Constraining models for the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with a novel combined analysis of arrival directions, spectrum, and composition data measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory

Abstract

The combined fit of the measured energy spectrum and shower maximum depth distributions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is known to constrain the parameters of astrophysical models with homogeneous source distributions. Studies of the distribution of the cosmic-ray arrival directions show a better agreement with models in which a fraction of the flux is non-isotropic and associated with the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A or with catalogs such as that of starburst galaxies. Here, we present a novel combination of both analyses by a simultaneous fit of arrival directions, energy spectrum, and composition data measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory. We find that a model containing a flux contribution from the starburst galaxy catalog of around 20% at 40 EeV with a magnetic field blurring of around $20^{\circ }$ for a rigidity of 10 EV provides a fair simultaneous description of all three observables. The starburst galaxy model is favored with a significance of $4.5\sigma$ (considering experimental systematic effects) compared to a reference model with only homogeneously distributed background sources. By investigating a scenario with Centaurus A as a single source in combination with the homogeneous background, we confirm that this region of the sky provides the dominant contribution to the observed anisotropy signal. Models containing a catalog of jetted active galactic nuclei whose flux scales with the $\gamma$-ray emission are, however, disfavored as they cannot adequately describe the measured arrival directions.

References in corpus (59)

• SciPy 1.0--Fundamental Algorithms for Scientific Computing in Python
• HEALPix -- a Framework for High Resolution Discretization, and Fast Analysis of Data Distributed on the Sphere
• On the normalisation of the cosmic star formation history
• EPOS LHC : test of collective hadronization with LHC data
• The Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory
• Cosmological Magnetic Fields: Their Generation, Evolution and Observation
• Correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic objects
• Semi-analytic modeling of the EBL and consequences for extragalactic gamma-ray spectra
• Observation of a Large-scale Anisotropy in the Arrival Directions of Cosmic Rays above $8\times 10^{18}$ eV
• GeV Observations of Star-forming Galaxies with \textit{Fermi} LAT
• Radio observational constraints on Galactic 3D-emission models
• 3FHL: The Third Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT Sources
• Combined fit of spectrum and composition data as measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter
• The Galactic Magnetic Field
• CRPropa 3 - a Public Astrophysical Simulation Framework for Propagating Extraterrestrial Ultra-High Energy Particles
• Depth of Maximum of Air-Shower Profiles at the Pierre Auger Observatory: Composition Implications
• Deriving global structure of the Galactic Magnetic Field from Faraday Rotation Measures of extragalactic sources
• Indication of anisotropy in arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays through comparison to the flux pattern of extragalactic gamma-ray sources
• Blazars as Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic-Ray Sources: Implications for TeV Gamma-Ray Observations
• Measurement of the cosmic-ray energy spectrum above $2.5\times 10^{18}$ eV using the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Searches for Anisotropies in the Arrival Directions of the Highest Energy Cosmic Rays Detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Origin of the ankle in the ultra-high energy cosmic ray spectrum and of the extragalactic protons below it
• Linking High-Energy Cosmic Particles by Black-Hole Jets Embedded in Large-Scale Structures
• Large-scale cosmic-ray anisotropies above 4 EeV measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Extra-galactic magnetic fields and the second knee in the cosmic-ray spectrum
• Diffusive propagation of UHECR and the propagation theorem
• UHECR acceleration at GRB internal shocks
• Cosmogenic photon and neutrino fluxes in the Auger era
• Arrival Directions of Cosmic Rays above 32 EeV from Phase One of the Pierre Auger Observatory
• AGN jets as the origin of UHECRs and perspectives for the detection of astrophysical source neutrinos at EeV energies
• Cosmogenic Neutrinos Challenge the Cosmic Ray Proton Dip Model
• Simulations of ultra-high Energy Cosmic Rays in the local Universe and the origin of Cosmic Magnetic Fields
• Neutrino diagnostics of ultra-high energy cosmic ray protons
• Centaurus A as a source of extragalactic cosmic rays with arrival energies well beyond the GZK cutoff
• Enhanced Cosmological GRB Rates and Implications for Cosmogenic Neutrinos
• Constraining the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays across and above the ankle with the spectrum and composition data measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Gamma-Ray Constraints on Maximum Cosmogenic Neutrino Fluxes and UHECR Source Evolution Models
• Fornax A, Centaurus A and other radio galaxies as sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays
• Magnetic diffusion effects on the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray spectrum and composition
• Progress in high-energy cosmic ray physics
• Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays from Radio Galaxies
• Comparing Polarised Synchrotron and Thermal Dust Emission in the Galactic Plane
• The Imprint of Large Scale Structure on the Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Ray Sky
• Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays from a nearby extragalactic source in the diffusive regime
• Reinterpreting the development of extensive air showers initiated by nuclei and photons
• Galactic and Extragalactic Magnetic Fields
• Diffusion of cosmic rays at EeV energies in inhomogeneous extragalactic magnetic fields
• What can be learnt from UHECR anisotropies observations? Paper I : large-scale anisotropies and composition features
• Are starburst galaxies a common source of high energy neutrinos and cosmic rays?
• The Nuclear Window to the Extragalactic Universe
• UHECR arrival directions in the latest data from the original Auger and TA surface detectors and nearby galaxies
• Testing hadronic and photo-hadronic interactions as responsible for UHECR and neutrino fluxes from Starburst Galaxies
• Interactions of UHE cosmic ray nuclei with radiation during acceleration: consequences on the spectrum and composition
• A Bayesian analysis of the 27 highest energy cosmic rays detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Impact of using the ultra-high-energy cosmic ray arrival energies to constrain source associations
• Energy Spectrum of Fast Second Order Fermi Accelerators as Sources of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays
• Multilevel Bayesian framework for modeling the production, propagation and detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays
• Testing Model Predictions of Depth of Air-Shower Maximum and Signals in Surface Detectors using Hybrid Data of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Cited by in corpus (19)

• Search for Extremely-High-Energy Neutrinos and First Constraints on the Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic-Ray Proton Fraction with IceCube
• Constraints on UHECR sources and extragalactic magnetic fields from directional anisotropies
• Impact of the Magnetic Horizon on the Interpretation of the Pierre Auger Observatory Spectrum and Composition Data
• Probing the Dark Dimension with Auger data
• Ultrahigh-energy neutrinos as a probe of espresso-shear acceleration in jets of Centaurus A
• The large-scale anisotropy and flux (de-)magnification of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays in the Galactic magnetic field
• Case for Centaurus A as the main source of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays
• Prospects for gamma-ray emission from magnetar regions in CTAO observations
• Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Ray Sources can be Gamma-ray Dim
• New physics as a possible explanation for the Amaterasu particle
• Combined Fit of Spectrum and Composition for FR0 Radio-galaxy-emitted Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Rays with Resulting Secondary Photons and Neutrinos
• Observational strategies for ultrahigh-energy neutrinos: the importance of deep sensitivity for detection and astronomy
• What exactly did the Transformer learn from our physics data?
• UHECRs Propagation and their Multimessengers: Upper limits and the Impact of the Extragalactic Magnetic Field
• On gamma rays as predictors of UHECR flux in AGNs
• Energy evolution of cosmic-ray mass and intensity measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Beyond the Local Void: A data-driven search for the origins of the Amaterasu particle
• A two-step strategy to identify episodic sources of gravitational waves and high energy neutrinos in starburst galaxies
• Impact of the EPOS.LHC-R hadronic interaction model on the Centaurus A ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray scenario