Measuring extensive air showers with Cherenkov light detectors of the Yakutsk array: The energy spectrum of cosmic rays

Abstract

The energy spectrum of cosmic rays in the range 10^15 eV to 6*10^19 eV has been studied using the air Cherenkov light detectors of the Yakutsk array. The total flux of photons produced by relativistic electrons (including positrons as well, hereafter) of extensive air showers in the atmosphere is used as the energy estimator of the primary particle initiating a shower. The resultant differential flux of cosmic rays exhibits, in accordance with previous measurements, a knee and ankle features at energies 3*10^15 and ~10^19 eV, respectively. A comparison of observational data with simulations is made in the knee and ankle regions in order to choose the models of galactic and extragalactic components of cosmic rays which describe better the energy spectrum measured.

arXiv comment27 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in New Journal of Physics (Focus Issue)

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• The Discovery of Cherenkov Radiation and its use in the detection of extensive air showers
• Mass composition of cosmic rays above 0.1 EeV by the Yakutsk array data
• A cosmic-ray database update: CRDB v4.1
• Wide field-of-view Cherenkov telescope for the detection of cosmic rays in coincidence with the Yakutsk extensive air shower array
• Comparing the energy spectra of ultra-high energy cosmic rays measured with EAS arrays
• A study on the sharp knee and fine structures of cosmic ray spectra
• UHECR: Signatures and Models
• On the Galactic Center Being the Main Source of Galactic Cosmic Rays as Evidenced by Recent Cosmic Ray and Gamma Ray Observations
• Determination of the Cosmic-Ray Chemical Composition: Open Issues and Prospects
• A minimal width of the arrival direction distribution of ultra-high energy cosmic rays detected with the Yakutsk array
• Air Shower Simulation and Hadronic Interactions
• Cosmic rays escaping from Galactic starburst-driven superbubbles
• Large-scale distribution of cosmic rays in right ascension as observed by the Yakutsk array at energies above $10^{18}$ eV
• Parametrization of the angular distribution of Cherenkov light in air showers
• Optic detectors calibration for measuring ultra-high energy extensive air showers Cherenkov radiation by 532 nm laser
• Temporal signatures of the Cherenkov light induced by extensive air showers of cosmic rays detected with the Yakutsk array
• A method to search for correlations of ultra-high energy cosmic ray masses with the large scale structures in the local galaxy density field
• A Brief History of the Study of High Energy Cosmic Rays using Arrays of Surface Detectors
• Demonstrating of Cosmic Ray Characteristics by Estimating the Cherenkov Light Lateral Distribution Function for Yakutsk Array as a Function of the Zenith Angle
• Recent results of cosmic-ray studies with IceTop at the IceCube Neutrino