Search for photons above 10$^{19}$ eV with the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

作者：The Pierre Auger Collaboration, P. Abreu, M. Aglietta, I. Allekotte, Kévin Almeida Cheminant, A. Almela, Jaime Álvarez-Muñiz, Juan Ammerman Yebra, G. A. Anastasi, L. Anchordoqui, B. Andrada, S. Andringa, C. Aramo, Paulo Ricardo Araújo Ferreira, E. Arnone, Juan Carlos Arteaga Velázquez, H. Asorey, P. Assis, G. Avila, Emanuele Avocone, Alina Mihaela Badescu, Alena Bakalová, A. Balaceanu, Felicia Barbato, Jose A. Bellido, C. Berat, M. E. Bertaina, Gopal Bhatta, Peter L. Biermann, V. Binet, K. Bismark, Teresa Bister, J. Biteau, Jiří Blažek, C. Bleve, J. Blümer, M. Boháčová, Denise Boncioli, C. Bonifazi, Luan Bonneau Arbeletche, Nataliia Borodai, J. Brack, T. Bretz, P. Gabriel Brichetto Orchera, F. L. Briechle, P. Buchholz, A. Bueno, S. Buitink, Mario Buscemi, M. Büsken, Anthony Bwembya, K. S. Caballero‐Mora, Lorenzo Caccianiga, I. Caracas, R. Caruso, A. Castellina, F. Catalani, G. Cataldi, L. Cazon, M. Cerda, J. A. Chinellato, J. Chudoba, L. Chytka, R. W. Clay, Agustín Cobos Cerutti, Roberta Colalillo, A. Coleman, M. R. Coluccia, R. Conceição, Antonio Condorelli, G. Consolati, F. Contreras, Fabio Convenga, Diego Correia dos Santos, C. E. Covault, M. Cristinziani, S. Dasso, K. Daumiller, B. R. Dawson, R. M. de Almeida, J. de Jesús, S. J. de Jong, de Mello Neto, J. R. T., I. De Mitri, J. de Oliveira, Danelise de Oliveira Franco, de Palma, F., de Souza, V., Emanuele De Vito, A. Del Popolo, O. Deligny, L. Deval, A. di Matteo, M. Dobre, C. Dobrigkeit, J. C. D'Olivo, Luis Miguel Domingues Mendes, R. C. dos Anjos, Jan Ebr, M. Eman, R. Engel, I. Epicoco, M. Erdmann, C. O. Escobar, A. Etchegoyen, H. Falcke, J. Farmer, Farrar, G., A. C. Fauth, N. Fazzini, F. Feldbusch, F. Fenu, B. Fick, J. M. Figueira, A. Filipčič, T. Fitoussi, Tomáš Fodran, Toshihiro Fujii, A. Fuster, C. Galea, C. Galelli, B. Garćıa, H. Gemmeke, Flavia Gesualdi, A. Gherghel‐Lascu, P. L. Ghia, U. Giaccari, M. Giammarchi, Jonas Glombitza, F. Gobbi, F. Gollan, G. Golup, M. Gómez Berisso, Primo F. Gómez Vitale, J. P. Gongora, J. M. González, Nicolás Martín González, I. Goos, D. Góra, A. Gorgi, M. Gottowik, T. D. Grubb, F. Guarino, G. P. Guedes, E. Guido, S. Hahn, P. Hamal, Matías Rolf Hampel, P. Hansen, D. Harari, V. M. Harvey, A. Haungs, T. Hebbeker, D. Heck, C. Hojvat, J.R. Hörandel, Pavel Horváth, M. Hrabovský, T. Huege, A. Insolia, Paula Gina Isar, P. Janecek, J. A. Johnsen, Jakub Jurýšek, A. Kääpä, K. H. Kampert, B. Keilhauer, A. Khakurdikar, Varada Varma Kizakke Covilakam, H. O. Klages, M. Kleifges, J. Kleinfeller, F. Knapp, N. Krohm, N. Kunka, Bruno L. Lago, N. Langner, M. A. Leigui de Oliveira, V. Lenok, A. Letessier‐Selvon, I. Lhenry‐Yvon, D. Lo Presti, L. Lopes, R. López, L. Lu, Q. Luce, Jon Paul Lundquist, A. Machado Payeras, G. Mancarella, Dušan Mandát, B. C. Manning, J. Manshanden, P. Mantsch, S. Marafico, F. M. Mariani, A. G. Mariazzi, Ioana Codrina Mariş, G. Marsella, D. Martello, S. Martinelli, Martínez Bravo, O., Miguel A. Martins, Massimo Mastrodicasa, H. J. Mathes, J. Matthews, G. Matthiae, Eric William Mayotte, S. Mayotte, P. O. Mazur, G. Medina-Tanco, D. Melo, A. Menshikov, S. Michal, María Isabel Micheletti, L. Miramonti, Mollerach, S., F. Montanet, Leonel Morejón, C. Morello, Ana L. Müller, K. Mulrey, R. Mussa, M. Muzio, W. M. Namasaka, A. Nasr-Esfahani, L. Nellen, G. Nicora, M. Niculescu‐Oglinzanu, Marcus Niechciol, D. Nitz, I. Norwood, D. Nosek, Vladimír Novotný, L. Nožka, A Nucita, Luis A. Núñez, Cainã Oliveira, M. Palatka, J. Pallotta, P. Papenbreer, G. Parente, A. Parra, J. Pawlowsky, M. Pech, J. Pękala, R. Pelayo, Edyvânia Emily Pereira Martins, Johnnier Perez Armand, Carmina Pérez Bertolli, L. Perrone, S. Petrera, C. Petrucci, T. Pierog, M. Pimenta, M. Platino, B. Pont, M. Pothast, M. Pourmohammad Shavar, Paolo Privitera, M. Prouza, Andrew Puyleart, S. Querchfeld, J. Rautenberg, D. Ravignani, M. Reininghaus, J. Řídký, F. Riehn, M. Risse, V. Rizi, W. Rodrigues de Carvalho, Juan Rojo, M. J. Roncoroni, S. Rossoni, M. Roth, E. Roulet, A. C. Rovero, P. Ruehl, A. Sǎftoiu, M. Saharan, F. Salamida, H. Salazar, G. Salina, Jose Sanabria Gomez, F. Sánchez, E. M. Santos, E. Santos, F. Sarazin, R. Sarmento, R. Sato, P. Savina, C. M. Schäfer, Viviana Scherini, H. Schieler, Martin Schimassek, M. Schimp, Felix Schlüter, D. Schmidt, O. Schölten, Harm Schoorlemmer, Petr Schovánek, Frank Schröder, J. Schulte, T. Schulz, S. J. Sciutto, M. Scornavacche, A. Segreto, S. Sehgal, S. U. Shivashankara, G. Sigl, G. Silli, O. Sima, Raluca Smău, Radomir Šmída, P. Sommers, J. F. Soriano, R. Squartini, Maximilian Stadelmaier, D. Stanca, S. Stanič, Jarosław Stasielak, P. Stassi, M. Straub, A. Streich, Mauricio Suárez‐Durán, Tristan Sudholz, T. Suomijärvi, A. D. Supanitsky, Zbigniew Szadkowski, A. Tapia, C. Taricco, C. Timmermans, O. Tkachenko, Petr Tobiška, Carlos J. Todero Peixoto, B. Tomé, Z. Torrès, A. Travaini, P. Trávnı́ček, C. Trimarelli, Matias Jorge Tueros, R. Ulrich, M. Unger, Lukáš Vaclavek, Martin Vacula, Jose F. Valdés Galicia, L. Valore, Enrique Varela, A Vásquez-Ramírez, Darko Veberič, Cynthia Ventura, Indira D. Vergara Quispe, V. Verzi, J. Vicha, J. Vink, S. Vorobiov, C. Watanabe, A. A. Watson, A. Weindl, L. Wiencke, H. Wilczyński, D. Wittkowski, B. Wundheiler, A. Yushkov, Orazio Zapparrata, E. Zas, D. Zavrtanik, M. Zavrtanik, L. Zehrer · 发表于：arXiv (Cornell University) · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.18154/rwth-2024-04552 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena、Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena、Computational Physics and Python Applications

We use the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory to search for air showers initiated by photons with an energy above $10^{19}$ eV. Photons in the zenith angle range from 30$^\circ$ to 60$^\circ$ can be identified in the overwhelming background of showers initiated by charged cosmic rays through the broader time structure of the signals induced in the water-Cherenkov detectors of the array and the steeper lateral distribution of shower particles reaching ground. Applying the search method to data collected between January 2004 and June 2020, upper limits at 95\% CL are set to an $E^{-2}$ diffuse flux of ultra-high energy photons above $10^{19}$ eV, $2{\times}10^{19}$ eV and $4{\times}10^{19}$ eV amounting to $2.11{\times}10^{-3}$, $3.12{\times}10^{-4}$ and $1.72{\times}10^{-4}$ km$^{-2}$ sr$^{-1}$ yr$^{-1}$, respectively. While the sensitivity of the present search around $2 \times 10^{19}$ eV approaches expectations of cosmogenic photon fluxes in the case of a pure-proton composition, it is one order of magnitude above those from more realistic mixed-composition models. The inferred limits have also implications for the search of super-heavy dark matter that are discussed and illustrated.