Ultraheavy Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic Rays

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Zhang, B. Theodore, Murase, Kohta, Ekanger, Nick, Bhattacharya, Mukul, Horiuchi, Shunsaku
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Zhang, B. Theodore
Murase, Kohta
Ekanger, Nick
Bhattacharya, Mukul
Horiuchi, Shunsaku
author_facet Zhang, B. Theodore
Murase, Kohta
Ekanger, Nick
Bhattacharya, Mukul
Horiuchi, Shunsaku
contents We investigate the propagation of ultraheavy (UH) nuclei as ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). We show that their energy loss lengths at $\lesssim300$ EeV are significantly longer than those of protons and intermediate-mass nuclei, and that the highest-energy cosmic rays with energies beyond $\sim100$ EeV, including the Amaterasu particle, may be UH-UHECRs. For the first time, we derive constraints on the contribution of UH-UHECR sources, and find that the current data are consistent with energy generation rate densities of UHECRs from collapsars and neutron star mergers. Our model predicts that the mean value of the depth of shower maximum is lower than that for iron nuclei beyond 100 EeV, which can be tested with future composition measurements, e.g., AugerPrime and the Global Cosmic Ray Observatory. In addition, the spectral tension between the Telescope Array (TA) and the Pierre Auger Observatory can be alleviated by considering the enhanced contribution of UHECRs -- including UH nuclei -- from a nearby transient.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_17409
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ultraheavy Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic Rays
Zhang, B. Theodore
Murase, Kohta
Ekanger, Nick
Bhattacharya, Mukul
Horiuchi, Shunsaku
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Nuclear Theory
We investigate the propagation of ultraheavy (UH) nuclei as ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). We show that their energy loss lengths at $\lesssim300$ EeV are significantly longer than those of protons and intermediate-mass nuclei, and that the highest-energy cosmic rays with energies beyond $\sim100$ EeV, including the Amaterasu particle, may be UH-UHECRs. For the first time, we derive constraints on the contribution of UH-UHECR sources, and find that the current data are consistent with energy generation rate densities of UHECRs from collapsars and neutron star mergers. Our model predicts that the mean value of the depth of shower maximum is lower than that for iron nuclei beyond 100 EeV, which can be tested with future composition measurements, e.g., AugerPrime and the Global Cosmic Ray Observatory. In addition, the spectral tension between the Telescope Array (TA) and the Pierre Auger Observatory can be alleviated by considering the enhanced contribution of UHECRs -- including UH nuclei -- from a nearby transient.
title Ultraheavy Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic Rays
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.17409