding of the apparatus, understanding of the noise and its influence, calibration, search for signals by different methods. Subtle systematic effects are uncovered. The simulations establish that the amount of data is insufficient to reveal a shadow effect in the cosmic ray flux. The conclusion of this work is that the experimental setup was not suitable, and we propose important improvements of the method based on a bigger focal plane that would allow to reach a one percent sensitivity on the antimatter content of the cosmic rays. In the third part of the thesis, an interpretation of the total cosmic ray spectrum is proposed and discussed. (author)

  19. Cosmic-ray exposure records and origins of meteorites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reedy, R.C.

    1985-01-01

    The cosmic-ray records of meteorites are used to infer much about their origins and recent histories. The methods used to interpret meteorites cosmic-ray records, especially identifying simple or complex exposure histories, often are inadequate. Spallogenic radionuclides, stable nuclides, and measurements of products that have location-sensitive production rates, such as the tracks of heavy cosmic-ray nuclei or neutron-capture nuclides, are very useful in accurately determining a meteorite's history. Samples from different, known locations of a meteorite help in studying the cosmic-ray record. Such extensive sets of meteorite measuremetns, plus theoretical modeling of complex histories, improves the ability to predict the production of cosmogenic nuclides in meteorites, to distinguish simple and complex exposure histories, and to better determine exposure ages

  20. Tomography of photon-added and photon-subtracted states

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bazrafkan, MR; Man'ko, [No Value

    The purpose of this paper is to introduce symplectic and optical tomograms of photon-added and photon-subtracted quantum states. Explicit relations for the tomograms of photon-added and photon-subtracted squeezed coherent states and squeezed number states are obtained. Generating functions for the

  1. Modelization, fabrication and evaluation avalanche photodiodes polarized in Geiger mode for the single photon in astrophysics applications; Modelisation, fabrication et evaluation des photodiodes a avalanche polarisees en mode Geiger pour la detection du photon unique dans les applications Astrophysiques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pellion, D

    2008-12-15

    The genesis of the work presented in this this is in the field of very high energy astrophysics. One century ago, scientists identified a new type of messenger coming from space: cosmic rays. This radiation consists of particles (photons or other) of very high energy which bombard the Earth permanently. The passage of cosmic radiations in the Earth's atmosphere results in the creation of briefs luminous flashes (5 ns) of very low intensity (1 pW), a Cherenkov flash, and then becomes visible on the ground. In the current state of the art the best detector of light today is the Photomultiplier tube (PMT), thanks to its characteristics of sensitivity and speed. But there are some drawbacks: low quantum efficiency, cost, weight etc. We present in this thesis a new alternative technology: silicon photon counters, made of photodiodes polarized in Geiger mode. This operating mode makes it possible to obtain an effect of multiplication comparable to that of the PMT. A physical and electrical model was developed to reproduce the behaviour of this detector. We then present in this thesis work an original technological process allowing the realization of these devices in the Center of Technology of LAAS-CNRS, with the simulation of each operation of the process. We developed a scheme for the electric characterization of the device, from the static mode to the dynamic mode, in order to check conformity with SILVACO simulations and to the initial model. Results are already excellent, given this is only a first prototype step, and comparable with the results published in the literature. These silicon devices can intervene in all the applications where there is a photomultiplier and replace it. The applications are thus very numerous and the growth of the market of these detectors is very fast. We present a first astrophysical experiment installed at the 'Pic du Midi' site which has detected Cherenkov flashes from cosmic rays with this new semiconductor technology

  2. Photonics

    CERN Document Server

    Andrews, David L

    2015-01-01

    Discusses the basic physical principles underlying the technology instrumentation of photonics This volume discusses photonics technology and instrumentation. The topics discussed in this volume are: Communication Networks; Data Buffers; Defense and Security Applications; Detectors; Fiber Optics and Amplifiers; Green Photonics; Instrumentation and Metrology; Interferometers; Light-Harvesting Materials; Logic Devices; Optical Communications; Remote Sensing; Solar Energy; Solid-State Lighting; Wavelength Conversion Comprehensive and accessible coverage of the whole of modern photonics Emphas

  3. Photonics

    CERN Document Server

    Andrews, David L

    2015-01-01

    Discusses the basic physical principles underlying thescience and technology of nanophotonics, its materials andstructures This volume presents nanophotonic structures and Materials.Nanophotonics is photonic science and technology that utilizeslight/matter interactions on the nanoscale where researchers arediscovering new phenomena and developing techniques that go wellbeyond what is possible with conventional photonics andelectronics.The topics discussed in this volume are: CavityPhotonics; Cold Atoms and Bose-Einstein Condensates; Displays;E-paper; Graphene; Integrated Photonics; Liquid Cry

  4. Interstellar propagation of low energy cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cesarsky, C.J.

    1975-01-01

    Wave particles interactions prevent low energy cosmic rays from propagating at velocities much faster than the Alfven velocity, reducing their range by a factor of order 50. Therefore, supernovae remnants cannot fill the neutral portions of the interstellar medium with 2 MeV cosmic rays [fr

  5. Search for large extra dimensions in the exclusive photon + missing energy channel in p$\\bar{p}$ collisions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lazoflores, Jose A. [Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States)

    2006-01-01

    A search was conducted for evidence of large extra dimensions (LED) at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory's Tevatron using the D0 detector. The Tevatron is a p$\\bar{p}$ collider at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV. Events with particles escaping into extra dimensions will have large missing energy. The search was carried out using data from a total luminosity of 197 ± 13 pb-1 with an observable high transverse momentum photon and a large transverse missing energy. The 70 observed events are consistent with photons produced by standard known reactions plus other background processes produced by cosmic muons. The mass limits on the fundamental mass scale at 95% confidence level for large extra dimensions of 2, 4, 6 and 8 are 500 GeV, 581 GeV, 630 GeV, and 668 GeV respectively.

  6. Big Bang Cosmic Titanic: Cause for Concern?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gentry, Robert

    2013-04-01

    This abstract alerts physicists to a situation that, unless soon addressed, may yet affect PRL integrity. I refer to Stanley Brown's and DAE Robert Caldwell's rejection of PRL submission LJ12135, A Cosmic Titanic: Big Bang Cosmology Unravels Upon Discovery of Serious Flaws in Its Foundational Expansion Redshift Assumption, by their claim that BB is an established theory while ignoring our paper's Titanic, namely, that BB's foundational spacetime expansion redshifts assumption has now been proven to be irrefutably false because it is contradicted by our seminal discovery that GPS operation unequivocally proves that GR effects do not produce in-flight photon wavelength changes demanded by this central assumption. This discovery causes the big bang to collapse as quickly as did Ptolemaic cosmology when Copernicus discovered its foundational assumption was heliocentric, not geocentric. Additional evidence that something is amiss in PRL's treatment of LJ12135 comes from both Brown and EiC Gene Spouse agreeing to meet at my exhibit during last year's Atlanta APS to discuss this cover-up issue. Sprouse kept his commitment; Brown didn't. Question: If Brown could have refuted my claim of a cover-up, why didn't he come to present it before Gene Sprouse? I am appealing LJ12135's rejection.

  7. Cosmic radiation doses at flight level altitudes of airliners

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viragh, E.; Petr, I.

    1985-01-01

    Changes are discussed in flux density of cosmic radiation particles with time as are the origin of cosmic radiation, the level of cosmic radiation near the Earth's surface, and the determination of cosmic radiation doses in airliners. Doses and dose rates are given measured on different flight routes. In spite of the fact that the flight duration at an altitude of about 10 km makes for about 80% of the total flight time, the overall radiation burden of the crews at 1000 flight hours a year is roughly double that of the rest of the population. (J.C.)

  8. Standard Cosmic Ray Energetics and Light Element Production

    CERN Document Server

    Fields, B D; Cassé, M; Vangioni-Flam, E; Fields, Brian D.; Olive, Keith A.; Casse, Michel; Vangioni-Flam, Elisabeth

    2001-01-01

    The recent observations of Be and B in metal poor stars has led to a reassessment of the origin of the light elements in the early Galaxy. At low it is metallicity ([O/H] < -1.75), it is necessary to introduce a production mechanism which is independent of the interstellar metallicity (primary). At higher metallicities, existing data might indicate that secondary production is dominant. In this paper, we focus on the secondary process, related to the standard Galactic cosmic rays, and we examine the cosmic ray energy requirements for both present and past epochs. We find the power input to maintain the present-day Galactic cosmic ray flux is about 1.5e41 erg/s = 5e50 erg/century. This implies that, if supernovae are the sites of cosmic ray acceleration, the fraction of explosion energy going to accelerated particles is about 30%, a value which we obtain consistently both from considering the present cosmic ray flux and confinement and from the present 9Be and 6Li abundances. Using the abundances of 9Be (an...

  9. Relative distribution of cosmic rays and magnetic fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seta, Amit; Shukurov, Anvar; Wood, Toby S.; Bushby, Paul J.; Snodin, Andrew P.

    2018-02-01

    Synchrotron radiation from cosmic rays is a key observational probe of the galactic magnetic field. Interpreting synchrotron emission data requires knowledge of the cosmic ray number density, which is often assumed to be in energy equipartition (or otherwise tightly correlated) with the magnetic field energy. However, there is no compelling observational or theoretical reason to expect such a tight correlation to hold across all scales. We use test particle simulations, tracing the propagation of charged particles (protons) through a random magnetic field, to study the cosmic ray distribution at scales comparable to the correlation scale of the turbulent flow in the interstellar medium (≃100 pc in spiral galaxies). In these simulations, we find that there is no spatial correlation between the cosmic ray number density and the magnetic field energy density. In fact, their distributions are approximately statistically independent. We find that low-energy cosmic rays can become trapped between magnetic mirrors, whose location depends more on the structure of the field lines than on the field strength.

  10. George Smoot, Blackbody, and Anisotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background

    Science.gov (United States)

    the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Resources with Additional Information * Videos 'George Smoot anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation." '1 Smoot previously won the Ernest Orlando . Smoot, blackbody, and anisotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation is available in full

  11. Cosmic Rays Astrophysics: The Discipline, Its Scope, and Its Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barghouty, A. F.

    2009-01-01

    This slide presentation gives an overview of the discipline surrounding cosmic ray astrophysics. It includes information on recent assertions surrounding cosmic rays, exposure levels, and a short history with specific information on the origin, acceleration, transport, and modulation of cosmic rays.

  12. Theory of geomagnetic effects of cosmic rays: its past and presence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gall, R [Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City. Inst. de Geofisica

    1981-03-01

    The interest expressed by Lemaitre and Vallarta in the nature of universal corpuscular radiation, remnant of the exploded primogenitive atom, culminated in 1932, in the development of their theory of the geomagnetic effects of cosmic rays, a tool since its publication, basic to cosmic radiation research and to the advancement of cosmic ray astronomy. Between 1940 and 1960 challenging experimental data from proliferating cosmic radiation stations and of direct detection techniques provided geomagnetic field models for greater theoretical precision. The discoveries since the advent of the space age of the Earth's cavity and geomagnetic tail, and of the nonrelativistic solar cosmic rays have resulted in a new branch of the theory dealing with magnetosphere effects in the propagation of low energy cosmic radiations. The theory's importance and application to cosmic bodies other than the Earth is discussed.

  13. Cosmic Dawn with WFIRST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhoads, James

    Central objectives: WFIRST-AFTA has tremendous potential for studying the epoch of "Cosmic Dawn" the period encompassing the formation of the first galaxies and quasars, and their impact on the surrounding universe through cosmological reionization. Our goal is to ensure that this potential is realized through the middle stages of mission planning, culminating in designs for both WFIRST and its core surveys that meet the core objectives in dark energy and exoplanet science, while maximizing the complementary Cosmic Dawn science. Methods: We will consider a combined approach to studying Cosmic Dawn using a judicious mixture of guest investigator data analysis of the primary WFIRST surveys, and a specifically designed Guest Observer program to complement those surveys. The Guest Observer program will serve primarily to obtain deep field observations, with particular attention to the capabilities of WFIRST for spectroscopic deep fields using the WFI grism. We will bring to bear our years of experience with slitless spectroscopy on the Hubble Space Telescope, along with an expectation of JWST slitless grism spectroscopy. We will use this experience to examine the implications of WFIRST’s grism resolution and wavelength coverage for deep field observations, and if appropriate, to suggest potential modifications of these parameters to optimize the science return on WFIRST. We have assembled a team of experts specializing in (1) Lyman Break Galaxies at redshifts higher than 7 (2) Quasars at high redshifts (3) Lyman-alpha galaxies as probes of reionization (4) Theoretical simulations of high-redshift galaxies (5) Simulations of grism observations (6) post-processing analysis to find emission line galaxies and high redshift galaxies (7) JWST observations and calibrations. With this team we intend to do end-to-end simulations starting with halo populations and expected spectra of high redshift galaxies and finally extracting what we can learn about (a) reionization

  14. Th/U/Pu/Cm dating of galactic cosmic rays with the extremely heavy cosmic ray composition observer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westphal, Andrew J.; Weaver, Benjamin A.; Tarlé, Gregory

    The principal goal of ECCO, the Extremely-heavy Cosmic-ray Composition Observer, is the measurement of the age of heavy galactic cosmic-ray nuclei using the extremely rare actinides (Th, U, Pu, Cm) as clocks. ECCO is one of two cosmic-ray instruments comprising the Heavy Nuclei Explorer (HNX), which was recently selected as one of several missions for Phase A study under NASA's Small class Explorer (SMEX) program. ECCO is based on the flight heritage of Trek, an array of barium-phosphate glass tracketch detectors deployed on the Russian space station Mir from 1991-1995. Using Trek, we measured the abundances of elements with Z > 70 in the galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). Trek consisted of a 1 m 2 array of stacks of individually polished thin BP-1 glass detectors. ECCO will be a much larger instrument, but will achieve both excellent resolution and low cost through use of a novel detector configuration. Here we report the results of recent accelerator tests of the ECCO detectors that verify detector performance. We also show the expected charge and energy resolution of ECCO as a function of energy.

  15. Heavy quark pair production in polarized photon-photon collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jikia, G.; Tkabladze, A.

    2000-04-01

    We present the cross sections of the heavy quark-antiquark pair production in polarized photon photon collision for the general case of photon polarizations. The numerical results for top-antitop production cross sections together with production asymmetries are obtained for linearly polarized photon-photon collisions, including QCD radiative corrections. (orig.)

  16. Measurement of cosmic-ray reconstruction efficiencies in the MicroBooNE LArTPC using a small external cosmic-ray counter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acciarri, R.; Adams, C.; An, R.; Anthony, J.; Asaadi, J.; Auger, M.; Bagby, L.; Balasubramanian, S.; Baller, B.; Barnes, C.; Barr, G.; Bass, M.; Bay, F.; Bishai, M.; Blake, A.; Bolton, T.; Camilleri, L.; Caratelli, D.; Carls, B.; Castillo Fernandez, R.; Cavanna, F.; Chen, H.; Church, E.; Cianci, D.; Cohen, E.; Collin, G. H.; Conrad, J. M.; Convery, M.; Crespo-Anadón, J. I.; Del Tutto, M.; Devitt, D.; Dytman, S.; Eberly, B.; Ereditato, A.; Escudero Sanchez, L.; Esquivel, J.; Fadeeva, A. A.; Fleming, B. T.; Foreman, W.; Furmanski, A. P.; Garcia-Gamez, D.; Garvey, G. T.; Genty, V.; Goeldi, D.; Gollapinni, S.; Graf, N.; Gramellini, E.; Greenlee, H.; Grosso, R.; Guenette, R.; Hackenburg, A.; Hamilton, P.; Hen, O.; Hewes, J.; Hill, C.; Ho, J.; Horton-Smith, G.; Hourlier, A.; Huang, E.-C.; James, C.; de Vries, J. Jan; Jen, C.-M.; Jiang, L.; Johnson, R. A.; Joshi, J.; Jostlein, H.; Kaleko, D.; Kalousis, L. N.; Karagiorgi, G.; Ketchum, W.; Kirby, B.; Kirby, M.; Kobilarcik, T.; Kreslo, I.; Lange, G.; Laube, A.; Li, Y.; Lister, A.; Littlejohn, B. R.; Lockwitz, S.; Lorca, D.; Louis, W. C.; Luethi, M.; Lundberg, B.; Luo, X.; Marchionni, A.; Mariani, C.; Marshall, J.; Martinez Caicedo, D. A.; Meddage, V.; Miceli, T.; Mills, G. B.; Moon, J.; Mooney, M.; Moore, C. D.; Mousseau, J.; Murrells, R.; Naples, D.; Nienaber, P.; Nowak, J.; Palamara, O.; Paolone, V.; Papavassiliou, V.; Pate, S. F.; Pavlovic, Z.; Pelkey, R.; Piasetzky, E.; Porzio, D.; Pulliam, G.; Qian, X.; Raaf, J. L.; Rafique, A.; Rochester, L.; von Rohr, C. Rudolf; Russell, B.; Schmitz, D. W.; Schukraft, A.; Seligman, W.; Shaevitz, M. H.; Sinclair, J.; Smith, A.; Snider, E. L.; Soderberg, M.; Söldner-Rembold, S.; Soleti, S. R.; Spentzouris, P.; Spitz, J.; John, J. St.; Strauss, T.; Szelc, A. M.; Tagg, N.; Terao, K.; Thomson, M.; Toups, M.; Tsai, Y.-T.; Tufanli, S.; Usher, T.; Van De Pontseele, W.; Van de Water, R. G.; Viren, B.; Weber, M.; Wickremasinghe, D. A.; Wolbers, S.; Wongjirad, T.; Woodruff, K.; Yang, T.; Yates, L.; Zeller, G. P.; Zennamo, J.; Zhang, C.

    2017-12-01

    The MicroBooNE detector is a liquid argon time projection chamber at Fermilab designed to study short-baseline neutrino oscillations and neutrino-argon interaction cross-section. Due to its location near the surface, a good understanding of cosmic muons as a source of backgrounds is of fundamental importance for the experiment. We present a method of using an external 0.5 m (L) × 0.5 m (W) muon counter stack, installed above the main detector, to determine the cosmic-ray reconstruction efficiency in MicroBooNE. Data are acquired with this external muon counter stack placed in three different positions, corresponding to cosmic rays intersecting different parts of the detector. The data reconstruction efficiency of tracks in the detector is found to be epsilondata=(97.1±0.1 (stat) ± 1.4 (sys))%, in good agreement with the Monte Carlo reconstruction efficiency epsilonMC = (97.4±0.1)%. This analysis represents a small-scale demonstration of the method that can be used with future data coming from a recently installed cosmic-ray tagger system, which will be able to tag ≈80% of the cosmic rays passing through the MicroBooNE detector.

  17. Photon-photon collisions and photon structure functions at LEP

    CERN Document Server

    Patt, J

    2000-01-01

    The present knowledge of the structure of the photon based on measurements of photon structure functions is discussed. This review covers recent results on QED structure functions and on the hadronic structure function F/sub 2//sup gamma /. (13 refs).

  18. Cosmic ray electrons and protons, and their antiparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boezio, Mirko

    2014-01-01

    Cosmic rays are a sample of solar, galactic, and extragalactic matter. Their origin, acceleration mechanisms, and subsequent propagation toward Earth have intrigued scientists since their discovery. These issues can be studied via analysis of the energy spectra and composition of cosmic rays. Protons are the most abundant component of the cosmic radiation, and many experiments have been dedicated to the accurate measurement of their spectra. Complementary information is provided by electrons, which comprise about 1% of the cosmic radiation. Because of their low mass, electrons experience severe energy losses through synchrotron emission in the galactic magnetic field and inverse Compton scattering of radiation fields. Electrons therefore provide information on the local galactic environment that is not accessible from the study of the cosmic ray nuclei. Antiparticles, namely antiprotons and positrons, are produced in the interaction between cosmic ray nuclei and the interstellar matter. They are therefore intimately linked to the propagation mechanisms of the parent nuclei. Novel sources of primary cosmic ray antiparticles of either astrophysical (e.g., positrons from pulsars) or exotic origin (e.g., annihilation of dark matter particles) may exist. The nature of dark matter is one of the most prominent open questions in science today. An observation of positrons from pulsars would open a new observation window on these sources. Several experiments equipped with state-of-the art detector systems have recently presented results on the energy spectra of electrons, protons, and their antiparticles with a significant improvement in statistics and better control of systematics The status of the field will be reviewed, with a focus on these recent scientific results. (author)

  19. Radar detection of ultra high energy cosmic rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Isaac J.

    TARA (Telescope Array Radar) is a cosmic ray radar detection experiment co-located with Telescope Array, the conventional surface scintillation detector (SD) and fluorescence telescope detector (FD) near Delta, UT. The TARA detector combines a 40 kW transmitter and high gain transmitting antenna which broadcasts the radar carrier over the SD array and in the FD field of view to a 250 MS/s DAQ receiver. Data collection began in August, 2013. TARA stands apart from other cosmic ray radar experiments in that radar data is directly compared with conventional cosmic ray detector events. The transmitter is also directly controlled by TARA researchers. Waveforms from the FD-triggered data stream are time-matched with TA events and searched for signal using a novel signal search technique in which the expected (simulated) radar echo of a particular air shower is used as a matched filter template and compared to radio waveforms. This technique is used to calculate the radar cross-section (RCS) upper-limit on all triggers that correspond to well-reconstructed TA FD monocular events. Our lowest cosmic ray RCS upper-limit is 42 cm2 for an 11 EeV event. An introduction to cosmic rays is presented with the evolution of detection and the necessity of new detection techniques, of which radar detection is a candidate. The software simulation of radar scattering from cosmic rays follows. The TARA detector, including transmitter and receiver systems, are discussed in detail. Our search algorithm and methodology for calculating RCS is presented for the purpose of being repeatable. Search results are explained in context of the usefulness and future of cosmic ray radar detection.

  20. CMOS-compatible photonic devices for single-photon generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiong Chunle

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Sources of single photons are one of the key building blocks for quantum photonic technologies such as quantum secure communication and powerful quantum computing. To bring the proof-of-principle demonstration of these technologies from the laboratory to the real world, complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS-compatible photonic chips are highly desirable for photon generation, manipulation, processing and even detection because of their compactness, scalability, robustness, and the potential for integration with electronics. In this paper, we review the development of photonic devices made from materials (e.g., silicon and processes that are compatible with CMOS fabrication facilities for the generation of single photons.

  1. Anomalous isotopic composition of cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woosley, S.E.; Weaver, T.A.

    1980-01-01

    Recent measurements of nonsolar isotopic patterns for the elements neon and (perhaps) magnesium in cosmic rays are interpreted within current models of stellar nucleosynthesis. One possible explanation is that the stars currently responsible for cosmic-ray synthesis in the Galaxy are typically super-metal-rich by a factor of two to three. Other possibilities include the selective acceleration of certain zones or masses of supernovas or the enhancement of 22 Ne in the interstellar medium by mass loss from red giant stars and planetary nebulas. Measurements of critical isotopic ratios are suggested to aid in distinguishing among the various possibilities. Some of these explanations place significant constraints on the fraction of cosmic ray nuclei that must be fresh supernova debris and the masses of the supernovas involved. 1 figure, 3 tables

  2. Cosmic microwave background bispectrum from recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Zhiqi; Vernizzi, Filippo

    2013-03-08

    We compute the cosmic microwave background temperature bispectrum generated by nonlinearities at recombination on all scales. We use CosmoLib2nd, a numerical Boltzmann code at second order to compute cosmic microwave background bispectra on the full sky. We consistently include all effects except gravitational lensing, which can be added to our result using standard methods. The bispectrum is peaked on squeezed triangles and agrees with the analytic approximation in the squeezed limit at the few percent level for all the scales where this is applicable. On smaller scales, we recover previous results on perturbed recombination. For cosmic-variance limited data to l(max)=2000, its signal-to-noise ratio is S/N=0.47, corresponding to f(NL)(eff)=-2.79, and will bias a local signal by f(NL)(loc) ~/= 0.82.

  3. The propagation of galactic cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, A.N.

    1981-01-01

    Large scale (approximately 15 pc) turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) causes the firehose and mirror instabilities to occur. These produce small scale (approximately 10 -7 pc) magnetic irregularities, which scatter cosmic rays. We use pulsar scintillation data, and a model of the origin of these scintillations, to construct a slab model of the turbulent ISM. Then we find the amplitudes and wavelengths of the magnetic irregularities that arise, and we calculate the coefficients for the diffusion of cosmic rays along the interstellar magnetic fields. We incorporate this diffusion into our model of the turbulent ISM, and show that it can account naturally for both the lifetime of low energy cosmic rays, and the variation of their mean pathlength with energy. Our model has no galactic halo, and contains no scattering by Alfven waves. (author)

  4. Cosmic-ray modulation: an ab initio approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Engelbrecht, N.E.; Burger, R.A., E-mail: 12580996@nwu.ac.za [Center for Space Research, North-West University, Potchefstroom (South Africa)

    2014-07-01

    A better understanding of cosmic-ray modulation in the heliosphere can only be gained through a proper understanding of the effects of turbulence on the diffusion and drift of cosmic rays. We present an ab initio model for cosmic-ray modulation, incorporating for the first time the results yielded by a two-component turbulence transport model. This model is solved for periods of minimum solar activity, utilizing boundary values chosen so that model results are in fair to good agreement with spacecraft observations of turbulence quantities, not only in the solar ecliptic plane but also along the out-of-ecliptic trajectory of the Ulysses spacecraft. These results are employed as inputs for modelled slab and 2D turbulence energy spectra. The latter spectrum is chosen based on physical considerations, with a drop-off at the very lowest wavenumbers commencing at the 2D outerscale. There currently exist no models or observations for this quantity, and it is the only free parameter in this study. The modelled turbulence spectra are used as inputs for parallel mean free path expressions based on those derived from quasi-linear theory and perpendicular mean free paths from extended nonlinear guiding center theory. Furthermore, the effects of turbulence on cosmic-ray drifts are modelled in a self-consistent way, employing a recently developed model for drift along the wavy current sheet. The resulting diffusion coefficients and drift expressions are applied to the study of galactic cosmic-ray protons and antiprotons using a three dimensional, steady-state cosmic-ray modulation code, and sample solutions in fair agreement with multiple spacecraft observations are presented. (author)

  5. Cosmic-ray modulation: an ab initio approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engelbrecht, N.E.; Burger, R.A.

    2014-01-01

    A better understanding of cosmic-ray modulation in the heliosphere can only be gained through a proper understanding of the effects of turbulence on the diffusion and drift of cosmic rays. We present an ab initio model for cosmic-ray modulation, incorporating for the first time the results yielded by a two-component turbulence transport model. This model is solved for periods of minimum solar activity, utilizing boundary values chosen so that model results are in fair to good agreement with spacecraft observations of turbulence quantities, not only in the solar ecliptic plane but also along the out-of-ecliptic trajectory of the Ulysses spacecraft. These results are employed as inputs for modelled slab and 2D turbulence energy spectra. The latter spectrum is chosen based on physical considerations, with a drop-off at the very lowest wavenumbers commencing at the 2D outerscale. There currently exist no models or observations for this quantity, and it is the only free parameter in this study. The modelled turbulence spectra are used as inputs for parallel mean free path expressions based on those derived from quasi-linear theory and perpendicular mean free paths from extended nonlinear guiding center theory. Furthermore, the effects of turbulence on cosmic-ray drifts are modelled in a self-consistent way, employing a recently developed model for drift along the wavy current sheet. The resulting diffusion coefficients and drift expressions are applied to the study of galactic cosmic-ray protons and antiprotons using a three dimensional, steady-state cosmic-ray modulation code, and sample solutions in fair agreement with multiple spacecraft observations are presented. (author)

  6. The basis for cosmic ray feedback: Written on the wind

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zweibel, Ellen G.

    2017-05-01

    Star formation and supermassive black hole growth in galaxies appear to be self-limiting. The mechanisms for self-regulation are known as feedback. Cosmic rays, the relativistic particle component of interstellar and intergalactic plasma, are among the agents of feedback. Because cosmic rays are virtually collisionless in the plasma environments of interest, their interaction with the ambient medium is primarily mediated by large scale magnetic fields and kinetic scale plasma waves. Because kinetic scales are much smaller than global scales, this interaction is most conveniently described by fluid models. In this paper, I discuss the kinetic theory and the classical theory of cosmic ray hydrodynamics (CCRH) which follows from assuming cosmic rays interact only with self-excited waves. I generalize CCRH to generalized cosmic ray hydrodynamics, which accommodates interactions with extrinsic turbulence, present examples of cosmic ray feedback, and assess where progress is needed.

  7. ATLAS and ultra high energy cosmic ray physics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pinfold James

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available After a brief introduction to extended air shower cosmic ray physics the current and future deployment of forward detectors at ATLAS is discussed along with the various aspects of the current and future ATLAS programs to explore hadronic physics. The emphasis is placed on those results and future plans that have particular relevance for high-energy, and ultra high-energy, cosmic ray physics. The possible use of ATLAS as an “underground” cosmic muon observatory is briefly considered.

  8. Delayed recombination and cosmic parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galli, Silvia; Melchiorri, Alessandro; Bean, Rachel; Silk, Joseph

    2008-01-01

    Current cosmological constraints from cosmic microwave background anisotropies are typically derived assuming a standard recombination scheme, however additional resonance and ionizing radiation sources can delay recombination, altering the cosmic ionization history and the cosmological inferences drawn from the cosmic microwave background data. We show that for recent observations of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy, from the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe satellite mission (WMAP) 5-year survey and from the arcminute cosmology bolometer array receiver experiment, additional resonance radiation is nearly degenerate with variations in the spectral index, n s , and has a marked effect on uncertainties in constraints on the Hubble constant, age of the universe, curvature and the upper bound on the neutrino mass. When a modified recombination scheme is considered, the redshift of recombination is constrained to z * =1078±11, with uncertainties in the measurement weaker by 1 order of magnitude than those obtained under the assumption of standard recombination while constraints on the shift parameter are shifted by 1σ to R=1.734±0.028. From the WMAP5 data we obtain the following constraints on the resonance and ionization sources parameters: ε α i <0.058 at 95% c.l.. Although delayed recombination limits the precision of parameter estimation from the WMAP satellite, we demonstrate that this should not be the case for future, smaller angular scales measurements, such as those by the Planck satellite mission.

  9. Gamma-ray astronomy and cosmic-ray origin theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ginzburg, V.L.

    1973-01-01

    A theory of the origin of cosmic radiation is discussed in light of the advances made in gamma-ray astronomy. Arguments against metagalactic models for the origin of cosmic rays are emphasized. (U.S.)

  10. Cosmic Rays in Thunderstorms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buitink, Stijn; Scholten, Olaf; van den Berg, Ad; Ebert, Ute

    2013-04-01

    Cosmic Rays in Thunderstorms Cosmic rays are protons and heavier nuclei that constantly bombard the Earth's atmosphere with energies spanning a vast range from 109 to 1021 eV. At typical altitudes up to 10-20 km they initiate large particle cascades, called extensive air showers, that contain millions to billions of secondary particles depending on their initial energy. These particles include electrons, positrons, hadrons and muons, and are concentrated in a compact particle front that propagates at relativistic speed. In addition, the shower leaves behind a trail of lower energy electrons from ionization of air molecules. Under thunderstorm conditions these electrons contribute to the electrical and ionization processes in the cloud. When the local electric field is strong enough the secondary electrons can create relativistic electron run-away avalanches [1] or even non-relativistic avalanches. Cosmic rays could even trigger lightning inception. Conversely, strong electric fields also influence the development of the air shower [2]. Extensive air showers emit a short (tens of nanoseconds) radio pulse due to deflection of the shower particles in the Earth's magnetic field [3]. Antenna arrays, such as AERA, LOFAR and LOPES detect these pulses in a frequency window of roughly 10-100 MHz. These systems are also sensitive to the radiation from discharges associated to thunderstorms, and provide a means to study the interaction of cosmic ray air showers and the electrical processes in thunderstorms [4]. In this presentation we discuss the involved radiation mechanisms and present analyses of thunderstorm data from air shower arrays [1] A. Gurevich et al., Phys. Lett. A 165, 463 (1992) [2] S. Buitink et al., Astropart. Phys. 33, 1 (2010) [3] H. Falcke et al., Nature 435, 313 (2005) [4] S. Buitink et al., Astron. & Astrophys. 467, 385 (2007)

  11. Photonics

    CERN Document Server

    Andrews, David L

    2015-01-01

    This book covers modern photonics accessibly and discusses the basic physical principles underlying all the applications and technology of photonicsThis volume covers the basic physical principles underlying the technology and all applications of photonics from statistical optics to quantum optics. The topics discussed in this volume are: Photons in perspective; Coherence and Statistical Optics; Complex Light and Singular Optics; Electrodynamics of Dielectric Media; Fast and slow Light; Holography; Multiphoton Processes; Optical Angular Momentum; Optical Forces, Trapping and Manipulation; Pol

  12. Cosmic ray acceleration by large scale galactic shocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cesarsky, C.J.; Lagage, P.O.

    1987-01-01

    The mechanism of diffusive shock acceleration may account for the existence of galactic cosmic rays detailed application to stellar wind shocks and especially to supernova shocks have been developed. Existing models can usually deal with the energetics or the spectral slope, but the observed energy range of cosmic rays is not explained. Therefore it seems worthwhile to examine the effect that large scale, long-lived galactic shocks may have on galactic cosmic rays, in the frame of the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism. Large scale fast shocks can only be expected to exist in the galactic halo. We consider three situations where they may arise: expansion of a supernova shock in the halo, galactic wind, galactic infall; and discuss the possible existence of these shocks and their role in accelerating cosmic rays

  13. Gravitational-Wave Stochastic Background from Cosmic Strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siemens, Xavier; Creighton, Jolien; Mandic, Vuk

    2007-01-01

    We consider the stochastic background of gravitational waves produced by a network of cosmic strings and assess their accessibility to current and planned gravitational wave detectors, as well as to big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), cosmic microwave background (CMB), and pulsar timing constraints. We find that current data from interferometric gravitational wave detectors, such as Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), are sensitive to areas of parameter space of cosmic string models complementary to those accessible to pulsar, BBN, and CMB bounds. Future more sensitive LIGO runs and interferometers such as Advanced LIGO and Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be able to explore substantial parts of the parameter space

  14. Influence of the atmosphere on the space detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays; Influence de l'atmosphere sur la detection spatiale des rayons cosmiques d'ultra-haute energie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moreggia, S

    2007-06-15

    EUSO (Extreme Universe Space Observatory) is a project of ultra-high energy (> 10{sup 20} eV) cosmic rays detection from space. Its concept relies on the observation of fluorescence and Cerenkov photons emitted by extensive air showers from a telescope located on the International Space Station. A simulation software has been developed to study the characteristics of this innovative concept of detection. It deals with the different steps of the detection chain: extensive air shower development, emission of fluorescence and Cerenkov light, and radiative transfer to the telescope. A Monte-Carlo code has been implemented to simulate the propagation of photons through the atmosphere, dealing with multiple scattering in clear sky conditions as well as in presence of aerosols and clouds. With this simulation program, the impact of atmospheric conditions on the performance of a space-located detector has been studied. The precise treatment of photons propagation through the atmosphere has permitted to quantify the scattered light contribution to the detected signal. (author)

  15. Sealed drift tube cosmic ray veto counters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rios, R.; Tatar, E.; Bacon, J.D.; Bowles, T.J.; Hill, R.; Green, J.A.; Hogan, G.E.; Ito, T.M.; Makela, M.; Morris, C.L.; Mortenson, R.; Pasukanics, F.E.; Ramsey, J.; Saunders, A.; Seestrom, S.J.; Sondheim, W.E.; Teasdale, W.; Saltus, M.; Back, H.O.; Cottrell, C.R.

    2011-01-01

    We describe a simple drift tube counter that has been used as a cosmic ray veto for the UCNA experiment, a first-ever measurement of the neutron beta-asymmetry using ultra-cold neutrons. These detectors provide an inexpensive alternative to more conventional scintillation detectors for large area cosmic ray anticoincidence detectors.

  16. RECORD-SETTING COSMIC-RAY INTENSITIES IN 2009 AND 2010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mewaldt, R. A.; Davis, A. J.; Leske, R. A.; Stone, E. C.; Cummings, A. C.; Labrador, A. W.; Lave, K. A.; Binns, W. R.; Israel, M. H.; Wiedenbeck, M. E.; Christian, E. R.; De Nolfo, G. A.; Von Rosenvinge, T. T.

    2010-01-01

    We report measurements of record-setting intensities of cosmic-ray nuclei from C to Fe, made with the Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer carried on the Advanced Composition Explorer in orbit about the inner Sun-Earth Lagrangian point. In the energy interval from ∼70 to ∼450 MeV nucleon -1 , near the peak in the near-Earth cosmic-ray spectrum, the measured intensities of major species from C to Fe were each 20%-26% greater in late 2009 than in the 1997-1998 minimum and previous solar minima of the space age (1957-1997). The elevated intensities reported here and also at neutron monitor energies were undoubtedly due to several unusual aspects of the solar cycle 23/24 minimum, including record-low interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) intensities, an extended period of reduced IMF turbulence, reduced solar-wind dynamic pressure, and extremely low solar activity during an extended solar minimum. The estimated parallel diffusion coefficient for cosmic-ray transport based on measured solar-wind properties was 44% greater in 2009 than in the 1997-1998 solar-minimum period. In addition, the weaker IMF should result in higher cosmic-ray drift velocities. Cosmic-ray intensity variations at 1 AU are found to lag IMF variations by 2-3 solar rotations, indicating that significant solar modulation occurs inside ∼20 AU, consistent with earlier galactic cosmic-ray radial-gradient measurements. In 2010, the intensities suddenly decreased to 1997 levels following increases in solar activity and in the inclination of the heliospheric current sheet. We describe the conditions that gave cosmic rays greater access to the inner solar system and discuss some of their implications.

  17. The role of cosmic rays in the atmospheric processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stozhkov, Y I [Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991, Leninsky Prospect, 53, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2003-05-01

    The energy flux of galactic cosmic rays falling on the earth's atmosphere is small in comparison with solar electromagnetic irradiation (by 10{sup 8} times). But at altitudes of h {approx} 3 to 35 km in the atmosphere, cosmic rays are the only ionization source (from the ground level up to h {approx} 3 km, natural radioactivity is an additional source of ionization). Solar activity modulates cosmic ray flux. The cosmic rays produce atmospheric ions that define the electrical properties of the atmosphere. The electric charges play a very important role in the processes of cloud and thundercloud formation in the operation of the global electric circuit. The changes in electric properties of the atmosphere influence weather and climate. Thus, we have the following chain of the solar terrestrial relationship: solar activity - cosmic ray modulation - changes in the global electric properties of the atmosphere - changes in weather and climate. The following questions are discussed in this paper: light ion production in the atmosphere, role of electric charges in the formation of clouds and thunderclouds, experimental evidences of the relationships between cosmic ray flux and atmospheric current and lightning.

  18. The role of cosmic rays in the atmospheric processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stozhkov, Y I

    2003-01-01

    The energy flux of galactic cosmic rays falling on the earth's atmosphere is small in comparison with solar electromagnetic irradiation (by 10 8 times). But at altitudes of h ∼ 3 to 35 km in the atmosphere, cosmic rays are the only ionization source (from the ground level up to h ∼ 3 km, natural radioactivity is an additional source of ionization). Solar activity modulates cosmic ray flux. The cosmic rays produce atmospheric ions that define the electrical properties of the atmosphere. The electric charges play a very important role in the processes of cloud and thundercloud formation in the operation of the global electric circuit. The changes in electric properties of the atmosphere influence weather and climate. Thus, we have the following chain of the solar terrestrial relationship: solar activity - cosmic ray modulation - changes in the global electric properties of the atmosphere - changes in weather and climate. The following questions are discussed in this paper: light ion production in the atmosphere, role of electric charges in the formation of clouds and thunderclouds, experimental evidences of the relationships between cosmic ray flux and atmospheric current and lightning

  19. Cl36 and the age of the cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casse, M.; Goret, P.; Regnier, S.

    1975-01-01

    The radioactive isotope 36 Cl (tau=γx3.10 5 y) is used as a time reference for the propagation of cosmic rays. New measurements of the production cross section of 36 Cl in Ti and Fe at 24GeV will be presented. A critical analysis of the cross sections leads to an estimate of the ratio 36 Cl/Cl=0.030+0.007 in the arriving cosmic rays. The comparison between the expected abundance of Cl in the arriving cosmic rays and the observations tend to support the decay of 36 Cl. The inferred cosmic ray confinement time is about 10 6 y [fr

  20. Multi-photon absorption limits to heralded single photon sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husko, Chad A.; Clark, Alex S.; Collins, Matthew J.; De Rossi, Alfredo; Combrié, Sylvain; Lehoucq, Gaëlle; Rey, Isabella H.; Krauss, Thomas F.; Xiong, Chunle; Eggleton, Benjamin J.

    2013-01-01

    Single photons are of paramount importance to future quantum technologies, including quantum communication and computation. Nonlinear photonic devices using parametric processes offer a straightforward route to generating photons, however additional nonlinear processes may come into play and interfere with these sources. Here we analyse spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) sources in the presence of multi-photon processes. We conduct experiments in silicon and gallium indium phosphide photonic crystal waveguides which display inherently different nonlinear absorption processes, namely two-photon (TPA) and three-photon absorption (ThPA), respectively. We develop a novel model capturing these diverse effects which is in excellent quantitative agreement with measurements of brightness, coincidence-to-accidental ratio (CAR) and second-order correlation function g(2)(0), showing that TPA imposes an intrinsic limit on heralded single photon sources. We build on these observations to devise a new metric, the quantum utility (QMU), enabling further optimisation of single photon sources. PMID:24186400

  1. Non-Poissonian photon statistics from macroscopic photon cutting materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Jong, Mathijs; Meijerink, Andries; Rabouw, Freddy T

    2017-05-24

    In optical materials energy is usually extracted only from the lowest excited state, resulting in fundamental energy-efficiency limits such as the Shockley-Queisser limit for single-junction solar cells. Photon-cutting materials provide a way around such limits by absorbing high-energy photons and 'cutting' them into multiple low-energy excitations that can subsequently be extracted. The occurrence of photon cutting or quantum cutting has been demonstrated in a variety of materials, including semiconductor quantum dots, lanthanides and organic dyes. Here we show that photon cutting results in bunched photon emission on the timescale of the excited-state lifetime, even when observing a macroscopic number of optical centres. Our theoretical derivation matches well with experimental data on NaLaF 4 :Pr 3+ , a material that can cut deep-ultraviolet photons into two visible photons. This signature of photon cutting can be used to identify and characterize new photon-cutting materials unambiguously.

  2. Deterministically swapping frequency-bin entanglement from photon-photon to atom-photon hybrid systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ou, Bao-Quan; Liu, Chang; Sun, Yuan; Chen, Ping-Xing

    2018-02-01

    Inspired by the recent developments of the research on the atom-photon quantum interface and energy-time entanglement between single-photon pulses, we are motivated to study the deterministic protocol for the frequency-bin entanglement of the atom-photon hybrid system, which is analogous to the frequency-bin entanglement between single-photon pulses. We show that such entanglement arises naturally in considering the interaction between a frequency-bin entangled single-photon pulse pair and a single atom coupled to an optical cavity, via straightforward atom-photon phase gate operations. Its anticipated properties and preliminary examples of its potential application in quantum networking are also demonstrated. Moreover, we construct a specific quantum entanglement witness tool to detect such extended frequency-bin entanglement from a reasonably general set of separable states, and prove its capability theoretically. We focus on the energy-time considerations throughout the analysis.

  3. A Bayesian framework for cosmic string searches in CMB maps

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ciuca, Razvan; Hernández, Oscar F., E-mail: razvan.ciuca@mail.mcgill.ca, E-mail: oscarh@physics.mcgill.ca [Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC, H3A 2T8 (Canada)

    2017-08-01

    There exists various proposals to detect cosmic strings from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) or 21 cm temperature maps. Current proposals do not aim to find the location of strings on sky maps, all of these approaches can be thought of as a statistic on a sky map. We propose a Bayesian interpretation of cosmic string detection and within that framework, we derive a connection between estimates of cosmic string locations and cosmic string tension G μ. We use this Bayesian framework to develop a machine learning framework for detecting strings from sky maps and outline how to implement this framework with neural networks. The neural network we trained was able to detect and locate cosmic strings on noiseless CMB temperature map down to a string tension of G μ=5 ×10{sup −9} and when analyzing a CMB temperature map that does not contain strings, the neural network gives a 0.95 probability that G μ≤2.3×10{sup −9}.

  4. Reionization and the cosmic microwave background in an open universe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persi, Fred M.

    1995-01-01

    If the universe was reionized at high reshift (z greater than or approximately equal to 30) or never recombined, then photon-electron scattering can erase fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background at scales less than or approximately equal to 1 deg. Peculiar motion at the surface of last scattering will then have given rise to new anisotropy at the 1 min level through the Vishniac effect. Here the observed fluctuations in galaxy counts are extrapolated to high redshifts using linear theory, and the expected anisotropy is computed. The predicted level of anisotropies is a function of Omega(sub 0) and the ratio of the density in ionized baryons to the critical density and is shown to depend strongly on the large- and small-scale power. It is not possible to make general statements about the viability of all reionized models based on current observations, but it is possible to rule out specific models for structure formation, particularly those with high baryonic content or small-scale power. The induced fluctuations are shown to scale with cosmological parameters and optical depth.

  5. Measurement of Feynman-x spectra of photons and neutrons in the very forward direction in deep-inelastic scattering at HERA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andreev, V.; Belousov, A.; Fomenko, A.; Gogitidze, N.; Lebedev, A.; Malinovski, E.; Rusakov, S.; Vazdik, Y. [Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow (Russian Federation); Baghdasaryan, A.; Zohrabyan, H. [Yerevan Physics Institute, Yerevan (Armenia); Begzsuren, K.; Ravdandorj, T.; Tseepeldorj, B. [Institute of Physics and Technology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia); Belov, P.; Brinkmann, M.; Britzger, D.; Campbell, A.J.; Dodonov, V.; Eckerlin, G.; Elsen, E.; Fleischer, M.; Gayler, J.; Ghazaryan, S.; Glazov, A.; Gouzevitch, M.; Haidt, D.; Kleinwort, C.; Krueger, K.; Levonian, S.; Lipka, K.; List, B.; List, J.; Lobodzinski, B.; Meyer, A.B.; Meyer, J.; Niebuhr, C.; Olsson, J.E.; Ozerov, D.; Pahl, P.; Petrukhin, A.; Pirumov, H.; Pitzl, D.; Placakyte, R.; Radescu, V.; Schmitt, S.; Sefkow, F.; Shushkevich, S.; South, D.; Steder, M.; Wuensch, E. [DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Boudry, V.; Specka, A. [LLR, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS/IN2P3, Palaiseau (France); Brandt, G. [Oxford University, Department of Physics, Oxford (United Kingdom); Brisson, V.; Jacquet, M.; Pascaud, C.; Zhang, Z.; Zomer, F. [LAL, Universite Paris-Sud, CNRS/IN2P3, Orsay (France); Buniatyan, A.; Huber, F.; Sauter, M.; Schoening, A. [Universitaet Heidelberg, Physikalisches Institut, Heidelberg (Germany); Bylinkin, A.; Bystritskaya, L.; Fedotov, A.; Rostovtsev, A. [Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Moscow (Russian Federation); Cantun Avila, K.B.; Contreras, J.G. [CINVESTAV, Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, Merida, Yucatan (Mexico); Ceccopieri, F.; Favart, L.; Grebenyuk, A.; Hreus, T.; Janssen, X.; Roosen, R.; Mechelen, P. van [Brussels and Universiteit Antwerpen, Inter-University Institute for High Energies ULB-VUB, Antwerp (Belgium); Cerny, K.; Pokorny, B.; Polifka, R.; Salek, D.; Valkarova, A.; Zacek, J.; Zlebcik, R. [Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Prague (Czech Republic); Chekelian, V.; Grindhammer, G.; Kiesling, C. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Munich (Germany); Dainton, J.B.; Gabathuler, E.; Greenshaw, T.; Klein, M.; Kostka, P.; Kretzschmar, J.; Laycock, P.; Maxfield, S.J.; Mehta, A.; Patel, G.D. [University of Liverpool, Department of Physics, Liverpool (United Kingdom); Daum, K.; Meyer, H. [Fachbereich C, Universitaet Wuppertal, Wuppertal (Germany); Diaconu, C.; Hoffmann, D.; Sauvan, E.; Vallee, C. [CPPM, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS/IN2P3, Marseille (France); Dobre, M.; Rotaru, M. [National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering (NIPNE), Bucharest (Romania); Dossanov, A. [Universitaet Hamburg, Institut fuer Experimentalphysik, Hamburg (Germany); Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Munich (Germany); Egli, S.; Horisberger, R. [Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen (Switzerland); Feltesse, J.; Perez, E.; Schoeffel, L. [CEA, DSM/Irfu, CE-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Ferencei, J. [Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Experimental Physics, Kosice (Slovakia); Goerlich, L.; Mikocki, S.; Nowak, G.; Sopicki, P.; Turnau, J. [Institute for Nuclear Physics, Cracow (Poland); Grab, C. [Institut fuer Teilchenphysik, ETH, Zurich (Switzerland); Henderson, R.C.W. [University of Lancaster, Department of Physics, Lancaster (United Kingdom); Herbst, M.; Schultz-Coulon, H.C. [Kirchhoff-Institut fuer Physik, Universitaet Heidelberg, Heidelberg (Germany); Hladky, J.; Reimer, P. [Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Physics, Prague (Czech Republic); Jung, H. [Brussels and Universiteit Antwerpen, Inter-University Institute for High Energies ULB-VUB, Antwerp (Belgium); DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Kapichine, M.; Lytkin, L.; Morozov, A.; Spaskov, V. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Kogler, R.; Nowak, K. [Universitaet Hamburg, Institut fuer Experimentalphysik, Hamburg (Germany); Landon, M.P.J.; Rizvi, E.; Traynor, D. [University of London, School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary, London (GB); Lange, W.; Naumann, T. [DESY, Zeuthen (DE); Martyn, H.U. [I. Physikalisches Institut der RWTH, Aachen (DE); Mueller, K.; Robmann, P.; Straumann, U.; Truoel, P. [Physik-Institut der Universitaet Zuerich, Zurich (CH); Newman, P.R.; Thompson, P.D. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham (GB); Picuric, I.; Raicevic, N. [University of Montenegro, Faculty of Science, Podgorica (ME); Povh, B. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (DE); Sankey, D.P.C. [STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire (GB); Soloviev, Y. [DESY, Hamburg (DE); Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow (RU); Stella, B. [Dipartimento di Fisica Universita di Roma Tre (IT); INFN Roma 3, Rome (IT); Sykora, T. [Brussels and Universiteit Antwerpen, Inter-University Institute for High Energies ULB-VUB, Antwerp (BE); Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Prague (CZ); Tsakov, I. [Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy, Sofia (BG); Wegener, D. [Institut fuer Physik, TU Dortmund, Dortmund (DE); Collaboration: H1 Collaboration

    2014-06-15

    Measurements of normalised cross sections for the production of photons and neutrons at very small angles with respect to the proton beam direction in deep-inelastic ep scattering at HERA are presented as a function of the Feynman variable x{sub F} and of the centre-of-mass energy of the virtual photon-proton system W. The data are taken with the H1 detector in the years 2006 and 2007 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 131 pb{sup -1}. The measurement is restricted to photons and neutrons in the pseudorapidity range η > 7.9 and covers the range of negative four momentum transfer squared at the positron vertex 6 < Q{sup 2} < 100 GeV{sup 2}, of inelasticity 0.05 < y < 0.6 and of 70 < W < 245 GeV. To test the Feynman scaling hypothesis the W dependence of the x{sub F} dependent cross sections is investigated. Predictions of deep-inelastic scattering models and of models for hadronic interactions of high energy cosmic rays are compared to the measured cross sections. (orig.)

  6. Maximum entropy analysis of cosmic ray composition

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Nosek, D.; Ebr, Jan; Vícha, Jakub; Trávníček, Petr; Nosková, J.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 76, Mar (2016), s. 9-18 ISSN 0927-6505 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-17501S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : ultra-high energy cosmic rays * extensive air showers * cosmic ray composition Subject RIV: BF - Elementary Particles and High Energy Physics Impact factor: 3.257, year: 2016

  7. Early history of cosmic rays at Chicago

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yodh, Gaurang B.

    2013-02-01

    Cosmic ray studies at the University of Chicago were started by Arthur Compton during the late 1920s. The high points of cosmic ray studies at Chicago under Compton and Marcel Schein are the focus of this report, which summarizes the research done at Chicago up to the end of World War II.

  8. Neuromorphic photonic networks using silicon photonic weight banks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tait, Alexander N; de Lima, Thomas Ferreira; Zhou, Ellen; Wu, Allie X; Nahmias, Mitchell A; Shastri, Bhavin J; Prucnal, Paul R

    2017-08-07

    Photonic systems for high-performance information processing have attracted renewed interest. Neuromorphic silicon photonics has the potential to integrate processing functions that vastly exceed the capabilities of electronics. We report first observations of a recurrent silicon photonic neural network, in which connections are configured by microring weight banks. A mathematical isomorphism between the silicon photonic circuit and a continuous neural network model is demonstrated through dynamical bifurcation analysis. Exploiting this isomorphism, a simulated 24-node silicon photonic neural network is programmed using "neural compiler" to solve a differential system emulation task. A 294-fold acceleration against a conventional benchmark is predicted. We also propose and derive power consumption analysis for modulator-class neurons that, as opposed to laser-class neurons, are compatible with silicon photonic platforms. At increased scale, Neuromorphic silicon photonics could access new regimes of ultrafast information processing for radio, control, and scientific computing.

  9. Heliospheric Impact on Cosmic Rays Modulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiwari, Bhupendra Kumar

    2016-07-01

    Heliospheric Impact on Cosmic RaysModulation B. K. Tiwari Department of Physics, A. P. S. University, Rewa (M.P.), btiwari70@yahoo.com Cosmic rays (CRs) flux at earth is modulated by the heliosphereric magnetic field and the structure of the heliosphere, controls by solar outputs and their variability. Sunspots numbers (SSN) is often treated as a primary indicator of solar activity (SA). GCRs entering the helioshphere are affected by the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and solar wind speed, their modulation varies with the varying solar activity. The observation based on data recoded from Omniweb data Centre for solar- interplanetary activity indices and monthly mean count rate of cosmic ray intensity (CRI) data from neutron monitors of different cut-off rigidities(Rc) (Moscow Rc=2.42Gv and Oulu Rc=0.80Gv). During minimum solar activity periodof solar cycle 23/24, the sun is remarkably quiet, weakest strength of the IMF and least dense and slowest, solar wind speed, whereas, in 2003, highest value of yearly averaged solar wind speed (~568 Km/sec) associated with several coronal holes, which generate high speed wind stream has been recorded. It is observed that GCRs fluxes reduces and is high anti-correlated with SSN (0.80) and IMF (0.86). CRI modulation produces by a strong solar flare, however, CME associated solar flare produce more disturbance in the interplanetary medium as well as in geomagnetic field. It is found that count rate of cosmic ray intensity and solar- interplanetary parameters were inverse correlated and solar indices were positive correlated. Keywords- Galactic Cosmic rays (GCRs), Sunspot number (SSN), Solar activity (SA), Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), Interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)

  10. Ultrahigh-energy particles from cosmic strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhattacharjee, P.

    1991-02-01

    The idea of production of ultrahigh-energy particles in the present universe due to annihilation or collapse of topological defects is discussed. Topological defects, formed in symmetry-breaking phase transitions in the early universe, can survive till today owing to their topological stability. However, under certain circumstances, topological defects may be physically destroyed. When topological defects are destroyed, the energy contained in the defects can be released in the form of massive gauge- and Higgs bosons of the underlying spontaneously broken gauge theory. Subsequent decay of these massive particles can give rise to energetic particles ranging up to an energy on the order of the mass of the original particles released from the defects. This may give us a ''natural'' mechanism of production of extremely energetic cosmic ray particles in the universe today, without the need for any acceleration mechanism. To illustrate this idea, I describe in detail the calculation of the expected ultrahigh-energy proton spectrum due to a specific process which involves collapse or multiple self-intersections of a class of closed cosmic string loops formed in a phase transition at a grand unification energy scale. I discuss the possibility that some of the highest-energy cosmic ray particles are of this origin. By comparing with the observational results on the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, we derive an upper limit to the average fraction of the total energy in all ''primary'' cosmic string loops that may be released in the form of particles due to collapse or multiple self-intersections of these loops. No nuclei such as α's or Fe's are in the spectrum. 43 refs., 3 figs

  11. Cosmic Times: Astronomy History and Science for the Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lochner, James C.; Mattson, B.

    2008-05-01

    Cosmic Times is a series of curriculum support materials and classroom activities for upper middle school and high school students which teach the nature of science by exploring the history of our understanding of the universe during the past 100 years. Starting with the confirmation of Einstein's theory of gravity in 1919 to the current conundrum posed by the discovery of dark energy, Cosmic Times examines the discoveries, the theories, and the people involved in this changing [understanding] of the universe. Cosmic Times takes the form of 6 posters, each resembling the front page of a newspaper from a particular time in this history with articles describing the discoveries. Each poster is accompanied by 4-5 classroom lessons which enable students to examine the science concepts behind the discoveries, develop techniques to improve science literacy, and investigate the nature of science using historical examples. Cosmic Times directly connects with the IYA theme of Astronomy in the Classroom, as well as the general theme of the impact of astronomy history. Cosmic Times has been developed with a freelance writer to write the articles for the posters, a group of teachers to develop the lessons, and evaluator to provide testing of the materials with a group of rural teachers in underserved communities. This poster presentation previews the Cosmic Times materials, which are posted on http://cosmictimes.gsfc.nasa.gov/ as they become available. Cosmic Times is funded in part via a NASA IDEAS grant.

  12. Could the cosmic acceleration be transient?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guimaraes, Antonio C.C.; Lima, J.A.S. [Universidade de Sao Paulo (IAG/USP), SP (Brazil). Inst. de Astronomia, Geofisica e Ciencias Atmosfericas

    2011-07-01

    Full text: The possibility of a transient cosmic acceleration appears in several theoretical scenarios and is theoretically interesting because it solves some difficulties inherent to eternally accelerating universes (like {Lambda}CDM). On the observational side, some authors, using a dynamical Ansatz for the dark energy equation of state, have suggested that the cosmic acceleration have already peaked and that we are currently witnessing its slowing down. Here, a possible slowing down of the cosmic expansion is investigated through a cosmographic approach. By expanding the luminous distance to fourth order and fitting the SNe Ia data from the most recent compilations (Union, Constitution and Union 2), the marginal likelihood distribution for the deceleration parameter today indicates that there is a considerable probability for q{sub 0} > 0. Also in contrast to the prediction of the {Lambda}CDM model, the cosmographic q(z) reconstruction suggests that the cosmic acceleration could already have peaked and be presently slowing down, what would imply that the recent accelerated expansion of the Universe is a transient phenomenon. It is also shown that to describe a transient acceleration the luminous distance needs to be expanded at least to fourth order. The present cosmographic results depend neither on the validity of general relativity nor on the matter-energy contents of the Universe. (author)

  13. Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays: facts, myths and legends

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anchordoqui, L.A.

    2011-01-01

    This is a written version of a series of lectures aimed at graduate students in astrophysics and theoretical/experimental particle physics. In the first part, we explain the important progress made in recent years towards understanding the experimental data on cosmic rays with energies > or approx. 10 8 GeV. We begin with a brief survey of the available data, including a description of the energy spectrum, mass composition and arrival directions. At this point we also give a short overview of experimental techniques. After that, we introduce the fundamentals of acceleration and propagation in order to discuss the conjectured nearby cosmic-ray sources, and emphasize some of the prospects for a new (multiparticle) astronomy. Next, we survey the state of the art regarding the ultrahigh-energy cosmic neutrinos that should be produced in association with the observed cosmic rays. In the second part, we summarize the phenomenology of cosmic-ray air showers. We explain the hadronic interaction models used to extrapolate results from collider data to ultrahigh energies, and describe the prospects for insights into forward physics at the Large Hadron Collider. We also explain the main electromagnetic processes that govern the longitudinal shower evolution. Armed with these two principal shower ingredients and motivation from the underlying physics, we describe the different methods proposed to distinguish primary species. In the last part, we outline how ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray interactions can be used to probe new physics beyond the electroweak scale. (author)

  14. Photon-photon inclusive scattering and perturbative QCD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maor, U.

    1988-01-01

    Perturbative QCD expectations and problems associated with the study of the photon structure function data are reviewed. An assessment is given for the viability and sensitivity of photon-photon scattering as a decisive tool for the determination of the QCD scale. Particular attention is given to the theoretical problems of singularity cancellations at x = 0 and threshold-associated difficulties at x = 1 and their implications on the actual data analysis. It is concluded that the experimental results, while not providing a decisive verification of QCD at small distances, do add to other independent experiments which are all consistent with the theory and suggest a reasonably well defined QCD scale parameter. The importance of the small Q 2 limit to photon-photon analysis is discussed and the data are examined in an attempt to identify and isolate the contributions of the hadronic and point-like sectors of the target photon. 21 refs., 7 figs. (author)

  15. Cosmic neutrinos as a probe of TeV-scale physics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahlers, M.

    2007-02-15

    Ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos are versatile probes of astrophysics, astronomy, and particle physics. They represent the messengers of hadronic processes in cosmic accelerators and survive the propagation through the interstellar medium practically unscathed. We investigate the neutrino fluxes associated with optically thin proton sources which provide a diagnostic of the transition between galactic and extragalactic cosmic rays. The center of mass energies in collisions of these cosmic neutrinos with atomic nuclei in the atmosphere or the Earth's interior easily exceed those so far reached in man-made accelerators. We discuss the prospects of observing supersymmetric neutrino interactions with Cherenkov telescopes and speculate about a neutrino component in extremely high energy cosmic rays from exotic interactions in the atmosphere. (orig.)

  16. Consistency relation for cosmic magnetic fields

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jain, R. K.; Sloth, M. S.

    2012-01-01

    If cosmic magnetic fields are indeed produced during inflation, they are likely to be correlated with the scalar metric perturbations that are responsible for the cosmic microwave background anisotropies and large scale structure. Within an archetypical model of inflationary magnetogenesis, we show...... that there exists a new simple consistency relation for the non-Gaussian cross correlation function of the scalar metric perturbation with two powers of the magnetic field in the squeezed limit where the momentum of the metric perturbation vanishes. We emphasize that such a consistency relation turns out...... to be extremely useful to test some recent calculations in the literature. Apart from primordial non-Gaussianity induced by the curvature perturbations, such a cross correlation might provide a new observational probe of inflation and can in principle reveal the primordial nature of cosmic magnetic fields. DOI...

  17. Manipulating lightcone fluctuations in an analogue cosmic string

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiawei Hu

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available We study the flight time fluctuations in an anisotropic medium inspired by a cosmic string with an effective fluctuating refractive index caused by fluctuating vacuum electric fields, which are analogous to the lightcone fluctuations due to fluctuating spacetime metric when gravity is quantized. The medium can be realized as a metamaterial that mimics a cosmic string in the sense of transformation optics. For a probe light close to the analogue string, the flight time variance is ν times that in a normal homogeneous and isotropic medium, where ν is a parameter characterizing the deficit angle of the spacetime of a cosmic string. The parameter ν, which is always greater than unity for a real cosmic string, is determined by the dielectric properties of the metamaterial for an analogue string. Therefore, the flight time fluctuations of a probe light can be manipulated by changing the electric permittivity and magnetic permeability of the analogue medium. We argue that it seems possible to fabricate a metamaterial that mimics a cosmic string with a large ν in laboratory so that a currently observable flight time variance might be achieved.

  18. Manipulating lightcone fluctuations in an analogue cosmic string

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Jiawei; Yu, Hongwei

    2018-02-01

    We study the flight time fluctuations in an anisotropic medium inspired by a cosmic string with an effective fluctuating refractive index caused by fluctuating vacuum electric fields, which are analogous to the lightcone fluctuations due to fluctuating spacetime metric when gravity is quantized. The medium can be realized as a metamaterial that mimics a cosmic string in the sense of transformation optics. For a probe light close to the analogue string, the flight time variance is ν times that in a normal homogeneous and isotropic medium, where ν is a parameter characterizing the deficit angle of the spacetime of a cosmic string. The parameter ν, which is always greater than unity for a real cosmic string, is determined by the dielectric properties of the metamaterial for an analogue string. Therefore, the flight time fluctuations of a probe light can be manipulated by changing the electric permittivity and magnetic permeability of the analogue medium. We argue that it seems possible to fabricate a metamaterial that mimics a cosmic string with a large ν in laboratory so that a currently observable flight time variance might be achieved.

  19. Planetary Habitability over Cosmic-Time Based on Cosmic-Ray Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Paul A.; Biermann, Peter L.

    2016-01-01

    Extreme cosmic-ray (CR) fluxes have a negative effect on life when flux densities are high enough to cause excessive biological, especially DNA, damage. The CR history of a planet plays an important role in its potential surface habitation. Both global and local CR conditions determine the ability of life to survive for astrobiologically relevant time periods. We highlight two CR life-limiting factors: 1) General galactic activity, starburst and AGN, was up by about a factor of 30 at redshift 1 - 2, per comoving frame, averaged over all galaxies. And 2) AGN activity is highly intermittent, so extreme brief but powerful bursts (Her A for example) can be detrimental at great distances. This means that during such brief bursts of AGN activity the extragalactic CRs might even overpower the local galactic CRs. But as shown by the starburst galaxy M82, the local CRs in a starburst can also be quite high. Moreover, in our cosmic neighborhood we have several super-massive black holes. These are in M31, M32, M81, NGC5128 (Cen A), and in our own Galaxy, all within about 4 Mpc today. Within about 20 Mpc today there are many more super-massive black holes. Cen A is of course the most famous one now, since it may be a major source of the ultra-high-energy CRs (UHECRs). Folding in what redshift means in terms of cosmic time, this implies that there may have been little chance for life to survive much earlier than Earth's starting epoch. We speculate, on whether the very slow start oflife on Earth is connected to the decay of disturbing CR activity.

  20. Scientific results from the cosmic background explorer (COBE)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bennett, C.L.; Boggess, N.W.; Cheng, E.S.; Hauser, M.G.; Kelsall, T.; Mather, J.C.; Moseley, S.H. Jr.; Shafer, R.A.; Silverberg, R.F.; Murdock, T.L.; Smoot, G.F.; Weiss, R.; Wright, E.L.

    1993-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has flown the COBE satellite to observe the Big Bang and the subsequent formation of galaxies and large-scale structure. Data from the Far-Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS) show that the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background is that of a black body of temperature T = 2.73 ± 0.06 K, with no deviation from a black-body spectrum greater than 0.25% of the peak brightness. The data from the Differential Microwave Radiometers (DMR) show statistically significant cosmic microwave background anisotropy, consistent with a scale-invariant primordial density fluctuation spectrum. Measurements from the Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) provide new conservation upper limits to the cosmic infrared background. Extensive modeling of solar system and galactic infrared foregrounds is required for further improvement in the cosmic infrared background limits. 104 refs., 1 tab

  1. Constraints on cosmic opacity and beyond the standard model physics from cosmological distance measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Avgoustidis, Anastasios [Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, DAMTP, CMS, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA (United Kingdom); Burrage, Clare [Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Redondo, Javier [Max Planck Institut für Physik, Föhringer Ring 6, D-80805, Munich (Germany); Verde, Licia; Jimenez, Raul, E-mail: a.avgoustidis@damtp.cam.ac.uk, E-mail: clare.burrage@desy.de, E-mail: redondo@mppmu.mpg.de, E-mail: liciaverde@icc.ub.edu, E-mail: raul.jimenez@icc.ub.edu [ICREA and Institute for Sciences of the Cosmos (ICC), University of Barcelona, IEEC, Barcelona 08028 (Spain)

    2010-10-01

    We update constraints on cosmic opacity by combining recent SN Type Ia data with the latest measurements of the Hubble expansion at redshifts between 0 and 2. The new constraint on the parameter ε parametrising deviations from the luminosity-angular diameter distance relation (d{sub L} = d{sub A}(1+z){sup 2+ε}), is ε = −0.04{sub −0.07}{sup +0.08} (2-σ). For the redshift range between 0.2 and 0.35 this corresponds to an opacity Δτ < 0.012 (95% C.L.), a factor of 2 stronger than the previous constraint. Various models of beyond the standard model physics that predict violation of photon number conservation contribute to the opacity and can be equally constrained. In this paper we put new limits on axion-like particles, including chameleons, and mini-charged particles.

  2. Constraints on cosmic opacity and beyond the standard model physics from cosmological distance measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Avgoustidis, Anastasios [DAMTP, CMS, Cambridge (United Kingdom). Centre for Theoretical Cosmology; Burrage, Clare [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Redondo, Javier [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Munich (Germany); Verde, Licia; Jimenez, Raul [Barcelona Univ., IEEC (ES). ICREA and Inst. for Sciences of the Cosmos (ICC)

    2010-04-15

    We update constraints on cosmic opacity by combining recent SN Type Ia data compilation with the latest measurements of the Hubble expansion at redshifts between 0 and 2. The new constraint on the parameter {epsilon} parametrising deviations from the luminosity-angular diameter distance relation (d{sub L}=d{sub A}(1+z){sup 2+{epsilon}}), is {epsilon}=-0.04{sub -0.07}{sup +0.08} (2-{sigma}). For the redshift range between 0.2 and 0.35 this corresponds to an opacity {delta}{tau}<0.012 (95% C.L.), a factor of 2 stronger than the previous constraint. Various models of beyond the standard model physics that predict violation of photon number conservation contribute to the opacity and can be equally constrained. In this paper we put new limits on axion-like particles, including chameleons, and minicharged particles. (orig.)

  3. Cosmic disposal of radioactive waste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Inoue, Y; Morisawa, S [Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

    1975-03-01

    The technical and economical possibility and safety of the disposal of highly radioactive waste into cosmos are reviewed. The disposal of highly radioactive waste is serious problem to be solved in the near future, because it is produced in large amounts by the reprocessing of spent fuel. The promising methods proposed are (i) underground disposal, (ii) ocean disposal, (iii) cosmic disposal and (iv) extinguishing disposal. The final disposal method is not yet decided internationally. The radioactive waste contains very long life nuclides, for example transuranic elements and actinide elements. The author thinks the most perfect and safe disposal method for these very long life nuclides is the disposal into cosmos. The space vehicle carrying radioactive waste will be launched safely into outer space with recent space technology. The selection of orbit for vehicles (earth satellite or orbit around planets) or escape from solar system, selection of launching rocket type pretreatment of waste, launching weight, and the cost of cosmic disposal were investigated roughly and quantitatively. Safety problem of cosmic disposal should be examined from the reliable safety study data in the future.

  4. The Need for Direct High-Energy Cosmic-Ray Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Frank C.; Streitmatter, Robert

    2004-01-01

    Measuring the chemical composition of the cosmic rays in the energy region of greater than or equal to 10(exp 12)eV would be highly useful in settling several nagging questions concerning the propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy. In particular an accurate measurement of secondary to primary ratios such as Boron to Carbon would gibe clear evidence as to whether the propagation of cosmic rays is determined by a diffusion coefficient that varies with the particle's energy as E(sup 0.5) or E(sup 0.3). This would go a long ways in helping us to understand the anistropy (or lack thereof) of the highest energy cosmic rays and the power requirements for producing those particles at approximately equal to 10(exp 18) eV which are believed to be highest energy particles produced in the Galaxy. This would be only one of the benefits of a mission such as ACCESS to perform direct particle measurements on very high energy cosmic rays.

  5. Anisotropy of the cosmic background radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silk, J.

    1988-01-01

    The characteristics of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CBR) are reviewed, focusing on intrinsic anisotropies caused by primordial matter fluctuations. The basic elements of the CBR are outlined and the contributions to anisotropy at different angular scales are discussed. Possible fluctuation spectra that can generate the observed large-scale structure of the universe through gravitational instability and nonlinear evolution are examined and compared with observational searches for cosmic microwave anisotropies. 21 refs

  6. The end of the galactic cosmic ray spectrum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanev, Todor [Bartol Research Institute, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (United States)

    2007-03-15

    We discuss the region of transition between galactic and extragalactic cosmic rays. The exact shapes and compositions of these two components contains information about important parameters of powerful astrophysical sources and the conditions in extragalactic space as well as for the cosmological evolution of the sources of high energy cosmic rays. Several types of experimental data, including the exact shape of the ultrahigh energy cosmic rays, their chemical composition and their anisotropy, and the fluxes of cosmogenic neutrinos have to be included in the solution of this problem.

  7. Measurement of cosmic-ray reconstruction efficiencies in the MicroBooNE LArTPC using a small external cosmic-ray counter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Acciarri, R.; et al.

    2017-07-31

    The MicroBooNE detector is a liquid argon time projection chamber at Fermilab designed to study short-baseline neutrino oscillations and neutrino-argon interaction cross-section. Due to its location near the surface, a good understanding of cosmic muons as a source of backgrounds is of fundamental importance for the experiment. We present a method of using an external 0.5 m (L) x 0.5 m (W) muon counter stack, installed above the main detector, to determine the cosmic-ray reconstruction efficiency in MicroBooNE. Data are acquired with this external muon counter stack placed in three different positions, corresponding to cosmic rays intersecting different parts of the detector. The data reconstruction efficiency of tracks in the detector is found to be $\\epsilon_{\\mathrm{data}}=(97.1\\pm0.1~(\\mathrm{stat}) \\pm 1.4~(\\mathrm{sys}))\\%$, in good agreement with the Monte Carlo reconstruction efficiency $\\epsilon_{\\mathrm{MC}} = (97.4\\pm0.1)\\%$. This analysis represents a small-scale demonstration of the method that can be used with future data coming from a recently installed cosmic-ray tagger system, which will be able to tag $\\approx80\\%$ of the cosmic rays passing through the MicroBooNE detector.

  8. Does electromagnetic radiation accelerate galactic cosmic rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichler, D.

    1977-01-01

    The 'reactor' theories of Tsytovich and collaborators (1973) of cosmic-ray acceleration by electromagnetic radiation are examined in the context of galactic cosmic rays. It is shown that any isotropic synchrotron or Compton reactors with reasonable astrophysical parameters can yield particles with a maximum relativistic factor of only about 10,000. If they are to produce particles with higher relativistic factors, the losses due to inverse Compton scattering of the electromagnetic radiation in them outweigh the acceleration, and this violates the assumptions of the theory. This is a critical restriction in the context of galactic cosmic rays, which have a power-law spectrum extending up to a relativistic factor of 1 million.

  9. Cosmic rays and radiations from the cosmos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parizot, E.

    2005-12-01

    This document gathers a lot of recent information concerning cosmic radiations, it is divided into 4 parts. Part I: energy, mass and angular spectra of cosmic rays. Part II: general phenomenology of cosmic rays, this part deals with the standard model, the maximal energy of protons inside supernova remnants, nucleosynthesis of light elements, and super-bubbles. Part III: radiations from the cosmos, this part deals with high energy gamma rays, non-thermal radiation of super-bubbles, positron transport, and the Compton trail of gamma-ray bursts. Part IV: the Pierre Auger observatory (OPA), this part deals with the detection of gamma ray bursts at OPA, the measurement of anisotropy, and top-down models. (A.C.)

  10. Gravitational instabilities of the cosmic neutrino background with non-zero lepton number

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neil D. Barrie

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available We argue that a cosmic neutrino background that carries non-zero lepton charge develops gravitational instabilities. Fundamentally, these instabilities are related to the mixed gravity-lepton number anomaly. We have explicitly computed the gravitational Chern–Simons term which is generated quantum-mechanically in the effective action in the presence of a lepton number asymmetric neutrino background. The induced Chern–Simons term has a twofold effect: (i gravitational waves propagating in such a neutrino background exhibit birefringent behaviour leading to an enhancement/suppression of the gravitational wave amplitudes depending on the polarisation, where the magnitude of this effect is related to the size of the lepton asymmetry; (ii Negative energy graviton modes are induced in the high frequency regime, which leads to very fast vacuum decay producing, e.g., positive energy photons and negative energy gravitons. From the constraint on the present radiation energy density, we obtain an interesting bound on the lepton asymmetry of the universe.

  11. The MIDAS telescope for microwave detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Amaral Soares, E.; Berlin, A.; Bogdan, M.; Boháčová, M.; Bonifazi, C.; Carvalho, W. R.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; Facal San Luis, P.; Genat, J. F.; Hollon, N.; Mills, E.; Monasor, M.; Privitera, P.; Ramos de Castro, A.; Reyes, L. C.; Richardson, M.; Rouille d'Orfeuil, B.; Santos, E. M.; Wayne, S.; Williams, C.; Zas, E.; Zhou, J.

    2013-08-01

    We present the design, implementation and data taking performance of the MIcrowave Detection of Air Showers (MIDAS) experiment, a large field of view imaging telescope designed to detect microwave radiation from extensive air showers induced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. This novel technique may bring a tenfold increase in detector duty cycle when compared to the standard fluorescence technique based on detection of ultraviolet photons. The MIDAS telescope consists of a 4.5 m diameter dish with a 53-pixel receiver camera, instrumented with feed horns operating in the commercial extended C-Band (3.4-4.2 GHz). A self-trigger capability is implemented in the digital electronics. The main objectives of this first prototype of the MIDAS telescope - to validate the telescope design, and to demonstrate a large detector duty cycle - were successfully accomplished in a dedicated data taking run at the University of Chicago campus prior to installation at the Pierre Auger Observatory.

  12. The Hubble Web: The Dark Matter Problem and Cosmic Strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexander, Stephon

    2009-01-01

    I propose a reinterpretation of cosmic dark matter in which a rigid network of cosmic strings formed at the end of inflation. The cosmic strings fulfill three functions: At recombination they provide an accretion mechanism for virializing baryonic and warm dark matter into disks. These cosmic strings survive as configurations which thread spiral and elliptical galaxies leading to the observed flatness of rotation curves and the Tully-Fisher relation. We find a relationship between the rotational velocity of the galaxy and the string tension and discuss the testability of this model.

  13. The Hubble Web: The Dark Matter Problem and Cosmic Strings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Stephon

    2009-07-01

    I propose a reinterpretation of cosmic dark matter in which a rigid network of cosmic strings formed at the end of inflation. The cosmic strings fulfill three functions: At recombination they provide an accretion mechanism for virializing baryonic and warm dark matter into disks. These cosmic strings survive as configurations which thread spiral and elliptical galaxies leading to the observed flatness of rotation curves and the Tully-Fisher relation. We find a relationship between the rotational velocity of the galaxy and the string tension and discuss the testability of this model.

  14. Development of cosmic-ray radiography with nuclear emulsion and its applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morishima, Kunihiro

    2017-01-01

    We are developing cosmic-ray radiography with nuclear emulsion. Cosmic-ray radiography is non-destructive inspection technology to take image of inner structure of gigantic objects (nuclear reactor, pyramids, volcanoes and so on). We conducted cosmic-ray radiography of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant from 2014 to 2015 and are conducting cosmic-ray radiography of Pyramids at Egypt from 2015. In this paper, technical details and latest results are presented. (author)

  15. The variation of the baryon-to-photon ratio during different cosmological epochs due to decay and annihilation of dark matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zavarygin, E O; Ivanchik, A V

    2015-01-01

    An influence of annihilation and decay of the dark matter particles on the baryon-to-photon ratio has been studied for different cosmological epochs. We consider the different parameter values of the dark matter particles such as mass, annihilation cross section, lifetime and so on. The obtained results are compared with the data which come from the Big Bang nucleosynthesis calculation and from the analysis of the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation. It has been shown that the modern value of the dark matter density Ω CDM = 0.26 is enough to provide the variation of the baryon-to-photon ratio up to Δη/η ∼ 0.01÷1 for decay of the dark matter particles, but it also leads to an excess of the diffuse gamma ray background. We use the observational data on the diffuse gamma ray background in order to determine our constraints on the model of the dark matter particle decay and on the corresponding variation of the baryon-to-photon ratio: Δη/η ≲ 10 -5 . It has been shown that the variation of the baryon-to-photon ratio caused by the annihilation of the dark matter particles is negligible during the cosmological epochs from Big Bang nucleosynthesis to the present epoch. (paper)

  16. Cosmic-ray neutron simulations and measurements in Taiwan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Wei-Lin; Jiang, Shiang-Huei; Sheu, Rong-Jiun

    2014-01-01

    This study used simulations of galactic cosmic ray in the atmosphere to investigate the neutron background environment in Taiwan, emphasising its altitude dependence and spectrum variation near interfaces. The calculated results were analysed and compared with two measurements. The first measurement was a mobile neutron survey from sea level up to 3275 m in altitude conducted using a car-mounted high-sensitivity neutron detector. The second was a previous measured result focusing on the changes in neutron spectra near air/ground and air/water interfaces. The attenuation length of cosmic-ray neutrons in the lower atmosphere was estimated to be 163 g cm -2 in Taiwan. Cosmic-ray neutron spectra vary with altitude and especially near interfaces. The determined spectra near the air/ground and air/water interfaces agree well with measurements for neutrons below 10 MeV. However, the high-energy portion of spectra was observed to be much higher than our previous estimation. Because high-energy neutrons contribute substantially to a dose evaluation, revising the annual sea-level effective dose from cosmic-ray neutrons at ground level in Taiwan to 35 μSv, which corresponds to a neutron flux of 5.30 x 10 -3 n cm -2 s -1 , was suggested. The cosmic-ray neutron background in Taiwan was studied using the FLUKA simulations and field measurements. A new measurement was performed using a car-mounted high-efficiency neutron detector, re-coding real-time neutron counting rates from sea level up to 3275 m. The attenuation of cosmic-ray neutrons in the lower atmosphere exhibited an effective attenuation length of 163 g cm -2 . The calculated neutron counting rates over predicted the measurements by ∼32 %, which leaded to a correction factor for the FLUKA-calculated cosmic-ray neutrons in the lower atmosphere in Taiwan. In addition, a previous measurement regarding neutron spectrum variation near the air/ground and air/water interfaces was re-evaluated. The results showed that the

  17. Balloon test project: Cosmic Ray Antimatter Calorimeter (CRAC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christy, J. C.; Dhenain, G.; Goret, P.; Jorand, J.; Masse, P.; Mestreau, P.; Petrou, N.; Robin, A.

    1984-01-01

    Cosmic ray observations from balloon flights are discussed. The cosmic ray antimatter calorimeter (CRAC) experiment attempts to measure the flux of antimatter in the 200-600 Mev/m energy range and the isotopes of light elements between 600 and 1,000 Mev/m.

  18. Sulphur mountain: Cosmic ray intensity records

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Venkatesan, D.; Mathews, T.

    1985-01-01

    This book deals with the comic ray intensity registrations at the Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Laboratory. The time series of intensity form a valuable data-set, for studying cosmic ray intensity variations and their dependence on solar activity. The IGY neutron monitor started operating from July 1, 1957 and continued through 1963. Daily mean values are tabulated for the period and these are also represented in plots. This monitor was set up by the National Research Council of Canada

  19. Exceptional Colloquium: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Cosmic Strings

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva; Treille, D; Alvarez-Gaumé, Luís

    2005-01-01

    In the 1980s many people were excited by the concept that cosmic strings, as relics of the Grand Unified Era, could be responsible for the formation of cosmic structure. In the 1990s the cosmic string concept steadily lost ground to the Inflationary model both as a result of the difficulty of calculations and more definitively through observations of the CMB. About the time many expected the new WMAP data to deliver the coup de grace, the concepts of cosmic strings as major physical phenomena (not so important in structure formation) has begun a renaissance. This new interest is motivated by one of the original ideas that topological defects are inevitable in symmetry breaking by the Kibble (1976) mechanism and the introduction of new ideas such as brane-cosmology/inflation and the realization that cosmic strings may be the only acceptable such defect. We find ourselves back in the business of trying to detect or limit and understand cosmic strings once again for the insight and constraints they put on partic...

  20. Exceptional Colloquium: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Cosmic Strings

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2005-01-01

    In the 1980s many people were excited by the concept that cosmic strings, as relics of the Grand Unified Era, could be responsible for the formation of cosmic structure. In the 1990s the cosmic string concept steadily lost ground to the Inflationary model both as a result of the difficulty of calculations and more definitively through observations of the CMB. About the time many expected the new WMAP data to deliver the coup de grace, the concepts of cosmic strings as major physical phenomena (not so important in structure formation) has begun a renaissance. This new interest is motivated by one of the original ideas that topological defects are inevitable in symmetry breaking by the Kibble (1976) mechanism and the introduction of new ideas such as brane-cosmology/inflation and the realization that cosmic strings may be the only acceptable such defect. We find ourselves back in the business of trying to detect or limit and understand cosmic strings once again for the insight and constraints they put on p...

  1. Cosmic Ray Studies with IceCube

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Javier

    In this contribution we will give an overview of the cosmic ray studies conducted within the IceCube collaboration. The IceCube detector in the geographical south pole can be used to measure various characteristics of the extensive air showers induced by high energy cosmic rays. With IceTop, the surface component of the detector, we detect the electromagnetic and muon components of the air showers, while with the deep detector we detect the high energy muons. We have measured the energy spectrum of cosmic ray primaries in the range between 1.58PeV and 1.26 EeV. A combined analysis of the high energy muon bundles in the ice and the air shower footprint in IceTop provides a measure of primary composition. We will also discuss how the sensitivity to low energy muons in the air showers has the potential to produce additional measures of primary composition.

  2. CANDELS: THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE OBSERVED GALAXY POPULATION TO COSMIC REIONIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finkelstein, Steven L.; Pawlik, Andreas H. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Papovich, Casey [George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Ryan, Russell E.; Ferguson, Henry C.; Koekemoer, Anton M.; Grogin, Norman A. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Dickinson, Mark [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Finlator, Kristian [Physics Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Giavalisco, Mauro [Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States); Cooray, Asantha [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States); Dunlop, James S. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (United Kingdom); Faber, Sandy M.; Kocevski, Dale D. [University of California Observatories/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Newman, Jeffrey A., E-mail: stevenf@astro.as.utexas.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Pitt-PACC, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States)

    2012-10-20

    We present measurements of the specific ultraviolet luminosity density from a sample of 483 galaxies at 6 {approx}< z {approx}< 8. These galaxies were selected from new deep near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope imaging from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey, Hubble UltraDeep Field 2009, and Wide Field Camera 3 Early Release Science programs. We investigate the contribution to reionization from galaxies that we observe directly, thus sidestepping the uncertainties inherent in complementary studies that have invoked assumptions regarding the intrinsic shape or the faint-end cutoff of the galaxy ultraviolet (UV) luminosity function. Due to our larger survey volume, wider wavelength coverage, and updated assumptions about the clumping of gas in the intergalactic medium (IGM), we find that the observable population of galaxies can sustain a fully reionized IGM at z = 6, if the average ionizing photon escape fraction (f {sub esc}) is {approx}30%. Our result contrasts with a number of previous studies that have measured UV luminosity densities at these redshifts that vary by a factor of five, with many concluding that galaxies could not complete reionization by z = 6 unless a large population of galaxies fainter than the detection limit were invoked, or extremely high values of f {sub esc} were present. The specific UV luminosity density from our observed galaxy samples at z = 7 and 8 is not sufficient to maintain a fully reionized IGM unless f {sub esc} > 50%. We examine the contribution from galaxies in different luminosity ranges and find that the sub-L* galaxies we detect are stronger contributors to the ionizing photon budget than the L > L* population, unless f {sub esc} is luminosity dependent. Combining our observations with constraints on the emission rate of ionizing photons from Ly{alpha} forest observations at z = 6, we find that we can constrain f {sub esc} < 34% (2{sigma}) if the observed galaxies are the only contributors to

  3. Influence of the atmosphere on the space detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays; Influence de l'atmosphere sur la detection spatiale des rayons cosmiques d'ultra-haute energie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moreggia, S

    2007-06-15

    EUSO (Extreme Universe Space Observatory) is a project of ultra-high energy (> 10{sup 20} eV) cosmic rays detection from space. Its concept relies on the observation of fluorescence and Cerenkov photons emitted by extensive air showers from a telescope located on the International Space Station. A simulation software has been developed to study the characteristics of this innovative concept of detection. It deals with the different steps of the detection chain: extensive air shower development, emission of fluorescence and Cerenkov light, and radiative transfer to the telescope. A Monte-Carlo code has been implemented to simulate the propagation of photons through the atmosphere, dealing with multiple scattering in clear sky conditions as well as in presence of aerosols and clouds. With this simulation program, the impact of atmospheric conditions on the performance of a space-located detector has been studied. The precise treatment of photons propagation through the atmosphere has permitted to quantify the scattered light contribution to the detected signal. (author)

  4. On the validity of the equivalent-photon approximation for virtual photon-photon collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carimalo, C.; Kessler, P.; Parisi, J.

    1979-05-01

    For virtual photon-photon collisions in electron storage rings, one derive the equivalent-photon approximation from a helicity treatment, and present it in two forms, involving respectively (i) polarized transverse photons ('transverse-photon approximation') and (ii) unpolarized ones ('Williams-Weizsaecker approximation'). One first postulates the conditions of validity of the approximation on the basis of analytic considerations, and then check them numerically in the case of the process e e → e e μ + μ - . For this check, we consider the completely differentiated cross section as far as approximation (i) is concerned; and in the case of approximation (ii), the cross section differentiated with respect to all variables except the azimuthal angles. The results are given in the form of Tables showing the lower and higher limit of the error involved in the approximation for a large variety of kinematic configurations (i. e., energy losses and scattering angles of both electrons). Those Tables are discussed in detail, and conclusions are drawn as to the applicability of the equivalent-photon approximation to future experiments to be performed with high-energy electron storage rings

  5. gPhoton: THE GALEX PHOTON DATA ARCHIVE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Million, Chase [Million Concepts LLC, P.O. Box 119, 141 Mary Street, Lemont, PA 16851 (United States); Fleming, Scott W.; Shiao, Bernie; Smith, Myron; Thompson, Randy; White, Richard L. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Seibert, Mark [The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Loyd, Parke [Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, Colorado, 80309 (United States); Tucker, Michael [Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608 (United States)

    2016-12-20

    gPhoton is a new database product and software package that enables analysis of GALEX ultraviolet data at the photon level. The project’s stand-alone, pure-Python calibration pipeline reproduces the functionality of the original mission pipeline to reduce raw spacecraft data to lists of time-tagged, sky-projected photons, which are then hosted in a publicly available database by the Mikulski Archive at Space Telescope. This database contains approximately 130 terabytes of data describing approximately 1.1 trillion sky-projected events with a timestamp resolution of five milliseconds. A handful of Python and command-line modules serve as a front end to interact with the database and to generate calibrated light curves and images from the photon-level data at user-defined temporal and spatial scales. The gPhoton software and source code are in active development and publicly available under a permissive license. We describe the motivation, design, and implementation of the calibration pipeline, database, and tools, with emphasis on divergence from prior work, as well as challenges created by the large data volume. We summarize the astrometric and photometric performance of gPhoton relative to the original mission pipeline. For a brief example of short time-domain science capabilities enabled by gPhoton, we show new flares from the known M-dwarf flare star CR Draconis. The gPhoton software has permanent object identifiers with the ASCL (ascl:1603.004) and DOI (doi:10.17909/T9CC7G). This paper describes the software as of version v1.27.2.

  6. Photon-Photon Luminosities in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions at LHC Energies

    OpenAIRE

    Hencken, Kai; Trautmann, Dirk; Baur, Gerhard

    1994-01-01

    Effective photon-photon luminosities are calculated for various realistic hadron collider scenarios. The main characteristics of photon-photon processes at relativistic heavy-ion colliders are established and compared to the corresponding photon-photon luminosities at electron-positron and future Photon Linear Colliders (PLC). Higher order corrections as well as inelastic processes are discussed. It is concluded that feasible high luminosity Ca-Ca collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)...

  7. The bispectrum of matter perturbations from cosmic strings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Regan, Donough; Hindmarsh, Mark, E-mail: d.regan@sussex.ac.uk, E-mail: m.b.hindmarsh@sussex.ac.uk [Astronomy Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QH (United Kingdom)

    2015-03-01

    We present the first calculation of the bispectrum of the matter perturbations induced by cosmic strings. The calculation is performed in two different ways: the first uses the unequal time correlators (UETCs) of the string network - computed using a Gaussian model previously employed for cosmic string power spectra. The second approach uses the wake model, where string density perturbations are concentrated in sheet-like structures whose surface density grows with time. The qualitative and quantitative agreement of the two gives confidence to the results. An essential ingredient in the UETC approach is the inclusion of compensation factors in the integration with the Green's function of the matter and radiation fluids, and we show that these compensation factors must be included in the wake model also. We also present a comparison of the UETCs computed in the Gaussian model, and those computed in the unconnected segment model (USM) used by the standard cosmic string perturbation package CMBACT. We compare numerical estimates for the bispectrum of cosmic strings to those produced by perturbations from an inflationary era, and discover that, despite the intrinsically non-Gaussian nature of string-induced perturbations, the matter bispectrum is unlikely to produce competitive constraints on a population of cosmic strings.

  8. The Energetic Trans-Iron Cosmic-ray Experiment (ENTICE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binns, W. R.; Adams. J. H.; Barghouty, A. F.; Christian, E. R.; Cummings, A. C.; Hams, T.; Israel, M. H.; Labrador, A. W.; Leske, R. A.; Link, J. T.; hide

    2009-01-01

    The ENTICE experiment is one of two instruments that comprise the "Orbiting Astrophysical Spectrometer in Space (OASIS)", which is presently undergoing a NASA "Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Study". ENTICE is designed to make high precision measurements of the abundances of individual elements from neon through the actinides and, in addition, will search for possible superheavy nuclei in the galactic cosmic rays. The ENTICE instrument utilizes silicon detectors, aerogel and acrylic Cherenkov counters, and a scintillating optical fiber hodoscope to measure the charge and energy of these ultra-heavy nuclei for energies greater than 0.5 GeV/nucleon. It is a large instrument consisting of four modules with a total effective geometrical factor of approx.20 sq m sr. Measurements made in space for a period of three years with ENTICE will enable us to determine if cosmic rays include a component of recently synthesized transuranic elements (Pu-94 and Cm-96), to measure the age of that component, and to test the model of the OB association origin of galactic cosmic rays. Additionally, these observations will enable us to study how diffusive shock acceleration of cosmic rays operates differently on interstellar grains and gas. Keywords: cosmic rays Galaxy:abundances

  9. The Astrobiological Case for Our Cosmic Ancestry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wickramasinghe, Chandra

    With steadily mounting evidence that points to a cosmic origin of terrestrial life, a cultural barrier prevails against admitting that such a connection exists. Astronomy continues to reveal the presence of organic molecules and organic dust on a huge cosmic scale, amounting to a third of interstellar carbon tied up in this form. Just as the overwhelming bulk of organics on Earth stored over geological timescales are derived from the degradation of living cells, so it seems most likely that interstellar organics in large measure also derive from biology. As we enter a new decade -- the year 2010 -- a clear pronouncement of our likely alien ancestry and of the existence of extraterrestrial life on a cosmic scale would seem to be overdue.

  10. The Probe of Inflation and Cosmic Origins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanany, Shaul; Inflation Probe Mission Study Team

    2018-01-01

    The Probe of Inflation and Cosmic Origins will map the polarization of the cosmic microwave background over the entire sky with unprecedented sensitivity. It will search for gravity wave signals from the inflationary epoch, thus probing quantum gravity and constraining the energy scale of inflation; it will test the standard model of particle physics by measuring the number of light particles in the Universe and the mass of the neutrino; it will elucidate the nature of dark matter and search for new forms of matter in the early Universe; it will constrain star formation history over cosmic time; and it will determine the mechanisms of structure formation from galaxy cluster to stellar scales. I will review the status of design of this probe-scale mission.

  11. Direct cosmic ray muons and atmospheric neutrinos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryazhskaya, O.G.; Volkova, L.V.; Zatsepin, G.T.

    2005-01-01

    A possible contribution of very short living particles (particles with life-time much shorter than that of charmed particles), for example, resonances, into cosmic ray muon and atmospheric neutrino fluxes (direct muons and neutrinos) is estimated. This contribution could become of the same order of magnitude as that from pions and kaons (conventional) already at energies of hundreds TeV and tens TeV for muons and muon neutrinos coming to the sea level in the vertical direction correspondingly. Of course, the estimation has quite a qualitative character and even it is quite arbitrary but it is necessary to keep this contribution in mind when studying EAS, cosmic ray muon component or trying to interpret data of experiments on cosmic neutrino searching at high energies

  12. Modulation of cosmic rays with particular reference to the Hermanus neutron monitor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoker, P.H.

    1982-01-01

    Investigations at Potchefstroom has directed interest to the interaction between cosmic rays and the interplanetary magnetic field. In this paper the period of increasing modulation of cosmic rays from 1976 is discussed. The geomagnetic field as spectrometer for primary cosmic rays will be discussed and applied to the latitude surveys of 1975 and 1976. Features of the coronal magnetic field, the solar wind with interplanetary magnetic field and the transport of cosmic rays in the interplanetary magnetic field are outlined in order to relate cosmic ray recordings of fixed groundlevel stations to observations made in outerspace by space crafts and satellites and to explain these recordings in terms of cosmic ray modulation processes

  13. Cosmological consistency tests of gravity theory and cosmic acceleration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishak-Boushaki, Mustapha B.

    2017-01-01

    Testing general relativity at cosmological scales and probing the cause of cosmic acceleration are among the important objectives targeted by incoming and future astronomical surveys and experiments. I present our recent results on consistency tests that can provide insights about the underlying gravity theory and cosmic acceleration using cosmological data sets. We use statistical measures, the rate of cosmic expansion, the growth rate of large scale structure, and the physical consistency of these probes with one another.

  14. Cosmic rays from 1017eV to beyond 1020eV: evidence from the fly's eye experiment and ground arrays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sokolsky, P.

    The study of cosmic rays with energies well above the knee (1015eV) of the spectrum has a long history. Beginning with the pioneering work of Linsley and the Volcano Ranch array, followed by the SUGAR, Haverah Park, Yakutsk, Akeno and AGASA array and the Fly's Eye detector, evidence has been steadily accumulating that the spectrum exhibits a change in slope near 10×1018eV. This flattening may indicate that the spectrum in this region is largely extragalactic in origin. If the sources of this spectrum are sufficiently distant, a cut-off due to the interaction of near 1020eV protons with black body photons should be observed. Recent data from the AGASA and Fly's Eye detectors have brought to bear information of spectral shape, composition and anisotropy to this study. In addition to clarifying the nature of the spectral structure, these new results lead to the surprising conclusion that nearby cosmic ray sources must exist that produce particles with energies well in excess of 1020eV. New experiments are being designed which will have the enormous apertures necessary for detecting these very rare events.

  15. Measurements of the isotopic composition of galactic cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herrstroem, N.Y.

    1985-01-01

    The galactic cosmic-ray boron and carbon isotopic composition has been measured. The boron measurement is the first ever made in nuclear emulsion. The carbon measurement has substantially improved the statistical assuracy in the determination of the 13 C abundance as compared to an earlier measurement using the same technique. Mass-spectra of cosmic-ray carbon and oxygen in different zenith angle intervals have been compared with calculated spectra. The method makes it possible to study experimentally the atmospheric influence on the primary cosmic-ray isotopic composition. Photometric measurements on fragments from oxygen-induced interactions in nuclear emulsion have been made. Accurate charge assignments have been made on all heavy fragments which has made it possible to study the interaction exclusively event-by-event. Measurements on the isotopic composition of primary cosmic-ray neom have been made. The data are from the Danish-French instrument on the HEAO-3 satellite. The rigidity dependent filtering of the cosmic rays by the Earth's magnetic field has been used. The energy dependence of the 22 Ne/ 20 Ne-ratio and its astrophysical implications are discussed. (Author)

  16. Bubbles, superbubbles and their impact on cosmic ray transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weinreuter, Matthias; Gebauer, Iris; Boer, Wim de; Neumann, Alexander [KIT, Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    The Fermi-LAT data on diffuse gamma rays show variations in the gamma ray intensity, which are linked to either variations in the gas density or variations in the cosmic ray density. Such small scale variations are not modeled in current state-of-the-art models for galactic cosmic ray propagation. Inhomogeneities in the interstellar material can be formed by cavities like the so-called Local Bubble, an underdense region surrounding our Sun, which was created by several supernova explosions in the past. We show that the Local Bubble can have a strong impact on the cosmic ray energy spectra and density. In particular, it enhances cosmic ray scattering in the surrounding molecular cloud complexes and can significantly distort the cosmic ray arrival directions. We briefly discuss the consequences for pulsar searches in energetic positrons and electrons. By making simple assumptions on the level of inhomogeneity in the interstellar medium we investigate if the observed variations in the diffuse gamma ray emission can indeed be explained by cavities similar to the Local Bubble.

  17. Simulating Cosmic Reionisation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pawlik, Andreas Heinz

    2009-01-01

    The first stars formed a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, when the Universe was only a small fraction of its present age. Their radiation transformed the previously cold and neutral hydrogen that filled intergalactic space into the hot and ionised cosmic plasma that is observed today.

  18. Photon technology. Laser process technology; Photon technology. Laser process gijutsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    For developing laser process technology by interaction between substance and photon, the present state, system, R and D issues and proposal of such technology were summarized. Development of the photon technology aims at the modification of bonding conditions of substances by quantum energy of photon, and the new process technology for generating ultra- high temperature and pressure fields by concentrating photon on a minute region. Photon technology contributes to not only the conventional mechanical and thermal forming and removal machining but also function added machining (photon machining) in quantum level and new machining technology ranging from macro- to micro-machining, creating a new industrial field. This technology extends various fields from the basis of physics and chemistry to new bonding technology. Development of a compact high-quality high-power high-efficiency photon source, and advanced photon transmission technology are necessary. The basic explication of an unsolved physicochemical phenomenon related to photon and substance, and development of related application technologies are essential. 328 refs., 147 figs., 13 tabs.

  19. On-chip steering of entangled photons in nonlinear photonic crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leng, H Y; Yu, X Q; Gong, Y X; Xu, P; Xie, Z D; Jin, H; Zhang, C; Zhu, S N

    2011-08-16

    One promising technique for working toward practical photonic quantum technologies is to implement multiple operations on a monolithic chip, thereby improving stability, scalability and miniaturization. The on-chip spatial control of entangled photons will certainly benefit numerous applications, including quantum imaging, quantum lithography, quantum metrology and quantum computation. However, external optical elements are usually required to spatially control the entangled photons. Here we present the first experimental demonstration of on-chip spatial control of entangled photons, based on a domain-engineered nonlinear photonic crystal. We manipulate the entangled photons using the inherent properties of the crystal during the parametric downconversion, demonstrating two-photon focusing and beam-splitting from a periodically poled lithium tantalate crystal with a parabolic phase profile. These experimental results indicate that versatile and precise spatial control of entangled photons is achievable. Because they may be operated independent of any bulk optical elements, domain-engineered nonlinear photonic crystals may prove to be a valuable ingredient in on-chip integrated quantum optics.

  20. Two-photon interference of polarization-entangled photons in a Franson interferometer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Heonoh; Lee, Sang Min; Kwon, Osung; Moon, Han Seb

    2017-07-18

    We present two-photon interference experiments with polarization-entangled photon pairs in a polarization-based Franson-type interferometer. Although the two photons do not meet at a common beamsplitter, a phase-insensitive Hong-Ou-Mandel type two-photon interference peak and dip fringes are observed, resulting from the two-photon interference effect between two indistinguishable two-photon probability amplitudes leading to a coincidence detection. A spatial quantum beating fringe is also measured for nondegenerate photon pairs in the same interferometer, although the two-photon states have no frequency entanglement. When unentangled polarization-correlated photons are used as an input state, the polarization entanglement is successfully recovered through the interferometer via delayed compensation.