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Register a new userMuon Charge Ratio of Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays
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Bo-Qiang Ma
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The muon charge ratio of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays may provide information to detect the composition of the primary cosmic rays. We propose to extract the charge information of high energy muons in very inclined extensive air showers by analyzing their relative lateral positions in the shower transverse plane.
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This is a review of the most resent results from the investigation of the Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays, particles of energy exceeding 10$^{18}$ eV. After a general introduction to the topic and a brief review of the lower energy cosmic rays and the detection methods, the two most recent experiments, the High Resolution Flys Eye (HiRes) and the Southern Auger Observatory are described. We then concentrate on the results from these two experiments on the cosmic ray energy spectrum, the chemical composition of these cosmic rays and on the searches for their sources. We conclude with a brief analysis of the controversies in these results and the projects in development and construction that can help solve the remaining problems with these particles.
We explore the joint implications of ultrahigh energy cosmic ray (UHECR) source environments -- constrained by the spectrum and composition of UHECRs -- and the observed high energy astrophysical neutrino spectrum. Acceleration mechanisms producing power-law CR spectra $propto E^{-2}$ are compatible with UHECR data, if CRs at high rigidities are in the quasi-ballistic diffusion regime as they escape their source environment. Both gas- and photon-dominated source environments are able to account for UHECR observations, however photon-dominated sources do so with a higher degree of accuracy. However, gas-dominated sources are in tension with current neutrino constraints. Accurate measurement of the neutrino flux at $sim 10$ PeV will provide crucial information on the viability of gas-dominated sources, as well as whether diffusive shock acceleration is consistent with UHECR observations. We also show that UHECR sources are able to give a good fit to the high energy portion of the astrophysical neutrino spectrum, above $sim$ PeV. This common origin of UHECRs and high energy astrophysical neutrinos is natural if air shower data is interpreted with the textsc{Sibyll2.3c} hadronic interaction model, which gives the best-fit to UHECRs and astrophysical neutrinos in the same part of parameter space, but not for EPOS-LHC.
The apparent lack of suitable astrophysical sources for cosmic rays with E > 10^{19.7} eV (UHECRs) is the GZK Paradox. We argue that whatever mechanism produces them must also account for events down to ~10^{18.7} eV, including their isotropy and spectral smoothness. This rules out galactic sources, distributed sources such as topological defects, and Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). We are lead to identify the powerful radio galaxy Cen A, at 3.4 Mpc, as the probable source of most UHECRs observed at Earth today, and to estimate the extragalactic magnetic field to be ~0.3 microG.
In this paper we review the extragalactic propagation of ultrahigh energy cosmic-rays (UHECR). We present the different energy loss processes of protons and nuclei, and their expected influence on energy evolution of the UHECR spectrum and composition. We discuss the possible implications of the recent composition analyses provided by the Pierre Auger Observatory. The influence of extragalactic magnetic fields and possible departures from the rectilinear case are also mentioned as well as the production of secondary cosmogenic neutrinos and photons and the constraints their observation would imply for the UHECRs origin. Finally, we conclude by briefly discussing the relevance of a multi messenger approach for solving the mystery of UHECRs.
Data of Pierre Auger Observatory show a proton-dominated chemical composition of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays spectrum at (1 - 3) EeV and a steadily heavier composition with energy increasing. In order to explain this feature we assume that (1 - 3) EeV protons are extragalactic and derive their maximum acceleration energy, E_p^{max} simeq 4 EeV, compatible with both the spectrum and the composition. We also assume the rigidity-dependent acceleration mechanism of heavier nuclei, E_A^{max} = Z x E_p^{max}. The proposed model has rather disappointing consequences: i) no pion photo-production on CMB photons in extragalactic space and hence ii) no high-energy cosmogenic neutrino fluxes; iii) no GZK-cutoff in the spectrum; iv) no correlation with nearby sources due to nuclei deflection in the galactic magnetic fields up to highest energies.
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