{"title":"Revisiting propagation delays of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays from long-lived sources","authors":"Rostom Mbarek , Damiano Caprioli","doi":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103148","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103148","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We revisit the time delay incurred during ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) propagation over cosmological distances and its potential impact on the correlation between UHECR directions of arrival and long-lived sources (i.e., with duty cycles of order of Myr, such as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and starburst galaxies), the UHECR chemical composition, and extragalactic magnetic field constraints. We propagate particles in different magnetic field configurations, spanning over an extended range of particle Larmor radii and magnetic field coherence lengths, also including attenuation losses. We conclude that UHECR delays could easily be comparable to (and longer than) AGN duty cycles, effectively erasing the correlation between known AGNs and UHECR anisotropies. We finally consider how strong constraints on the chemical composition of the heaviest UHECRs could enable a better characterization of extragalactic magnetic fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55439,"journal":{"name":"Astroparticle Physics","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 103148"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. Zhang , H. Ma , W. Dai , M. Jing , L. Yang , Q. Yue , Z. Zeng , J. Cheng
{"title":"Measurement of cosmic-ray muon flux at CJPL-II","authors":"P. Zhang , H. Ma , W. Dai , M. Jing , L. Yang , Q. Yue , Z. Zeng , J. Cheng","doi":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103147","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103147","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL), the deepest and largest underground laboratory globally, the cosmic-ray muon flux is significantly reduced due to the substantial shielding provided by the overlying mountain. From 2016 to 2020, we measured the muon flux in the second phase of CJPL (CJPL-II) with a plastic scintillator muon telescope system, detecting 161 muon events over an effective live time of 1098 days. The detection efficiency was obtained by simulating the underground muon energy and angular distributions and the telescope system’s response to underground muons. The cosmic-ray muon flux is determined to be (3.03 ± 0.24 (stat) <span><math><mo>±</mo></math></span> 0.18 (sys)) <span><math><mo>×</mo></math></span> 10<sup>−10</sup> cm<sup>−2</sup>s<sup>−1</sup>, which is the lowest among underground laboratories worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55439,"journal":{"name":"Astroparticle Physics","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 103147"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144522417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Modelling cosmic rays flux with Pierre Auger and Telescope Array data in f(R) and f(Q) theories of gravity","authors":"Swaraj Pratim Sarmah, Umananda Dev Goswami","doi":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103138","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103138","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We investigate the effects of the magnetic field and the redshift on the propagation of galactic and extragalactic cosmic rays (CRs) in a modified theory of gravity (MTG) and an alternative theory of gravity (ATG) framework. For this purpose, we consider the <span><math><mrow><mi>f</mi><mrow><mo>(</mo><mi>R</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></math></span> gravity and the <span><math><mrow><mi>f</mi><mrow><mo>(</mo><mi>Q</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></math></span> gravity theories. We utilise these two MTG and ATG to compute the density enhancement factor of CRs as a function of the magnetic field and the redshift. For this work, we take the magnetic field strength from <span><math><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>100</mn></mrow></math></span> nG, while <span><math><mrow><mn>0</mn><mo>−</mo><mn>2</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>5</mn></mrow></math></span> for the redshift. For each of these parameters, we take 100 bins within their considered range for the computation. The enhancement parameter for the mixed composition of heavy nuclei up to Fe is also taken into account for this work. Further, we compute the <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>E</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></math></span> magnified diffusive flux of ultra high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) for 150 sources separated by a distance <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>d</mi></mrow><mrow><mtext>s</mtext></mrow></msub></math></span> for the different cosmological models. For the fitting with observational data from the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) and Telescope Array (TA), we parameterised some set that consists of the redshift <span><math><mi>z</mi></math></span>, the separation distances <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>d</mi></mrow><mrow><mtext>s</mtext></mrow></msub></math></span> between the 150 sources, and the maximum cutoff energy <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>E</mi></mrow><mrow><mtext>max</mtext></mrow></msub></math></span>. For each case, a residue plot and <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>χ</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></math></span> value are also added to check the goodness of fit. A comparative analysis of the considered models has been performed in each of the cases along with the <span><math><mi>Λ</mi></math></span>CDM model. The <span><math><mrow><mi>f</mi><mrow><mo>(</mo><mi>Q</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></mrow></math></span> model shows the highest CR density enhancement and the lowest reduced <span><math><msup><mrow><mi>χ</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></math></span> value when fitted to PAO and TA data of the UHECRs flux. The uncertainty calculations in flux have been performed in this work with PAO and TA data, also supporting the validation of the considered MTG and ATG in UHECR studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55439,"journal":{"name":"Astroparticle Physics","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 103138"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144254276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
LiquidO collaboration, S.R. Soleti , J.J. Gómez-Cadenas , J. Apilluelo , L. Asquith , E.F. Bannister , N.P. Barradas , C.L. Baylis , J.L. Beney , M. Berberan e Santos , X. de la Bernardie , T.J.C. Bezerra , M. Bongrand , C. Bourgeois , D. Breton , J. Busto , K. Burns , A. Cabrera , A. Cadiou , E. Calvo , F. Yermia
{"title":"COCOA: A compact Compton camera for astrophysical observation of MeV-scale gamma rays","authors":"LiquidO collaboration, S.R. Soleti , J.J. Gómez-Cadenas , J. Apilluelo , L. Asquith , E.F. Bannister , N.P. Barradas , C.L. Baylis , J.L. Beney , M. Berberan e Santos , X. de la Bernardie , T.J.C. Bezerra , M. Bongrand , C. Bourgeois , D. Breton , J. Busto , K. Burns , A. Cabrera , A. Cadiou , E. Calvo , F. Yermia","doi":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103135","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103135","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>COCOA (COmpact COmpton cAmera) is a next-generation gamma-ray telescope designed for astrophysical observations in the MeV energy range. The detector comprises a scatterer volume employing the LiquidO detection technology and an array of scintillating crystals acting as absorber. Surrounding plastic scintillator panels serve as a veto system for charged particles. The detector’s compact, scalable design enables flexible deployment on microsatellites or high-altitude balloons. Gamma rays at MeV energies have not been well explored historically (the so-called “MeV gap”) and COCOA has the potential to improve the sensitivity in this energy band.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55439,"journal":{"name":"Astroparticle Physics","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 103135"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144213141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alan Coleman , Christian Glaser , Ryan Rice-Smith , Steven Barwick , Dave Besson
{"title":"In-ice Askaryan emission from air showers: Implications for radio neutrino detectors","authors":"Alan Coleman , Christian Glaser , Ryan Rice-Smith , Steven Barwick , Dave Besson","doi":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103136","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103136","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>One of the most promising techniques for detecting ultra-high energy neutrinos involves the use of radio antennas to observe the 10–1000<!--> <!-->MHz radiation generated by the showers that neutrinos induce in large volumes of ice. The expected neutrino detection rates of one neutrino or less per detector station per 10 years make the characterization of backgrounds a priority. The largest natural background comes from ultra-high energy cosmic rays which are orders of magnitude more abundant than neutrinos. Particularly crucial is the understanding of geometries in which substantial energy of the cosmic-ray-induced air shower is deposited in the ice giving rise to a compact in-ice shower close to the ice surface. We calculated the radio emission of air-shower cores using the novel CORSIKA 8 code and found it to be similar to the predictions for neutrino-induced showers. For the first time, we calculated the detection rates for <span><math><mi>O</mi></math></span>(100<!--> <!-->m) deep antennas yielding 10–100 detections per year and detector station, which makes this a useful calibration source as these downward-going signals can be differentiated from neutrino-induced showers based on the signal arrival direction. However, the presence of reflection layers in the ice confuses the arrival directions, which makes this a potentially important background. We review the existing information on reflecting layers in the South Pole glacier and, for the first time, quantify the corresponding rate of reflected air-shower signals for the proposed IceCube-Gen2 radio array and discuss mitigation strategies. The reflectivity of the layers is the dominant uncertainty resulting in rate predictions of much less than one detection to several detections per year for IceCube-Gen2 if not mitigated.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55439,"journal":{"name":"Astroparticle Physics","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 103136"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144205523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Trofimov , E. Parizot , P.A. Klimov , A.A. Belov , A. Creusot , D. Allard , B. Baret , M. Battisti , S. Blin , M. Casolino , T. Ebisuzaki , G. Filippatos , E. Msihid , A. Murashov , A.V. Olinto , G. Osteria , G. Prévôt , J. Szabelski , Y. Takizawa , L. Wiencke
{"title":"Characterization and absolute calibration of R11265 multi-anode photomultiplier tubes for the JEM-EUSO space and balloon program: II. Application to the EUSO-SPB2 photodetection modules","authors":"D. Trofimov , E. Parizot , P.A. Klimov , A.A. Belov , A. Creusot , D. Allard , B. Baret , M. Battisti , S. Blin , M. Casolino , T. Ebisuzaki , G. Filippatos , E. Msihid , A. Murashov , A.V. Olinto , G. Osteria , G. Prévôt , J. Szabelski , Y. Takizawa , L. Wiencke","doi":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103131","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103131","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The fluorescence camera of the EUSO-SPB2 mission is the last and most advanced implementation of the technology developed within the JEM-EUSO (Joint Exploratory Missions for an Extreme Universe Space Observatory) collaboration to study ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), extensive atmospheric showers and transient luminous events from space. It consists of three photodetection modules, each hosting nine elementary cells with 36 multi-anode photomultiplier tubes (MAPMTs), for a total of 6912 pixels. The associated electronics was designed to operate in single photon counting mode. In this paper, we apply the calibration techniques presented in the accompanying paper (Paper I) to characterize the photodetectors of the EUSO-SPB2 fluorescence camera. In particular, we determine the photodetection efficiency and physical size of each pixel. We find an average efficiency of <span><math><mo>∼</mo></math></span>32%. We also examine its dependence with high voltage and photon wavelength, and determine the double pulse resolution of the different channels, of the order of 10 ns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55439,"journal":{"name":"Astroparticle Physics","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 103131"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pranaba K. Nayak , Shashi R. Dugad , Sunil K. Gupta , Atul Jain , Indranil Mazumdar , Pravata K. Mohanty , Supriya Das , Sanjay K. Ghosh , Dhruba Gupta , Sibaji Raha , Swapan K. Saha , Sumana Singh , Arunava Bhadra
{"title":"Definitive evidence of cosmic γ-ray flux reduction during solar eclipse totality: Observations from the 22 July 2009 eclipse in India","authors":"Pranaba K. Nayak , Shashi R. Dugad , Sunil K. Gupta , Atul Jain , Indranil Mazumdar , Pravata K. Mohanty , Supriya Das , Sanjay K. Ghosh , Dhruba Gupta , Sibaji Raha , Swapan K. Saha , Sumana Singh , Arunava Bhadra","doi":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103122","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103122","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past quarter century, many attempts have been made to observe an expected inverted Gaussian decrease in the low-energy <span><math><mi>γ</mi></math></span>-ray flux during total solar eclipses, coinciding with the point of totality. However, these studies have produced varied results. Here, we present an experimental setup optimized for cosmic <span><math><mi>γ</mi></math></span>-ray collection while minimizing terrestrial interference. Using four large-volume NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors, we collected <span><math><mi>γ</mi></math></span>-ray flux data during the total solar eclipse of 22 July 2009 from two geographically distinct locations in India: Indore and Siliguri. The detectors were elevated above the ground to further reduce signal contamination by terrestrial <span><math><mi>γ</mi></math></span>-rays, enabling the measurement of flux before, during, and after the eclipse visible from these sites. Despite the careful setup, varying levels of radon daughters in the rain during the eclipse period complicated the spectral analysis. To address this, we developed a RooFit-based method that combines exponential and Gaussian functions to generate unified energy spectra, accounting for temporal variations and the effects of rain. Furthermore, we developed a novel method to isolate the true background from rain-induced interference, revealing a <span><math><mo>∼</mo></math></span>6% reduction in <span><math><mi>γ</mi></math></span>-ray flux during totality at both sites. With improvements in the experimental setup, modelling, and innovative data analysis, this study establishes a foundational approach for future total solar eclipse experiments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55439,"journal":{"name":"Astroparticle Physics","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 103122"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gamma-ray background from rock: Studies for a next-generation dark matter experiment based on liquid xenon","authors":"J.K. Tranter , V.A. Kudryavtsev , P.R. Scovell","doi":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103119","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103119","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rare event experiments, such as those targeting dark matter interactions and neutrinoless double beta (0<span><math><mrow><mi>ν</mi><mi>β</mi><mi>β</mi></mrow></math></span>) decay, should be shielded from gamma-rays that originated in rock. This paper describes the simulation of gamma-ray transport through the water shielding and assessment of the thickness needed to suppress the background from rock down to a negligible level. This study focuses on a next-generation xenon observatory with a wide range of measurements including the search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) and 0<span><math><mrow><mi>ν</mi><mi>β</mi><mi>β</mi></mrow></math></span> decay of <sup>136</sup>Xe. Our findings indicate that the gamma-ray background is unlikely to persist through analysis cuts in the WIMP energy range (0 - 20 keV) after 3.5 m of water, complemented by 0.5 m of liquid scintillator. For 0<span><math><mrow><mi>ν</mi><mi>β</mi><mi>β</mi></mrow></math></span> decay, a background below 1 event in 10 years of running can be achieved with a fiducial mass of 39.3 tonnes. Furthermore, for typical radioactivity levels of 1 Bq kg<sup>−1</sup> of <sup>232</sup>Th and <sup>238</sup>U we have studied the effect of reducing the water shielding by 1 m, resulting in a reduced fiducial mass of 19.1 tonnes for 0<span><math><mrow><mi>ν</mi><mi>β</mi><mi>β</mi></mrow></math></span> decay and still a negligible background for WIMP search. The paper also presents the measurements of radioactivity in rock in the Boulby mine, which hosted several dark matter experiments in the past and is also a potential site for a future dual-phase xenon experiment. The measurements are used to normalise simulation results and assess the required shielding at Boulby.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55439,"journal":{"name":"Astroparticle Physics","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 103119"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144099723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A proposed deep sea Neutrino Observatory in the Nanhai","authors":"Huiming Zhang, Yudong Cui, Yunlei Huang, Sujie Lin, Yihan Liu, Zijian Qiu, Chengyu Shao, Yihan Shi, Caijin Xie, Lili Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103123","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.astropartphys.2025.103123","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past ten years, several breakthroughs have been made in multi-messenger astronomy. Thanks to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the detection of astrophysical neutrinos was proved to be practical. However, due to the limited statistics and field of view, only a few sources have been associated with IceCube neutrinos, making new and larger neutrino telescopes necessary. We propose the NEutrino Observatory in the Nanhai (NEON), located in the South China Sea to be complementary for the global neutrino detectors. This proposal describes the design and layout of the array and reports on comprehensive simulations conducted to assess its performance. The NEON project, with a volume of 10 km<span><math><msup><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></math></span>, achieves an angular resolution of 0.1 ° at 100 TeV. With 10 years of operation, the project’s 5<span><math><mi>σ</mi></math></span> sensitivity is estimated as <span><math><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>E</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup><mi>Φ</mi><mo>∼</mo><mn>3</mn><mo>×</mo><mn>1</mn><msup><mrow><mn>0</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>10</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math></span> GeV cm<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup> for a source spectrum index of -2. We found that the variation in depth from 1700 to 3500 meters does not significantly influence the sensitivity to steady sources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55439,"journal":{"name":"Astroparticle Physics","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 103123"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}