Resolution of (Heavy) Primaries in Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays

Fuente: arXiv
Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Bortolato, Blaž, Kamenik, Jernej F., Tammaro, Michele
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
_version_ 1866912022020489216
author Bortolato, Blaž
Kamenik, Jernej F.
Tammaro, Michele
author_facet Bortolato, Blaž
Kamenik, Jernej F.
Tammaro, Michele
contents Measurements of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) suggest a complex composition with significant contributions from heavy nuclei at the highest energies. We systematically explore how the selection and number of primary nuclei included in the analysis impact the inferred UHECR mass composition. Introducing a distance measure in the space of $X_{\rm max}$ distribution moments, we demonstrate that limiting the analysis to a few primaries can introduce significant biases, particularly as observational data improves. We provide lists of primaries approximately equidistant in the new measure, which guaranty unbiased results at given statistical confidence. Additionally, we explore consistent inclusion of nuclei heavier than iron and up to plutonium, deriving first observational upper bounds on their contributions to UHECR with the Pierre Auger Open Data.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_06841
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Resolution of (Heavy) Primaries in Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays
Bortolato, Blaž
Kamenik, Jernej F.
Tammaro, Michele
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Measurements of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) suggest a complex composition with significant contributions from heavy nuclei at the highest energies. We systematically explore how the selection and number of primary nuclei included in the analysis impact the inferred UHECR mass composition. Introducing a distance measure in the space of $X_{\rm max}$ distribution moments, we demonstrate that limiting the analysis to a few primaries can introduce significant biases, particularly as observational data improves. We provide lists of primaries approximately equidistant in the new measure, which guaranty unbiased results at given statistical confidence. Additionally, we explore consistent inclusion of nuclei heavier than iron and up to plutonium, deriving first observational upper bounds on their contributions to UHECR with the Pierre Auger Open Data.
title Resolution of (Heavy) Primaries in Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.06841