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Astrophysical models to interpret the Pierre Auger Observatory data
Conference proceeding

Astrophysical models to interpret the Pierre Auger Observatory data

Juan Manuel Gonzalez and Pierre Auger Collaboration
7TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ULTRA HIGH ENERGY COSMIC RAYS, UHECR2024, 015
2025-01-01

Abstract

Astronomy & Astrophysics Physical Sciences Physics Physics, Particles & Fields Science & Technology
The Pierre Auger Observatory has measured the spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with unprecedented precision, as well as the distribution of the depths of the maximum of the shower development in the atmosphere, which provide a reliable estimator of the mass composition. The measurements above 10(17.8) eV can be interpreted assuming two populations of uniformly distributed sources, one with a soft spectrum dominating the flux below few EeV, and another one with a very hard spectrum dominating above that energy. When considering the presence of intense extragalactic magnetic fields between our Galaxy and the closest sources and a high-energy population with low spatial density, a magnetic horizon appears, suppressing the cosmic ray's flux at low-energies, which could explain the very hard spectrum observed at Earth. The distribution of arrival directions, which at energies above 32 EeV shows indications of a correlation with a population of starburst galaxies or the radio galaxy Centaurus A (Cen A), are also important to constrain the sources. It is shown that adding a fractional contribution from these sources of about 20% on top of an homogeneous background leads to an improvement of the model likelihood.

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