Related papers: The Air-Fluorescence Yield
Spatial distributions of energy deposited by an extensive air shower in the atmosphere through ionization, as obtained from the CORSIKA simulation program, are used to find the fluorescence light distribution in the optical image of the…
The Pierre Auger Observatory detects the highest energy cosmic rays. Calorimetric measurements of extensive air showers induced by cosmic rays are performed with a fluorescence detector. Thus, one of the main challenges is the atmospheric…
The reconstruction of the energy and the depth of maximum $X_{\rm max}$ of an extensive air shower depends on the multiple scattering of fluorescence photons in the atmosphere. In this work, we explain how atmospheric aerosols, and…
A measurement of the absolute fluorescence yield of the 337 nm nitrogen band, relevant to ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) detectors, is reported. Two independent calibrations of the fluorescence emission induced by a 120 GeV proton…
Experimental conclusions from air shower observations on cosmic-ray photons above 10^19 eV are based on the comparison to detailed shower simulations. For the calculations, the photonuclear cross-section needs to be extrapolated over…
Space-based ultra-high-energy cosmic ray detectors observe fluorescence light from extensive air showers produced by these particles in the troposphere. Clouds can scatter and absorb this light and produce systematic errors in energy…
The air fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory is designed to perform calorimetric measurements of extensive air showers created by cosmic rays of above 10^18 eV. To correct these measurements for the effects introduced by…
Cascades of charged particles are created when high-energy cosmic rays enter the earth's atmosphere: these 'extensive air-showers' are studied to gain information on the energy spectrum, arrival direction distribution and mass composition…
Experimental results of the absolute air-fluorescence yield are given very often in different units (photons/MeV or photons/m) and for different wavelength intervals. In this work we present a comparison of available results normalized to…
Observations of cosmic rays have been improving at all energies, with higher statistics and reduced systematics. Fundamental questions remain regarding the origins of cosmic rays both within the Galaxy and in extragalactic sources, and new…
Nearly 50 years ago, the first radio signals from cosmic ray air showers were detected. After many successful studies, however, research ceased not even 10 years later. Only a decade ago, the field was revived with the application of…
While the fluorescence and the ground counter techniques for the detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) were being developed for decades, the interest in the radio detection diminished after the initial experiments in the 1960s.…
The Fluorescence Detector (FD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory provides a nearly calorimetric measurement of the primary particle energy, since the fluorescence light produced is proportional to the energy dissipated by an Extensive Air…
Major uncertainties in the fluorescence energy measurement come from the precision of various atmospheric transmission, air Cerenkov subtraction, light multiple-scattering and cloud corrections. The Auger program for atmospheric monitoring,…
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,…
The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid detector for ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECR) with energies above 10$^{18.5}$ eV. Currently the first part of the Observatory nears completion in the southern hemisphere in Argentina. One…
The goal of the Pierre Auger Observatory is to determine the still unknown nature and origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. The study of these elusive particles probes astrophysical sites of particle acceleration as well as fundamental…
Measurements of cosmic ray particles at energies above E = 5 x 10^{14} eV are performed by large area ground based air shower experiments. Only they provide the collection power required for obtaining sufficient statistics at the low flux…
In this thesis, an introduction to the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) field is given, including air shower physics, UHECR astrophysics, and experimental techniques. The current questions in UHECR physics are mentioned, along with the…
Radio detection of cosmic-ray-induced air showers has come to a flight the last decade. Along with the experimental efforts, several theoretical models were developed. The main radio-emission mechanisms are established to be the geomagnetic…