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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 71: Neutrino Astronomy 3

T 71.1: Talk

Wednesday, March 23, 2022, 16:15–16:30, T-H30

Up-going high energy showers with the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory — Ioana Alexandra Caracas and •Karl-Heinz Kampert for the Pierre Auger collaboration — Bergische University Wuppertal, Gaußstr. 20, Wuppertal, Germany

The ANITA observations of two steeply up-going cosmic ray like showers with energies above 10¹⁷ eV remain unexplained. The Fluorescence Detector (FD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory is also sensitive to such phenomena, given its wide field of view and substantial operation time. Using 14 years of available FD data, the post-selection exposure to up-going induced showers exceeds the one of ANITA by a factor of at least 10, as indicated from dedicated studies. Therefore a search for up-going induced air showers with the FD can be used to either refute or confirm the occurrence of such intriguing events.

We have conducted a generic search for upward cosmic ray like induced air showers using the FD of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Dedicated Monte Carlo simulations of both signal and expected background, together with the usage of a 10% burn data sample, have been used in order to apply selection criteria and calculate the resulting FD exposure. The unblinding of the data indicates no excess found above background expectations. As a result, preliminary upper limits are set on the flux of up-going cosmic ray like induced air showers.

*Gefördert durch die BMBF Verbundforschung Astroteilchenphysik (Vorhaben 05A20PX1)