The cosmic ray energy spectrum from 1-10 EXA electron volts measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory
Date
2009
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Abstract
The observed decrease in flux of cosmic rays as the energy increases can be described by power law with an almost constant spectral index for 12 decades of energy. Observing spectral index changes are used to constrain models for the sources of cosmic rays. The Pierre Auger Observatory was built to study the highest energy cosmic rays and combines two complementary techniques, a fluorescence detector and a surface detector. The surface detector is 100% efficient for energies above 3 EeV allowing for a flux measurement with low systematic uncertainties. This thesis describes the techniques developed to measure the flux of cosmic rays below 3 EeV while maintaining low uncertainties. The resulting energy spectrum confirms the previously measured change in spectral index observed by other experiments. Systematic differences in the measured energy spectra between experiments exist. Possible reasons for these differences and the astrophysical implications are discussed.
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Subject
cosmic rays
energy spectrum
Pierre Auger Observatory
astrophysics