No Arabic abstract
We demonstrate that the energy spectra of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) as observed by AGASA, Flys Eye, HiRes and Yakutsk detectors, have the imprints of UHE proton interaction with the CMB radiation as the dip centered at $Esim 1times 10^{19}$ eV, beginning of the GZK cutoff, and very good agreement with calculated spectrum shape. This conclusion about proton composition agrees with recent HiRes data on elongation rate that support the proton composition at $Egeq 1times 10^{18}$ eV. The visible bump in the spectrum at $E sim 4times 10^{19}$ eV is not caused by pile-up protons, but is an artifact of multiplying the spectrum by $E^3$. We argue that these data, combined with small-angle clustering and correlation with AGN (BL Lacs), point to the AGN model of UHECR origin at energies $E leq 1times 10^{20}$ eV. The events at higher energies and the excess of the events at $E geq 1times 10^{20}$ eV, which is observed by AGASA (but absent in the HiRes data) must be explained by another component of UHECR, e.g. by UHECR from superheavy dark matter.
An isotropic component of high energy $gamma$-ray spectrum measured by Fermi LAT constrains the proton component of UHECR. The strongest restriction comes from the highest, $(580-820)$ GeV, energy bin. One more constraint on the proton component is provided by the IceCube upper bound on ultrahigh energy cosmogenic neutrino flux. We study the influence of these restrictions on the source properties, such as evolution and distribution of sources, their energy spectrum and admixture of nuclei. We also study the sensitivity of restrictions to various Fermi LAT galactic foreground models (model B being less restrictive), to the choice of extragalactic background light model and to overall normalization of the energy spectrum. We claim that the $gamma$-ray-cascade constraints are stronger than the neutrino ones, and that however many proton models are viable. The basic parameters of such models are relatively large $gamma_g$ and not very large $z_{max}$. The allowance for H$e^4$ admixture also relaxes the restrictions. However we foresee that future CTA measurements of $gamma$-ray spectrum at $E_gamma simeq (600 - 800)$ GeV, as well as resolving of more individual $gamma$-ray sources, may rule out the proton-dominated cosmic ray models.
The signatures of Ultra High Energy (E >1 EeV) proton propagation through CMB radiation are pair-production dip and GZK cutoff. The visible characteristics of these two spectral features are ankle, which is intrinsic part of the dip, beginning of GZK cutoff in the differential spectrum and E_{1/2} in integral spectrum. Measured by HiRes and Telescope Array (TA) these characteristics agree with theoretical predictions. However, directly measured mass composition remains a puzzle. While HiRes and TA detectors observe the proton dominated mass composition, the data of Auger detector strongly evidence for nuclei mass composition becoming progressively heavier at energy higher than 4 EeV and reaching Iron at energy about 35 EeV. The models based on the Auger and HiRes/TA data are considered independently and classified using the transition from galactic to extragalactic cosmic rays. The ankle cannot provide this transition. since data of all three detector at energy (1 - 3) EeV agree with pure proton composition (or at least not heavier than Helium). If produced in Galaxy these particles result in too high anisotropy. This argument excludes or strongly disfavours all ankle models with ankle energy E_a > 3 EeV. The calculation of elongation curves, X_{max}(E), for different ankle models strengthens further this conclusion. Status of other models, the dip, mixed composition and Auger based models are discussed.
We demonstrate that the energy spectra of Ultra High Energy Cosmic rays (UHECR) as observed by AGASA, Flys Eye, HiRes and Yakutsk detectors, have the imprints of UHE proton interaction with the CMB radiation in the form of the dip at $Esim 1times 10^{19}$~ eV, of the beginning of the GZK cutoff, and of very good agreement with calculated spectrum shape. We argue that these data, combined with small-angle clustering and correlation with AGN (BL Lacs), point to the AGN model of UHECR origin at energies $E lsim 1times 10^{20}$ eV. The excess of the events at $E gsim 1times 10^{20}$ eV, which is observed by AGASA (but absent in HiRes data) can be explained by another component of UHECR, e.g. by UHECR from superheavy dark matter.
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are particles, likely protons and/or nuclei, with energies up to $10^{20}$ eV that are observed through the giant air showers they produce in the atmosphere. These particles carry the information on the most extreme phenomena in the Universe. At these energies, even charged particles could be magnetically rigid enough to keep track of, or even point directly to, the original positions of their sources on the sky. The discovery of anisotropy of UHECRs would thus signify opening of an entirely new window onto the Universe. With the construction and operation of the new generation of cosmic ray experiments -- the Pierre Auger Observatory in the Southern hemisphere and the Telescope Array in the Northern one -- the study of these particles, the most energetic ever detected, has experienced a jump in statistics as well as in the data quality, allowing for a much better sensitivity in searching for their sources. In this review, we summarize the searches for anisotropies and the efforts to identify the sources of UHECRs which have been carried out using these new data.
There will be a review of the history of polarized proton beams, and a discussion of the unexpected and still unexplained large transverse spin effects found in several high energy proton-proton spin experiments at the ZGS, AGS and Fermilab. Next, there will be a discussion of present and possible future experiments on the violent elastic collisions of polarized protons at the 70 GeV U-70 accelerator at IHEP-Protvino in Russia and the new high intensity 50 GeV J-PARC facility being built at Tokai in Japan.