Povzetek

We present measurements of the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum Xmax, inferred for the first time on an event-by-event level using the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Using deep learning, we were able to extend measurements of the Xmax distributions up to energies of 100 EeV (10[sup]20 eV), not yet revealed by current measurements, providing new insights into the mass composition of cosmic rays at extreme energies. Gaining a 10-fold increase in statistics compared to the Fluorescence Detector data, we find evidence that the rate of change of the average Xmax with the logarithm of energy features three breaks at 6.5 ± 0.6 (stat) ± 1 (sys) EeV, 11 ± 2 (stat) ± 1 (sys) EeV, and 31 ± 5 (stat) ± 3 (sys) EeV, in the vicinity to the three prominent features (ankle, instep, suppression) of the cosmic-ray flux. The energy evolution of the mean and standard deviation of the measured Xmax distributions indicates that the mass composition becomes increasingly heavier and purer, thus being incompatible with a large fraction of light nuclei between 50 EeV and 100 EeV.

Ključne besede

ultra-high-energy cosmic rays;extensive air showers;Pierre Auger Observatory;UHECR mass composition;depth of the shower maximum;fluorescence detector;surface detector, deep learning;

Podatki

Jezik: Angleški jezik
Leto izida:
Tipologija: 1.01 - Izvirni znanstveni članek
Organizacija: UNG - Univerza v Novi Gorici
UDK: 52
COBISS: 223002883 Povezava se bo odprla v novem oknu
ISSN: 0031-9007
Št. ogledov: 113
Št. prenosov: 0
Ocena: 0 (0 glasov)
Metapodatki: JSON JSON-RDF JSON-LD TURTLE N-TRIPLES XML RDFA MICRODATA DC-XML DC-RDF RDF

Ostali podatki

Vrsta dela (COBISS): Delo ni kategorizirano
Strani: str. 021001-1-021001-10
Letnik: ǂVol. ǂ134
Zvezek: ǂissue ǂ2, [article no.] 021001
Čas izdaje: Jan. 2025
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.021001
ID: 25738918