Göttingen 2025 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik
T 37: Cosmic Rays II
T 37.2: Vortrag
Dienstag, 1. April 2025, 16:30–16:45, VG 3.102
Towards a Directional Search for Ultra-High-Energy Photons Using the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory — •Tim Fehler, Marcus Niechciol, and Markus Risse for the Pierre-Auger collaboration — Experimentelle Astroteilchenphysik, Center for Particle Physics Siegen, Universität Siegen
In addition to its capabilities for precise measurement of ultra-high-energy (UHE, E 1017 eV) cosmic rays through the observation of extensive air showers, the Pierre Auger Observatory also offers the potential to effectively detect UHE photons. Their connection to UHE cosmic rays is manifold; constraints on their flux provide valuable hints on the elusive nature of the UHE cosmic rays. Contrary to charged cosmic rays, which are deflected by magnetic fields, UHE photons carry the inherent advantage that their origin can be traced back directly, which promotes the search for directional excesses of photon-like events in the sky. This contribution details the developments for a new direction-dependent search for UHE photons, based on the paradigm of air-shower universality. With this approach, data from the Surface Detector (SD) array of the Pierre Auger Observatory can be used to reconstruct key quantities such as the primary energy and the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum Xmax, which are essential for primary particle classification, with significantly improved precision. Furthermore, with sole dependence on the SD, one is able to take advantage of its ∼ 100% duty cycle.
Supported by the BMBF Verbundforschung Astroteilchenphysik under project No. 05A23PS1.
Keywords: Ultra-High-Energy Photons; Air-Shower Universality; Arrival Directions; Pierre Auger Observatory