Measurement of the cosmic-ray energy spectrum above $10^{16}$ eV with the LOFAR Radboud Air Shower Array

Abstract

The energy reconstruction of extensive air showers measured with the LOFAR Radboud Air Shower Array (LORA) is presented in detail. LORA is a particle detector array located in the center of the LOFAR radio telescope in the Netherlands. The aim of this work is to provide an accurate and independent energy measurement for the air showers measured through their radio signal with the LOFAR antennas. The energy reconstruction is performed using a parameterized relation between the measured shower size and the cosmic-ray energy obtained from air shower simulations. In order to illustrate the capabilities of LORA, the all-particle cosmic-ray energy spectrum has been reconstructed, assuming that cosmic rays are composed only of protons or iron nuclei in the energy range between $\sim 2\times 10^{16}$ and $2\times 10^{18}$ eV. The results are compatible with literature values and a changing mass composition in the transition region from a galactic to an extragalactic origin of cosmic rays.

12 pages, Accepted by Astroparticle Physics, updated authors list

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Radio detection of Cosmic-Ray Air Showers and High-Energy Neutrinos
• Radio detection of cosmic ray air showers in the digital era
• A large light-mass component of cosmic rays at 10^{17} - 10^{17.5} eV from radio observations
• Calibrating the absolute amplitude scale for air showers measured at LOFAR
• Depth of shower maximum and mass composition of cosmic rays from 50 PeV to 2 EeV measured with the LOFAR radio telescope
• Calibration of the LOFAR low-band antennas using the Galaxy and a model of the signal chain
• On the cosmic-ray energy scale of the LOFAR radio telescope
• A LOFAR-style reconstruction of cosmic-ray air showers with SKA-Low
• Radio detection of air showers with LOFAR and AERA