Constraints on the flux of primary cosmic-ray photons at energies E > 10^18 eV from Yakutsk muon data

Abstract

Comparing the signals measured by the surface and underground scintillator detectors of the Yakutsk Extensive Air Shower Array, we place upper limits on the integral flux and the fraction of primary cosmic-ray photons with energies E > 10^18 eV, E > 2*10^18 eV and E > 4*10^18 eV. The large collected statistics of the showers measured by large-area muon detectors provides a sensitivity to photon fractions < 10^-2, thus achieving precision previously unreachable at ultra-high energies.

journal version, including comparison to Auger results as requested by anonymous referee

References in corpus (27)

• High-Energy Tests of Lorentz Invariance
• Origin and Propagation of Extremely High Energy Cosmic Rays
• QGSJET-II: towards reliable description of very high energy hadronic interactions
• Parton Ladder Splitting and the Rapidity Dependence of Transverse Momentum Spectra in Deuteron-Gold Collisions at RHIC
• Ultra-high energy cosmic rays without GZK cutoff
• Energy determination in the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array experiment
• Indications of Proton-Dominated Cosmic Ray Composition above 1.6 EeV
• Upper limit on the cosmic-ray photon flux above 10^19 eV using the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
• A Study of the Composition of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays Using the High Resolution Fly's Eye
• New constraints from Haverah Park data on the photon and iron fluxes of UHE cosmic rays
• Upper limit on the cosmic-ray photon fraction at EeV energies from the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Signatures of Topological Defects
• Lorentz Violation for Photons and Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays
• An upper limit to the photon fraction in cosmic rays above 10^19 eV from the Pierre Auger Observatory
• On the Propagation of Extragalactic High Energy Cosmic and Gamma-Rays
• GZK Photons as Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays
• Search for Cross-Correlations of Ultra--High-Energy Cosmic Rays with BL Lacertae Objects
• The spectrum features of UHECRs below and surrounding GZK
• The Energy Spectrum of Cosmic Rays Above $3\times 10^{17}$ eV as measured with the Haverah Park Array
• Upper limit on the ultra-high-energy photon flux from AGASA and Yakutsk data
• Upper limit on the photon fraction in highest-energy cosmic rays from AGASA data
• Muon content of ultra-high-energy air showers: Yakutsk data versus simulations
• Constraining the fraction of primary gamma rays at ultra-high energies from the muon data of the Yakutsk extensive-air-shower array
• Sensitivity of cosmic-ray experiments to ultra-high-energy photons: reconstruction of the spectrum and limits on the superheavy dark matter
• GZK Photons Above 10 EeV
• Air-shower simulations with and without thinning: artificial fluctuations and their suppression
• Towards event-by-event studies of the ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray composition

Cited by in corpus (22)

• Measurement of the proton-air cross-section at $\sqrt{s}=57$ TeV with the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays
• Heavy decaying dark matter and IceCube high energy neutrinos
• Constraining heavy decaying dark matter with the high energy gamma-ray limits
• Measurement of the Proton-Air Cross Section with Telescope Array's Middle Drum Detector and Surface Array in Hybrid Mode
• Upper limit on the flux of photons with energies above 10^19 eV using the Telescope Array surface detector
• Prospective constraints on Lorentz violation from ultrahigh-energy photon detection
• Constraints on the flux of $\sim (10^{16}-10^{17.5})$ eV cosmic photons from the EAS-MSU muon data
• Limits on the Lorentz Invariance Violation from UHECR astrophysics
• Propagation of extragalactic photons at ultra-high energy with the EleCa code
• Measurement of the Proton-Air Cross Section with Telescope Array's Black Rock Mesa and Long Ridge Fluorescence Detectors, and Surface Array in Hybrid Mode
• Sensitivity of the correlation between the depth of shower maximum and the muon shower size to the cosmic ray composition
• Estimate of the fraction of primary photons in the cosmic-ray flux at energies ~10^17 eV from the EAS-MSU experiment data
• Review of the Multimessenger Working Group at UHECR-2012
• Estimates of the cosmic gamma-ray flux at PeV to EeV energies from the EAS-MSU experiment data
• Search for point sources of ultra-high energy photons with the Telescope Array surface detector
• Search for cosmic gamma rays with the Carpet-2 extensive air shower array
• Status of the Yakutsk air shower array and future plans
• Muons in EASs with $E_0=10^{19}$ eV according to data of the Yakutsk Array
• Report from the Multi-Messenger Working Group at UHECR-2014 Conference
• Search for Ultra-High Energy Photons with the Pierre Auger Observatory
• A method to calibrate the absolute energy scale of air showers with ultra-high energy photons