Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2013
Volume 58, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 13–16, 2013; Denver, Colorado
Session L14: Multimessenger Cosmic Rays |
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Sponsoring Units: DAP Chair: John Krizmanic, NASA Room: Plaza Court 3 |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 3:30PM - 3:42PM |
L14.00001: High Energy Cosmic Rays and Neutrinos from Newborn Pulsars Ke Fang, Kumiko Kotera, Angela Olinto Newborn pulsars offer favorable sites for cosmic ray acceleration and interaction. Particles could be striped off the star surface and accelerated in the pulsar wind up to PeV-$100$ EeV energies, depending on the pulsar's birth period and magnetic field strength. Once accelerated, the cosmic rays interact with the surrounding supernova ejecta until they escape the source. By assuming a normal distribution of pulsar birth periods centered at $300\,\rm ms$, we find the combined contribution of extragalactic pulsars produce ultrahigh energy cosmic rays that agree with both the observed energy spectrum and composition trend reported by the Auger Observatory. Meanwhile, we point out their Galactic counterparts naturally give rise to a cosmic ray flux peaked at very high energies (VHE, between $10^{16}$ and $10^{18} \,\rm eV$), which can bridge the gap between predictions of cosmic rays produced by supernova remnants and the observed spectrum and composition just below the ankle. Young pulsars in the universe would also contribute to a diffuse neutrino background due to the photomeson interactions, whose detectability and typical neutrino energy are discussed. Lastly, we predict a neutrino emission level for the future birth of a nearby pulsar. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 3:42PM - 3:54PM |
L14.00002: Cosmic-ray anisotropy studies with the IceCube, IceTop and AMANDA detectors Marcos Santander The IceCube neutrino observatory can detect energetic muons originating from cosmic ray interactions with the atmosphere at a rate of about 2 kHz. The integration of such a high muon rate over the last five years provide us with a data sample of several billion cosmic-ray events with typical energies between 20 and 400 TeV. The size of this sample, combined with the good angular resolution of the detector, has allowed us to observe a significant anisotropy in the arrival direction of cosmic rays in the southern sky. 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 $10^{\circ}$ and $20^{\circ}$. Combining the IceCube data set with data gathered by the IceTop air shower array and the AMANDA neutrino telescope, which operated between 2000 and 2007, has enabled us to expand the search for anisotropy to higher energies, and also to look for time variability in the observed anisotropy at TeV energies. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 3:54PM - 4:06PM |
L14.00003: Fluorescence Detection of Cosmic Ray Air Showers between 10$^{16.5}$ eV and 10$^{19}$ eV with the Telescope Array Low Energy Extension (TALE) J.N. Matthews, Z. Zundel, C.C.H. Jui, J.D. Smith, S.B. Thomas, D. Ivanov The Telescope Array Experiment has been observing cosmic ray air showers at energies above 10$^{18}$ eV since 2008. TA operates three Fluorescence Detector (FD) sites, with telescopes that observe 3-31 deg in elevation. The FD sites are located at the periphery of a surface array of 507 scintillation counters covering 700 km$^2$, with 1.2km spacing. The TA Collaboration is in the process of building a low-energy extension at its Middle drum FD site. Ten new telescopes will observe between 33 and 51 degrees in elevation. A graded ground array of between 400 and 600m will be placed in front of the TALE FD. We have already observed multi-telescope cosmic ray events as well as the scattered light from the central laser (CLF). By 4/2013, all ten telescopes will have been commissioned and the first 35 scintillator counters will have been deployment by helicopter. With these upgrades, the physics threshold of TA will be lowered to 10$^{16.5}$ eV. The TA Low Energy Extension (TALE) will explore the energy regime corresponding to that of the LHC in center-of-mass frame. This is also the range where the transition from galactic to extra- galactic cosmic ray flux is suspected to occur. We will give a brief overview of the physics, and report on the progress of TALE. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 4:06PM - 4:18PM |
L14.00004: Cosmic-Ray Observations with HAWC30 Daniel Fiorino The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory is a TeV gamma-ray and cosmic-ray detector currently under construction at an altitude of 4100 meters on the slope of Volc\'an Sierra Negra near Puebla, Mexico. HAWC is an extensive air-shower array comprising 300 optically-isolated water Cherenkov detectors. Each detector contains 200,000 liters of filtered water and four upward-facing photomultiplier tubes. Since September 2012, 30 water Cherenkov detectors have been instrumented and operated in data acquisition. With 10 percent of the detector complete and six months of operation, the event statistics are already sufficient to perform detailed studies of cosmic rays observed at the site. We will report on cosmic-ray observations with HAWC30, in particular the detection and study of the shadow of the moon. From these observations, we infer the pointing accuracy of the detector and our angular resolution of the detector reconstruction. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 4:18PM - 4:30PM |
L14.00005: Composition and Energy Resolution with HAWC300 Zigfried Hampel-Arias The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory is a ground based TeV gamma-ray detector currently being deployed on the slopes of Volc\'{a}n Sierra Negra in the state of Puebla, Mexico. The HAWC Observatory is an air shower array that will consist of 300 Water Cherenkov Detectors, each equipped with 4 upward-facing photomultiplier tubes, covering a total instrumented area of 22,000 m$^{2}$ at an altitude of 4100 m asl. We will discuss a proposed primary particle and energy estimator that uses the lateral distribution of a given air shower, i.e. the distribution of charge as a function of the distance to the central core of the shower. For a given event hit-pattern on the HAWC array, we use a maximum likelihood approach to identify the most likely mass and energy of the primary particle. The likelihood of hit patterns is calculated using probability tables based on simulated gamma-ray and hadronic showers that trigger the HAWC detector. Prior information, such as the core distribution of triggered events and the relative abundance of protons and gammas, can be taken into account. We will report on the efficiency for identifying the primary particle and the energy resolution of the proposed technique. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 4:30PM - 4:42PM |
L14.00006: Characterization of CALET prototype TASC lead tungstate calorimeter using CERN beam test data Amir Javaid The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) is a high-energy cosmic ray experiment that will be placed on the International Space Station in 2014. The primary goals of CALET are to measure the cosmic ray electron spectra from 1 GeV to 20 TeV, gamma rays from 10 GeV to 10 TeV, and protons and nuclei from 10 GeV up to 1000 TeV. The detector consists of three main components: a Charge Detector (CHD), Imaging Calorimeter (IMC), and Total Absorption Calorimeter (TASC). The TASC consists of 192 lead tungstate (PbWO$_{\mathrm{4}})$ logs arranged in 12 layers. An understanding of the major characteristics of the TASC is important for accurately determining the incident particle shower energy deposition. In September 2012, a prototype CALET detector was exposed to electron, muon, and proton beams from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN. Muon beams can be used to determine the detector response to minimum ionizing particles (MIP). In the present paper, we discuss the response of the TASC logs to muon beams as a function of position, and signal attenuation during propagation. Included is a discussion of parameterizations of position-dependent muon energy deposition and signal attenuation functions for the TASC logs based on the CERN beam test data. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 4:42PM - 4:54PM |
L14.00007: Predicted CALET Measurements of Ultra-Heavy Cosmic Ray Abundances Brian Rauch The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET), comprised of main calorimeter telescope (CAL) and Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (CGBM), is under construction for launch to the ISS in 2014. CAL consists of a Charge Detector (CHD) with two segmented planes of 1 cm thick plastic scintillator, an Imaging Calorimeter (IMC) with a total of 3 radiation lengths ($X_{0}$) of tungsten plates read out with 8 planes of interleaved scintillating fibers, and a Total Absorption Calorimeter (TASC) with 27 $X_{0}$ of lead tungstate (PWO) logs. The primary objectives of CAL are to measure electron energy spectra from 1GeV to 20 TeV, to detect gamma-rays above 10 GeV, and to measure the energy spectra of nuclei from protons through iron up to 1,000 TeV. In this paper we discuss the predicted abundance measurements CAL can make of rare ultra-heavy (UH) nuclei ($30 \le Z \le 40$). In addition to the nuclei that pass within the full CAL geometry, UH nuclei can be resolved using the CHD and top IMC layers without requiring particle energy determination in the TASC in the portion of the ISS 51.6$^{\circ}$ inclination orbit where the geomagnetic rigidity cutoffs are above minimum ionization in the scintillator. In 5-years CAL would collect 4-5 times the UH statistics of TIGER. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 4:54PM - 5:06PM |
L14.00008: The Super-TIGER Instrument to Probe Galactic Cosmic-Ray Origins John E. Ward Super-TIGER is a large area (5.4 m$^2$) balloon-borne instrument designed to measure cosmic-ray nuclei in the charge interval 30 $\le$ Z $\le$ 42 with individual-element resolution and high statistical precision, and make exploratory measurements through Z = 56. These measurements will provide sensitive tests of the emerging model of cosmic-ray origins in OB associations and models of the mechanism for selection of nuclei for acceleration. Furthermore, Super-TIGER will measure with high statistical accuracy the energy spectra of the more abundant elements in the interval 10 $\le$ Z $\le$ 28 at energies 0.8 $<$ E $<$ 10 GeV/nucleon to test the hypothesis that nearby micro-quasars could superpose features on the energy spectra. Super-TIGER, which builds on the heritage of the smaller TIGER, was constructed by a collaboration involving WUSTL, NASA/GSFC, Caltech, JPL and U Minn. It was successfully launched from Antarctica in December 2012, collecting high-quality data for over one month. Particle charge and energy were measured with a combination of plastic scintillators, acrylic and silica-aerogel Cherenkov detectors, and a scintillating fiber hodoscope. Details of the flight, instrument performance, data analysis and preliminary results of the Super-TIGER flight will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 5:06PM - 5:18PM |
L14.00009: Time variations of cosmic-ray helium isotopes Nicolas Picot-Clemente The Balloon-born Experiment with Superconducting magnet Spectrometer (BESS) is a Japan-U.S. program that carried out 11 successful flights from 1993 to 2007. The BESS instrument includes various particle detectors, such as plastic scintillator hodoscopes and a central jet-type drift chamber surrounded by a superconducting solenoid magnet. Measurements provided by these detectors allow precise identification of cosmic-ray helium isotopes. The long-duration flight of the BESS-Polar I instrument, about 8.5 days over Antarctica in 2004, allows measurements of time variations of isotope fluxes for the first time. The time variation of the helium isotope flux is presented for rigidities from 1.2 GV to 2.5 GV, and the results are compared with previously reported proton data and neutron monitor data. [Preview Abstract] |
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