Measurement of the energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 10(18) eV using the Pierre Auger Observatory

We report a measurement of the flux of cosmic rays with unprecedented precision and Statistics using the Pierre Auger Observatory Based on fluorescence observations in coincidence with at least one Surface detector we derive a spectrum for energies above 10(18) eV We also update the previously published energy spectrum obtained with the surface detector array The two spectra are combined addressing the systematic uncertainties and, in particular. the influence of the energy resolution on the spectral shape The spectrum can be described by a broken power law E(-gamma) with index gamma = 3 3 below the ankle which is measured at log(10)(E(ankle)/eV) = 18 6 Above the ankle the spectrum is described by a power law with index 2 6 followed by a flux suppression, above about log(10)(E/eV) = 19 5, detected with high statistical significance (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved

Energy of bond defects in quantum spin chains obtained from local approximations and from exact diagonalization

We study the influence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic bond defects on the ground-state energy of antiferromagnetic spin chains. In the absence of translational invariance, the energy spectrum of the full Hamiltonian is obtained numerically, by an iterative modi. cation of the power algorithm. In parallel, approximate analytical energies are obtained from a local-bond approximation, proposed here. This approximation results in significant improvement upon the mean-field approximation, at negligible extra computational effort. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Landau analog levels for dipoles in non-commutative space and phase space - Landau analog levels for dipoles

We investigate the analog of Landau quantization, for a neutral polarized particle in the presence of homogeneous electric and magnetic external fields, in the context of non-commutative quantum mechanics. This particle, possessing electric and magnetic dipole moments, interacts with the fields via the Aharonov-Casher and He-McKellar-Wilkens effects. For this model we obtain the Landau energy spectrum and the radial eigenfunctions of the non-commutative space coordinates and non-commutative phase space coordinates. Also we show that the case of non-commutative phase space can be treated as a special case of the usual non-commutative space coordinates.

Collapse of rho (xx) Ringlike Structures in 2DEGs Under Tilted Magnetic Fields

In the quantum Hall regime, the longitudinal resistivity rho (xx) plotted as a density-magnetic-field (n (2D) -B) diagram displays ringlike structures due to the crossings of two sets of spin split Landau levels from different subbands [see, e.g., Zhang et al., in Phys. Rev. Lett. 95:216801, 2005. For tilted magnetic fields, some of these ringlike structures ""shrink"" as the tilt angle is increased and fully collapse at theta (c) a parts per thousand 6A degrees. Here we theoretically investigate the topology of these structures via a non-interacting model for the 2DEG. We account for the inter Landau-level coupling induced by the tilted magnetic field via perturbation theory. This coupling results in anticrossings of Landau levels with parallel spins. With the new energy spectrum, we calculate the corresponding n (2D) -B diagram of the density of states (DOS) near the Fermi level. We argue that the DOS displays the same topology as rho (xx) in the n (2D) -B diagram. For the ring with filling factor nu=4, we find that the anticrossings make it shrink for increasing tilt angles and collapse at a large enough angle. Using effective parameters to fit the theta=0A degrees data, we find a collapsing angle theta (c) a parts per thousand 3.6A degrees. Despite this factor-of-two discrepancy with the experimental data, our model captures the essential mechanism underlying the ring collapse.

Search for first harmonic modulation in the right ascension distribution of cosmic rays detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory

We present the results of searches for dipolar-type anisotropies in different energy ranges above 2.5 x 10(17) eV with the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory, reporting on both the phase and the amplitude measurements of the first harmonic modulation in the right-ascension distribution. Upper limits on the amplitudes are obtained, which provide the most stringent bounds at present, being below 2% at 99% C.L. for EeV energies. We also compare our results to those of previous experiments as well as with some theoretical expectations. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation of the properties of galactic cosmic rays with the KASCADE-Grande experiment

The properties of galactic cosmic rays are investigated with the KASCADE-Grande experiment in the energy range between 10(14) and 10(18) eV. Recent results are discussed. They concern mainly the all-particle energy spectrum and the elemental composition of cosmic rays. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The exposure of the hybrid detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is a detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. It consists of a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level and a fluorescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The ""hybrid"" detection mode combines the information from the two subsystems. We describe the determination of the hybrid exposure for events observed by the fluorescence telescopes in coincidence with at least one water-Cherenkov detector of the surface array. A detailed knowledge of the time dependence of the detection operations is crucial for an accurate evaluation of the exposure. We discuss the relevance of monitoring data collected during operations, such as the status of the fluorescence detector, background light and atmospheric conditions, that are used in both simulation and reconstruction. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A faraway quasar in the direction of the highest energy Auger event

The highest energy cosmic ray event reported by the Auger Observatory has an energy of 148 EeV. It does not correlate with any nearby (z<0.024) object capable of originating such a high energy event. Intrigued by the fact that the highest energy event ever recorded (by the Fly`s Eye collaboration) points to a faraway quasar with very high radio luminosity and large Faraday rotation measurement, we have searched for a similar source for the Auger event. We find that the Auger highest energy event points to a quasar with similar characteristics to the one correlated to the Fly`s Eye event. We also find the same kind of correlation for one of the highest energy AGASA events. We conclude that so far these types of quasars are the best source candidates for both Auger and Fly`s Eye highest energy events. We discuss a few exotic candidates that could reach us from gigaparsec distances.

Laurdan Spectrum Decomposition as a Tool for the Analysis of Surface Bilayer Structure and Polarity: a Study with DMPG, Peptides and Cholesterol

The highly hydrophobic fluorophore Laurdan (6-dodecanoyl-2-(dimethylaminonaphthalene)) has been widely used as a fluorescent probe to monitor lipid membranes. Actually, it monitors the structure and polarity of the bilayer surface, where its fluorescent moiety is supposed to reside. The present paper discusses the high sensitivity of Laurdan fluorescence through the decomposition of its emission spectrum into two Gaussian bands, which correspond to emissions from two different excited states, one more solvent relaxed than the other. It will be shown that the analysis of the area fraction of each band is more sensitive to bilayer structural changes than the largely used parameter called Generalized Polarization, possibly because the latter does not completely separate the fluorescence emission from the two different excited states of Laurdan. Moreover, it will be shown that this decomposition should be done with the spectrum as a function of energy, and not wavelength. Due to the presence of the two emission bands in Laurdan spectrum, fluorescence anisotropy should be measured around 480 nm, to be able to monitor the fluorescence emission from one excited state only, the solvent relaxed state. Laurdan will be used to monitor the complex structure of the anionic phospholipid DMPG (dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol) at different ionic strengths, and the alterations caused on gel and fluid membranes due to the interaction of cationic peptides and cholesterol. Analyzing both the emission spectrum decomposition and anisotropy it was possible to distinguish between effects on the packing and on the hydration of the lipid membrane surface. It could be clearly detected that a more potent analog of the melanotropic hormone alpha-MSH (Ac-Ser(1)-Tyr(2)-Ser(3)-Met(4)-Glu(5)-His(6)-Phe(7)-Arg(8)-Trp(9)-Gly(10)-Lys(11)-Pro(12)-Val(13)-NH(2)) was more effective in rigidifying the bilayer surface of fluid membranes than the hormone, though the hormone significantly decreases the bilayer surface hydration.

Solvent effects on the electronic absorption spectrum of camphor using continuum, discrete or explicit approaches

We address the effect of solvation on the lowest electronic excitation energy of camphor. The solvents considered represent a large variation in-solvent polarity. We consider three conceptually different ways of accounting for the solvent using either an implicit, a discrete or an explicit solvation model. The solvatochromic shifts in polar solvents are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data for all three solvent models. However, both the implicit and discrete solvation models are less successful in predicting solvatochromic shifts for solvents of low polarity. The results presented suggest the importance of using explicit solvent molecules in the case of nonpolar solvents. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Extended analysis of the Kr V spectrum

The spectrum of four-times-ionized krypton (Kr V) has been observed in the 230-4900 angstrom wavelength range, resulting in 91 new classified lines. We were able to identify 21 new energy levels belonging to the 4s(2)4p5d, 4s(2)4p5s, 4s(2)4p6s, 4s(2)4p5p and 4s4p(2)4d configurations. Relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations were used to predict energy levels and transitions. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extended analysis of the Al-like argon spectrum

A new analysis of the aluminium-like five times ionized argon (Ar VI) spectrum in the vacuum ultraviolet region is reported in this paper. Two adjusted and 14 new energy levels and 68 new classified lines between the configurations 3s(2)3p, 3p(3), 3s3p3d, 3s(2)4p and 3s3p(2), 3s(2)(3d + 4d + 5d), 3s(2)5s, 3p(2)3d, 3s3d(2) were obtained. Atomic calculation using the HFR program was also used in the analysis.

Study of absorption spectrum and dynamics evaluation of the indocyanine-green first singlet excited state

Excited state absorption and excited state dynamics of indocyanine-green (ICG) dissolved in dymethyl sulfoxide were measured using white-light continuum Z-scan (WLCZScan) and white-light continuum pump-probe (WLCPP) techniques. The excited state absorption spectrum, obtained through Z-scan measurements, revealed saturable absorption (SA) for wavelengths longer than 630 nm, while reverse saturable absorption (RSA) appeared, as indicated by a band at approximately 570 nm. Both processes were modeled by a three-energy-level diagram, from which the excited state cross-section values were determined. SA and RSA were also observed in pump-probe experiments, with a recovery time in the hundreds of picoseconds time scale due to the long lifetime of the first excited state of ICG. Such results contribute to the understanding of ICG optical properties, allowing application in photonics and medicine. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Active galactic nuclei: sources for ultra high energy cosmic rays

Ultra high energy cosmic ray events presently show a spectrum, which we interpret here as galactic cosmic rays due to a starburst, in the radio galaxy Cen A which is pushed up in energy by the shock of a relativistic jet. The knee feature and the particles with energy immediately higher in galactic cosmic rays then turn into the bulk of ultra high energy cosmic rays. This entails that all ultra high energy cosmic rays are heavy nuclei. This picture is viable if the majority of the observed ultra high energy events come from the radio galaxy Cen A, and are scattered by intergalactic magnetic fields across much of the sky.

Anisotropy and chemical composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using arrival directions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Collaboration has reported. evidence for anisotropy in the distribution of arrival directions of the cosmic rays with energies E > E(th) = 5.5 x 10(19) eV. These show a correlation with the distribution of nearby extragalactic objects, including an apparent excess around the direction of Centaurus A. If the particles responsible for these excesses at E > E(th) are heavy nuclei with charge Z, the proton component of the sources should lead to excesses in the same regions at energies E/Z. We here report the lack of anisotropies in these directions at energies above E(th)/Z (for illustrative values of Z = 6, 13, 26). If the anisotropies above E(th) are due to nuclei with charge Z, and under reasonable assumptions about the acceleration process, these observations imply stringent constraints on the allowed proton fraction at the lower energies.