Particle Physics with the Pierre Auger Observatory

Physics Results of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Anisotropy Studies with the Pierre Auger Observatory

An anisotropy signal for the arrival directions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) of more than 99% confidence level was established using data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory. Cosmic rays with energy above ∼ 6 × 10 eV show a correlation with the positions of extragalactic nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN), being maximum for sources at less than ∼100 Mpc and angular separation...

Pierre Auger Observatory: Status Report

The Pierre Auger Observatory is a large international effort to provide measurements of extensive air showers (EAS) initiated in the upper atmosphere by cosmic rays with energies above 10 eV , the Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR’s). The explanations for the origin, acceleration processes and composition of the UHECR’s face theoretical and experimental difficulties, due to the extremely low...

Recent results from the Pierre Auger Observatory

The main results from the Auger Observatory are described. A steepening of the spectrum is observed at the highest energies, supporting the expectation that above 4×10 eV the cosmic ray energies are significantly degraded by interactions with the CMB photons (the GZK effect). This is further supported by the correlations observed above 6× 10 eV with the distribution of nearby active galaxies, w...

Angular Resolution of the Pierre Auger Observatory

We studied the angular resolution of the Pierre Auger Detector using data collected from January 2004 to May 2005. The detector consists of two independent components, the fluorescence detector and the surface detector. Hybrid events, observed simultaneously by both components, have smaller reconstruction uncertainties than the events observed with only one component. The hybrid resolution is e...