ANTARES Collaboration(Aguilar, J. A. et al), Bigongiari, C., Dornic, D., Emanuele, U., Gomez-Gonzalez, J. P., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., et al. (2011). A fast algorithm for muon track reconstruction and its application to the ANTARES neutrino telescope. Astropart Phys., 34(9), 652–662.
Abstract: An algorithm is presented, that provides a fast and robust reconstruction of neutrino induced upward-going muons and a discrimination of these events from downward-going atmospheric muon background in data collected by the ANTARES neutrino telescope. The algorithm consists of a hit merging and hit selection procedure followed by fitting steps for a track hypothesis and a point-like light source. It is particularly well-suited for real time applications such as online monitoring and fast triggering of optical follow-up observations for multi-messenger studies. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated with Monte Carlo simulations and various distributions are compared with that obtained in ANTARES data.
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Pierre Auger Collaboration(Abreu, P. et al), & Pastor, S. (2011). The exposure of the hybrid detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Astropart Phys., 34(6), 368–381.
Abstract: The Pierre Auger Observatory is a detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. It consists of a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level and a fluorescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The “hybrid” detection mode combines the information from the two subsystems. We describe the determination of the hybrid exposure for events observed by the fluorescence telescopes in coincidence with at least one water-Cherenkov detector of the surface array. A detailed knowledge of the time dependence of the detection operations is crucial for an accurate evaluation of the exposure. We discuss the relevance of monitoring data collected during operations, such as the status of the fluorescence detector, background light and atmospheric conditions, that are used in both simulation and reconstruction.
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ANTARES Collaboration(Aguilar, J. A. et al), Bigongiari, C., Dornic, D., Emanuele, U., Gomez-Gonzalez, J. P., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., et al. (2011). Time calibration of the ANTARES neutrino telescope. Astropart Phys., 34(7), 539–549.
Abstract: The ANTARES deep-sea neutrino telescope comprises a three-dimensional array of photomultipliers to detect the Cherenkov light induced by upgoing relativistic charged particles originating from neutrino interactions in the vicinity of the detector. The large scattering length of light in the deep sea facilitates an angular resolution of a few tenths of a degree for neutrino energies exceeding 10 TeV. In order to achieve this optimal performance, the time calibration procedures should ensure a relative time calibration between the photomultipliers at the level of similar to 1 ns. The methods developed to attain this level of precision are described.
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Pierre Auger Collaboration(Abreu, P. et al), & Pastor, S. (2011). Search for first harmonic modulation in the right ascension distribution of cosmic rays detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory. Astropart Phys., 34(8), 627–639.
Abstract: We present the results of searches for dipolar-type anisotropies in different energy ranges above 2.5 x 10(17) eV with the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory, reporting on both the phase and the amplitude measurements of the first harmonic modulation in the right-ascension distribution. Upper limits on the amplitudes are obtained, which provide the most stringent bounds at present, being below 2% at 99% C.L. for EeV energies. We also compare our results to those of previous experiments as well as with some theoretical expectations.
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Menjo, H. et al, Faus-Golfe, A., & Velasco, J. (2011). Monte Carlo study of forward pi(0) production spectra to be measured by the LHCf experiment for the purpose of benchmarking hadron interaction models at 10(17) eV. Astropart Phys., 34(7), 513–520.
Abstract: The LHCf experiment aims to improve knowledge of forward neutral particle production spectra at the LHC energy which is relevant for the interpretation of air shower development of high energy cosmic rays. Two detectors, each composed of a pair of sampling and imaging calorimeters, have been installed at the forward region of IP1 to measure pi(0) energy spectra above 600 GeV. In this paper, we present a Monte Carlo study of the pi(0) measurements to be performed with one of the LHCf detectors for proton-proton collisions at root s = 14 TeV. In approximately 40 min of operation at luminosity 0.8 x 10(29) cm(-2) s(-1) during the beam commissioning phase of LHC, about 1.5 x 10(4) pi(0) events are expected to be obtained at two transverse positions of the detector. The backgrounds from interactions of secondary particles with beam pipes and interactions of beam particles with residual gas in the beam pipes are expected to be less than 0.1% of the signal from pi(0)s. We also discuss the capability of LHCf measurements to discriminate between the various hadron interaction models that are used for simulation of high energy air showers, such as DPMJET3.03, QGSJETII-03, SIBYLL2.1 and EPOS1.99.
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Pierre Auger Collaboration(Abreu, P. et al), & Pastor, S. (2011). The Lateral Trigger Probability function for the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray showers detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory. Astropart Phys., 35(5), 266–276.
Abstract: In this paper we introduce the concept of Lateral Trigger Probability (LTP) function, i.e., the probability for an Extensive Air Shower (EAS) to trigger an individual detector of a ground based array as a function of distance to the shower axis, taking into account energy, mass and direction of the primary cosmic ray. We apply this concept to the surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory consisting of a 1.5 km spaced grid of about 1600 water Cherenkov stations. Using Monte Carlo simulations of ultra-high energy showers the LTP functions are derived for energies in the range between 10(17) and 10(19) eV and zenith angles up to 65 degrees. A parametrization combining a step function with an exponential is found to reproduce them very well in the considered range of energies and zenith angles. The LTP functions can also be obtained from data
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Trotta, R., Johannesson, G., Moskalenko, I. V., Porter, T. A., Ruiz de Austri, R., & Strong, A. W. (2011). Constraints on Cosmic-Ray Propagation Models from a Global Bayesian Analysis. Astrophys. J., 729(2), 106–16pp.
Abstract: Research in many areas of modern physics such as, e. g., indirect searches for dark matter and particle acceleration in supernova remnant shocks rely heavily on studies of cosmic rays (CRs) and associated diffuse emissions (radio, microwave, X-rays, gamma-rays). While very detailed numerical models of CR propagation exist, a quantitative statistical analysis of such models has been so far hampered by the large computational effort that those models require. Although statistical analyses have been carried out before using semi-analytical models (where the computation is much faster), the evaluation of the results obtained from such models is difficult, as they necessarily suffer from many simplifying assumptions. The main objective of this paper is to present a working method for a full Bayesian parameter estimation for a numerical CR propagation model. For this study, we use the GALPROP code, the most advanced of its kind, which uses astrophysical information, and nuclear and particle data as inputs to self-consistently predict CRs, gamma-rays, synchrotron, and other observables. We demonstrate that a full Bayesian analysis is possible using nested sampling and Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods (implemented in the SuperBayeS code) despite the heavy computational demands of a numerical propagation code. The best-fit values of parameters found in this analysis are in agreement with previous, significantly simpler, studies also based on GALPROP.
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Serenelli, A. M., Haxton, W. C., & Pena-Garay, C. (2011). Solar Models With Accretion. I. Application To The Solar Abundance Problem. Astrophys. J., 743(1), 24–20pp.
Abstract: We generate new standard solar models using newly analyzed nuclear fusion cross sections and present results for helioseismic quantities and solar neutrino fluxes. The status of the solar abundance problem is discussed. We investigate whether nonstandard solar models with accretion from the protoplanetary disk might alleviate this problem. We examine a broad range of models, analyzing metal-enriched and metal-depleted accretion and three scenarios for the timing of accretion. Only partial solutions are found. Formetal-rich accreted material (Z(ac) greater than or similar to 0.018) there exist combinations of accreted mass and metallicity that bring the depth of the convective zone into agreement with the helioseismic value. For the surface helium abundance, the helioseismic value is reproduced if metal-poor or metal-free accretion is assumed (Z(ac) less than or similar to 0.09). In both cases a few percent of the solar mass must be accreted. Precise values depend on when accretion takes place. We do not find a simultaneous solution to both problems but speculate that changing the hydrogen-to-helium mass ratio in the accreted material may lead to more satisfactory solutions. We also show that, with current data, solar neutrinos are already a very competitive source of information about the solar core and can help constraining possible accretion histories. Even without helioseismic constraints, solar neutrinos rule out the possibility that more than 0.02 M(circle dot) from the protoplanetary disk were accreted after the Sun settled on the main sequence. Finally, we discuss how measurements of neutrinos from the CN cycle could shed light on the interaction between the early Sun and its protoplanetary disk.
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ANTARES Collaboration(Adrian-Martinez, S. et al), Aguilar, J. A., Bigongiari, C., Dornic, D., Emanuele, U., Gomez-Gonzalez, J. P., et al. (2011). First Search For Point Sources Of High-Energy Cosmic Neutrinos With The Antares Neutrino Telescope. Astrophys. J. Lett., 743(1), L14–6pp.
Abstract: Results are presented of a search for cosmic sources of high-energy neutrinos with the ANTARES neutrino telescope. The data were collected during 2007 and 2008 using detector configurations containing between 5 and 12 detection lines. The integrated live time of the analyzed data is 304 days. Muon tracks are reconstructed using a likelihood-based algorithm. Studies of the detector timing indicate a median angular resolution of 0.5 +/- 0.1 deg. The neutrino flux sensitivity is 7.5 x 10(-8)(E(v)/GeV)(-2) GeV(-1) s(-1) cm(-2) for the part of the sky that is always visible (delta < -48 deg), which is better than limits obtained by previous experiments. No cosmic neutrino sources have been observed.
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Borja, E. F., Freidel, L., Garay, I., & Livine, E. R. (2011). U(N) tools for loop quantum gravity: the return of the spinor. Class. Quantum Gravity, 28(5), 055005–28pp.
Abstract: We explore the classical setting for the U(N) framework for SU(2) intertwiners for loop quantum gravity and describe the corresponding phase space in terms of spinors with the appropriate constraints. We show how its quantization leads back to the standard Hilbert space of intertwiner states defined as holomorphic functionals. We then explain how to glue these intertwiners states in order to construct spin network states as wavefunctions on the spinor phase space. In particular, we translate the usual loop gravity holonomy observables to our classical framework. Finally, we propose how to derive our phase space structure from an action principle which induces non-trivial dynamics for the spin network states. We conclude by applying explicitly our framework to states living on the simple 2-vertex graph and discuss the properties of the resulting Hamiltonian.
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