SEARCH FOR ULTRA-HIGH ENERGY PHOTONS USING AIR SHOWERS

The observation of photons with energies above 1018 eV would open a new window in cosmic-ray research, with possible impact on astrophysics, particle physics, cosmology and fundamental physics. Current and planned air shower experiments, particularly the Pierre Auger Observatory, offer an unprecedented opportunity to search for such photons and to complement efforts of multimessenger observations of the universe. We summarize motivation, achievements, and prospects of the search for ultra-high energy photons.

[1]  Probing Brane-World Scenarios with Vacuum Refraction of Light Using Gamma-Ray Bursts , 2006, hep-ph/0605326.

[2]  K. Haller.  Quantum Electrodynamics , 1979, Nature.

[3]  V. Berezinsky,et al.  Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays without Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin Cutoff , 1997 .

[4]  C. W. Kilmister,et al.  Radiation from relativistic electrons , 1986 .

[5]  N. Kalmykov,et al.  Quark-Gluon String Model and EAS Simulation Problems at Ultra-High Energies , 1997 .

[6]  Cosmic Strings , 2006, hep-th/0602276.

[7]  New data and the hard pomeron , 2001, hep-ph/0105088.

[8]  T. M. Roganova,et al.  Upper limit on the ultrahigh-energy photon flux from AGASA and yakutsk data , 2006 .

[9]  P. Homola,et al.  Characteristics of geomagnetic cascading of ultra-high energy photons at the southern and northern sites of the Pierre Auger Observatory , 2006, astro-ph/0608101.

[10]  T. C. R. M. Strikman.  Hadronic interactions of ultra-high energy photons with protons and light nuclei in the dipole picture , 2005, hep-ph/0512311.

[11]  J. G. Gonzalez,et al.  An upper limit to the photon fraction in cosmic rays above 1019eV from the Pierre Auger Observatory , 2007, Astroparticle Physics.

[12]  V. M. Katkov,et al.  Radiation of relativistic electrons; Izluchenie relyativistskikh elektronov , 1973 .

[13]  M. Fukushima.  Telescope array project for extremely high energy cosmic rays , 2003 .

[14]  Watson,et al.  New constraints from haverah park data on the photon and iron fluxes of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays , 2000, Physical review letters.

[15]  Astrophysical neutrino telescopes , 2003, astro-ph/0311343.

[16]  S. Ostapchenko.  QGSJET-II: Towards reliable description of very high energy hadronic interactions , 2004, hep-ph/0412332.

[17]  H. Shimizu,et al.  Energy determination in the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array experiment , 2002, astro-ph/0209422.

[18]  Enrico Fermi Institute,et al.  Constraints on the ultrahigh-energy photon flux using inclined showers from the Haverah Park array , 2001, astro-ph/0110613.

[19]  Alan A. Watson,et al.  Observations and implications of the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays , 2000 .

[20]  K. Greisen.  End to the cosmic ray spectrum , 1966 .

[21]  S. Klein.  e+e- Pair production from 10 GeV to 10 ZeV , 2004, hep-ex/0402028.

[22]  B. Mele,et al.  Ultra-High-Energy Neutrino Scattering onto Relic Light Neutrinos in the Galactic Halo as a Possible Source of the Highest Energy Extragalactic Cosmic Rays , 1999 .

[23]  Joseph K. Daugherty,et al.  Pair production in superstrong magnetic fields , 1983 .

[24]  Ultra-high energy cosmic rays from annihilation of superheavy dark matter , 2001, astro-ph/0105232.

[25]  E. Armengaud,et al.  Secondary gamma rays from ultrahigh energy cosmic rays produced in magnetized environments , 2006 .

[26]  P. Homola,et al.  Upper limit on the photon fraction in highest-energy cosmic rays from AGASA data. , 2005, Physical review letters.

[27]  Todor StanevH.P. Vankov.  Nature of the highest energy cosmic rays , 1997 .

[28]  Hans A. Bethe,et al.  On the Stopping of Fast Particles and on the Creation of Positive Electrons , 1934 .

[29]  D. Hooper,et al.  Pierre auger data, photons, and top-down cosmic ray models , 2006, astro-ph/0603055.

[30]  The High-energy cosmic ray spectrum from relic particle decay , 2001, hep-ph/0108098.

[31]  J. Konys,et al.  Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe , 1999 .

[32]  John Ellis,et al.  Tests of quantum gravity from observations of γ-ray bursts , 1998, Nature.

[33]  T. Erber,et al.  High-Energy Electromagnetic Conversion Processes in Intense Magnetic Fields , 1966 .

[34]  D. Hooper,et al.  The intergalactic propagation of ultrahigh energy cosmic ray nuclei , 2006, astro-ph/0608085.

[35]  Influence of the LPM effect and dielectric suppression on particle air showers , 1998, astro-ph/9809334.

[36]  D. Heck,et al.  Extensive air shower simulations at the highest energies , 2003 .

[37]  R. Rosenfeld.  Nature , 2009, Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

[38]  V. Kuzmin,et al.  Photons as Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays ? , 2001, astro-ph/0107130.

[39]  D. Heck,et al.  Simulation of ultra-high energy photon propagation in the geomagnetic field , 2005, Comput. Phys. Commun..

[40]  Extremely high energy cosmic rays from relic particle decays , 1998, hep-ph/9804285.

[41]  Todor Stanev,et al.  The highest energy cosmic ray , 1995 .

[42]  J. Capdevielle,et al.  Simulation of extensive air showers at ultra-high energy using the CORSIKA Monte Carlo code , 2000 .

[43]  Z. Fodor,et al.  Grand unification signal from ultrahigh energy cosmic rays? , 2000, Physical review letters.

[44]  J. R. Thomas,et al.  Observation of the ankle and evidence for a high-energy break in the cosmic ray spectrum , 2005 .

[45]  K. Mase,et al.  Upper Limit on Gamma-Ray Flux above 1019 eV Estimated by the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array Experiment , 2002 .

[46]  K. Belov.  p-air cross-section measurement at 1018.5 eV , 2006 .

[47]  Thomas K. Gaisser,et al.  High-energy neutrino astronomy: The Cosmic ray connection , 2000, astro-ph/0011525.

[48]  K. Huitu,et al.  Photon propagation in magnetic and electric fields with scalar/pseudoscalar couplings: a new look , 2006, hep-ph/0604143.

[49]  V. Kuzmin,et al.  Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays : a Window to Post-Inflationary Reheating Epoch of the Universe ? , 1997, astro-ph/9709187.

[50]  R. Engel,et al.  One-dimensional Hybrid Approach to Extensive Air Shower Simulation , 2006, astro-ph/0606564.

[51]  Rodolfo Gambini,et al.  Nonstandard optics from quantum space-time , 1999 .

[52]  Xavier Bertou,et al.  LPM effect and pair production in the geomagnetic field: a signature of ultra-high energy photons in the Pierre Auger Observatory , 2000 .

[53]  Deep shower interpretation of the cosmic ray events observed in excess of the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin energy , 2006, astro-ph/0606742.

[54]  Paul H. Frampton.  Highest Energy Cosmic Rays , 1998 .

[55]  Guenter Sigl,et al.  Origin and propagation of extremely high-energy cosmic rays , 1998 .

[56]  On the Propagation of Extragalactic High Energy Cosmic and Gamma-Rays , 1996, astro-ph/9604098.

[57]  Wlodek Bednarek.  Cascades in the Earth’s magnetosphere initiated by photons with the parameters of the highest energy AGASA events , 2002 .

[58]  A. B. Migdal,et al.  Bremsstrahlung and pair production in condensed media at high-energies , 1956 .

[59]  V. Souza,et al.  Acceptance of fluorescence detectors and its implication in energy spectrum inference at the highest energies , 2005, astro-ph/0509597.

[60]  Fragmentation functions in SUSY QCD and UHECR spectra produced in top - down models , 2003, hep-ph/0307279.

[61]  John Ellis,et al.  Int. J. Mod. Phys. , 2005 .

[62]  Stefano Liberati,et al.  Lorentz violation at high energy: Concepts, phenomena, and astrophysical constraints , 2006 .

[63]  Cosmic-ray neutrino annihilation on relic neutrinos revisited: a mechanism for generating air showers above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff , 1997, hep-ph/9710431.

[64]  S. Ballestrero,et al.  Is the electron radiation length constant at high energies? , 2003, Physical review letters.

[65]  M. Drees,et al.  Detailed analysis of the decay spectrum of a superheavy X particle , 2002, hep-ph/0211406.

[66]  Colin J. Lambert,et al.  Interactions of high-energy ( E > 5 × 10 19 eV) photons in the Earth's magnetic field , 1981 .

[67]  Jason R. Schissel,et al.  Interactions of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays with photons in the galactic center , 2005, astro-ph/0508142.

[68]  Brian Fields,et al.  Big-Bang nucleosynthesis (2006 Particle Data Group mini-review) , 2006, astro-ph/0601514.

[69]  J. W. Elbert,et al.  Detection of a Cosmic Ray with Measured Energy Well beyond the Expected Spectral Cutoff due to Cosmic Microwave Radiation , 1994 .

[70]  T. Weiler,et al.  Resonant absorption of cosmic-ray neutrinos by the relic-neutrino background , 1982 .

[71]  S. Klein.  Suppression of bremsstrahlung and pair production due to environmental factors , 1998, hep-ph/9802442.

[72]  Marko Zavrtanik,et al.  Properties and performance of the prototype instrument for the Pierre Auger Observatory , 2004, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment.

[73]  Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays: The state of the art before the Auger Observatory , 2002, hep-ph/0206072.

[74]  Status of superheavy dark matter , 2006, astro-ph/0604311.

[75]  Bounds on length scales of classical spacetime foam models , 2006, hep-ph/0610216.

[76]  N. Inoue,et al.  Ultrahigh energy gamma rays in the geomagnetic field and atmosphere , 2003 .

[77]  J. Ellis,et al.  Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays particle spectra from crypton decays , 2006 .