Abstract: Context. At GeV energies, the sky is dominated by the interstellar emission from the Galaxy. With limited statistics and spatial resolution, accurately separating point sources is therefore challenging. Aims. Here we present the first application of deep learning based algorithms to automatically detect and classify point sources from gamma-ray data. For concreteness we refer to this approach as AutoSourceID. Methods. To detect point sources, we utilized U-shaped convolutional networks for image segmentation and k-means for source clustering and localization. We also explored the Centroid-Net algorithm, which is designed to find and count objects. Using two algorithms allows for a cross check of the results, while a combination of their results can be used to improve performance. The training data are based on 9.5 years of exposure from The Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) and we used source properties of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and pulsars (PSRs) from the fourth Fermi-LAT source catalog in addition to several models of background interstellar emission. The results of the localization algorithm are fed into a classification neural network that is trained to separate the three general source classes (AGNs, PSRs, and FAKE sources). Results. We compared our localization algorithms qualitatively with traditional methods and find them to have similar detection thresholds. We also demonstrate the robustness of our source localization algorithms to modifications in the interstellar emission models, which presents a clear advantage over traditional methods. The classification network is able to discriminate between the three classes with typical accuracy of similar to 70%, as long as balanced data sets are used in classification training. We published online our training data sets and analysis scripts and invite the community to join the data challenge aimed to improve the localization and classification of gamma-ray point sources.

Abstract: A flux of neutrons from an astrophysical source in the Galaxy can be detected in the Pierre Auger Observatory as an excess of cosmic-ray air showers arriving from the direction of the source. To avoid the statistical penalty for making many trials, classes of objects are tested in combinations as nine “target sets,” in addition to the search for a neutron flux from the Galactic center or from the Galactic plane. Within a target set, each candidate source is weighted in proportion to its electromagnetic flux, its exposure to the Auger Observatory, and its flux attenuation factor due to neutron decay. These searches do not find evidence for a neutron flux from any class of candidate sources. Tabulated results give the combined p-value for each class, with and without the weights, and also the flux upper limit for the most significant candidate source within each class. These limits on fluxes of neutrons significantly constrain models of EeV proton emission from non-transient discrete sources in the Galaxy.

Abstract: The Pierre Auger Observatory in Malargue, Argentina, is designed to study the properties of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with energies above 10(18) eV. It is a hybrid facility that employs a Fluorescence Detector to perform nearly calorimetric measurements of Extensive Air Shower energies. To obtain reliable calorimetric information from the FD, the atmospheric conditions at the observatory need to be continuously monitored during data acquisition. In particular, light attenuation due to aerosols is an important atmospheric correction. The aerosol concentration is highly variable, so that the aerosol attenuation needs to be evaluated hourly. We use light from the Central Laser Facility, located near the center of the observatory site, having an optical signature comparable to that of the highest energy showers detected by the FD. This paper presents two procedures developed to retrieve the aerosol attenuation of fluorescence light from CLF laser shots. Cross checks between the two methods demonstrate that results from both analyses are compatible, and that the uncertainties are well understood. The measurements of the aerosol attenuation provided by the two procedures are currently used at the Pierre Auger Observatory to reconstruct air shower data.