A. O’Neill

A Study of the Composition of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays Using the High-Resolution Fly’s Eye

The composition of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) is measured with the High Resolution Flys Eye cosmic ray observatory (HiRes) data using the Xmax technique. Data were collected in stereo between 1999 November and 2001 September. The data are reconstructed with well-determined geometry. Measurements of the atmospheric transmission are incorporated in the reconstruction. The detector resolution is found to be 30 g cm^-2 in Xmax and 13% in Energy. The Xmax elongation rate between 10^18.0 eV and 10^19.4 eV is measured to be 54.5 +/- 6.5 (stat) +/- 4.5 (sys) g cm^-2 per decade. This is compared to predictions using the QGSJet01 and SIBYLL 2.1 hadronic interaction models for both protons and iron nuclei. CORSIKA-generated Extensive Air Showers (EAS) are incorporated directly into a detailed detector Monte Carlo program. The elongation rate and the Xmax distribution widths are consistent with a constant or slowly changing and predominantly light composition. A simple model containing only protons and iron nuclei is compared to QGSJet and SIBYLL. The best agreement between the model and the data is at 80% protons for QGSJet and 60% protons for SIBYLL.The composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is measured with the High Resolution Flys Eye cosmic-ray observatory data using the Xmax technique. Data were collected in stereo between 1999 November and 2001 September. The data are reconstructed with well-determined geometry. Measurements of the atmospheric transmission are incorporated in the reconstruction. The detector resolution is found to be 30 g cm-2 in Xmax and 13% in energy. The Xmax elongation rate between 1018.0 and 1019.4 eV is measured to be 54.5 ± 6.5 ± 4.5 g cm-2 per decade. This is compared with predictions using the QGSJet01 and SIBYLL 2.1 hadronic interaction models for both protons and iron nuclei. CORSIKA-generated extensive air showers are incorporated directly into a detailed detector Monte Carlo program. The elongation rate and the Xmax distribution widths are consistent with a constant or slowly changing and predominantly light composition. A simple model containing only protons and iron nuclei is compared with QGSJet and SIBYLL. The best agreement between the model and the data is for 80% protons for QGSJet and 60% protons for SIBYLL.

Measurement of the flux of ultra high energy cosmic rays by the stereo technique

The High Resolution Fly’s Eye (HiRes) experiment has measured the flux of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays using the stereoscopic air fluorescence technique. The HiRes experiment consists of two detectors that observe cosmic ray showers via the fluorescence light they emit. HiRes data can be analyzed in monocular mode, where each detector is treated separately, or in stereoscopic mode where they are considered together. Using the monocular mode the HiRes collaboration measured the cosmic ray spectrum and made the first observation of the Greisen–Zatsepin–Kuzmin cutoff. In this paper we present the cosmic ray spectrum measured by the stereoscopic technique. Good agreement is found with the monocular spectrum in all details.

Study of small-scale anisotropy of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays observed in stereo by the high resolution fly's eye detector

The High Resolution Flys Eye (HiRes) experiment is an air fluorescence detector which, operating in stereo mode, has a typical angular resolution of 0.6 degrees and is sensitive to cosmic rays with energies above 10^18 eV. HiRes is thus an excellent instrument for the study of the arrival directions of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. We present the results of a search for anisotropies in the distribution of arrival directions on small scales (<5 degrees) and at the highest energies (>10^19 eV). The search is based on data recorded between 1999 December and 2004 January, with a total of 271 events above 10^19 eV. No small-scale anisotropy is found, and the strongest clustering found in the HiRes stereo data is consistent at the 52% level with the null hypothesis of isotropically distributed arrival directions.The High Resolution Fly’s Eye (HiRes) experiment is an air fluorescence detector which, operating in stereo mode, has a typical angular resolution of 0 .6 and is sensitive to cosmic rays with energies above 10 18 eV. The HiRes cosmic-ray detector is thus an excellent instrument for the study of the arrival directions of ultra–highenergy cosmic rays. We present the results of a search for anisotropies in the distribution of arrival directions on small scales (!5) and at the highest energies (110 19 eV). The search is based on data recorded between 1999 December and 2004 January, with a total of 271 events above 10 19 eV. No small-scale anisotropy is found, and the strongest clustering found in the HiRes stereo data is consistent at the 52% level with the null hypothesis of isotropically distributed arrival directions. Subject headings: acceleration of particles — cosmic rays — large-scale structure of universe

ANALYSIS OF LARGE-SCALE ANISOTROPY OF ULTRA-HIGH ENERGY COSMIC RAYS IN HiRes DATA

Stereo data collected by the HiRes experiment over a six-year period are examined for large-scale anisotropy related to the inhomogeneous distribution of matter in the nearby universe. We consider the generic case of small cosmic-ray deflections and a large number of sources tracing the matter distribution. In this matter tracer model the expected cosmic-ray flux depends essentially on a single free parameter, the typical deflection angle {theta} {sub s}. We find that the HiRes data with threshold energies of 40 EeV and 57 EeV are incompatible with the matter tracer model at a 95% confidence level unless {theta} {sub s} > 10 deg. and are compatible with an isotropic flux. The data set above 10 EeV is compatible with both the matter tracer model and an isotropic flux.

Search for point sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays above 4.0 × 1019 ev using a maximum likelihood ratio test

We present the results of a search for cosmic-ray point sources at energies in excess of 4.0 × 1019 eV in the combined data sets recorded by the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array and High Resolution Flys Eye stereo experiments. The analysis is based on a maximum likelihood ratio test using the probability density function for each event rather than requiring an a priori choice of a fixed angular bin size. No statistically significant clustering of events consistent with a point source is found.

An upper limit on the electron-neutrino flux from the HiRes detector

Air-fluorescence detectors such as the High Resolution Flys Eye (HiRes) detector are very sensitive to upward-going, Earth-skimming ultra-high-energy electron-neutrino-induced showers. This is due to the relatively large interaction cross sections of these high-energy neutrinos and to the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal (LPM) effect. The LPM effect causes a significant decrease in the cross sections for bremsstrahlung and pair production, allowing charged-current electron-neutrino-induced showers occurring deep in the Earths crust to be detectable as they exit the Earth into the atmosphere. A search for upward-going neutrino-induced showers in the HiRes-II monocular data set has yielded a null result. From an LPM calculation of the energy spectrum of charged particles as a function of primary energy and depth for electron-induced showers in rock, we calculate the shape of the resulting profile of these showers in air. We describe a full detector Monte Carlo simulation to determine the detector response to upward-going electron-neutrino-induced cascades and present an upper limit on the flux of electron neutrinos.

Techniques for measuring atmospheric aerosols at the High Resolution Fly's Eye experiment

We describe several techniques developed by the High Resolution Flys Eye experiment for measuring aerosol vertical optical depth, aerosol horizontal attenuation length, and aerosol phase function. The techniques are based on measurements of side-scattered light generated by a steerable ultraviolet laser and collected by an optical detector designed to measure fluorescence light from cosmic-ray air showers. We also present a technique to cross-check the aerosol optical depth measurement using air showers observed in stereo. These methods can be used by future air fluorescence experiments.

A search for arrival direction clustering in the HiRes-I monocular data above 1019.5 eV

In the past few years, small scale anisotropy has become a primary focus in the search for source of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs). The Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA) has reported the presence of clusters of event arrival directions in their highest energy data set. The High Resolution Flys Eye (HiRes) has accumulated an exposure in one of its monocular eyes at energies above 10^(19.5) eV comparable to that of AGASA. However, monocular events observed with an air fluorescence detector are characterized by highly asymmetric angular resolution. A method is developed for measuring autocorrelation with asymmetric angular resolution. It is concluded that HiRes-I observations are consistent with no autocorrelation and that the sensitivity to clustering of the HiRes-I detector is comparable to that of the reported AGASA data set. Furthermore, we state with a 90% confidence level that no more than 13% of the observed HiRes-I events above 10^(19.5) eV could be sharing common arrival directions. However, because a measure of autocorrelation makes no assumption of the underlying astrophysical mechanism that results in clustering phenomena, we cannot claim that the HiRes monocular analysis and the AGASA analysis are inconsistent beyond a specified confidence level.

A measurement of time-averaged aerosol optical depth using air-showers observed in stereo by HiRes

Air fluorescence measurements of cosmic ray energy must be corrected for attenuation of the atmosphere. In this paper we show that the air-showers themselves can yield a measurement of the aerosol attenuation in terms of optical depth, time-averaged over extended periods. Although the technique lacks statistical power to make the critical hourly measurements that only specialized active instruments can achieve, we note the technique does not depend on absolute calibration of the detector hardware, and requires no additional equipment beyond the fluorescence detectors that observe the air showers. This paper describes the technique, and presents results based on analysis of 1258 air-showers observed in stereo by the High Resolution Flys Eye over a four year span.

Search for point-like sources of cosmic rays with energies above 1018.5 eV in the HiRes-I monocular data set

We report the results of a search for point-like deviations from isotropy in the arrival directions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays in the northern hemisphere. In the monocular data set collected by the High-Resolution Flys Eye, consisting of 1,525 events with energy exceeding 10^18.5 eV, we find no evidence for point-like excesses. We place 90% c.l. upper limits less than or equal to 0.8 cosmic rays/km^2yr on the flux from such sources as a function of position in the sky.