The arrival directions of the most energetic cosmic rays

Abstract

In this Letter we examine the arrival directions of the most energetic cosmic rays (E > 2 * 10^19 eV) detected by several air shower experiments. We find that data taken by different air shower arrays show positive correlations, indicating a non--uniform arrival direction distribution. We also find that the events with energy $ > 4 * 10^19 eV exhibit a correlation with the general direction of the supergalactic plane, where a large number of potential sources is located. If confirmed by data from other experiments our results would support models for the extragalactic origin of the highest energy cosmic rays.

7 pages; 1 figure included; uuencoded, compressed PostScript file; final version, corrected in some points, accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.Lett

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• On the Origin of Highest Energy Cosmic Rays
• The origin of cosmic rays

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