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SYMD: Symposium SMuK Dissertationspreis 2018

SYMD 1: SMuK Dissertationspreis 2018

SYMD 1.2: Invited Talk

Monday, March 19, 2018, 14:25–14:50, Z6 - HS 0.004

A novel method for the energy determination of ultra-high energy cosmic rays through radio emission of particle showers — •Christian Glaser — University of California, Irvine, USA — Physics Institute 3a, RWTH Aachen University

The origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is one of the foremost question in astroparticle research. For corresponding analyses, reliable reconstruction of the particle properties is essential. Most challenging is an accurate determination of the cosmic-ray energy far above energies reached at earth-bound accelerator facilities. Impinging onto the atmosphere, ultra-high energy cosmic rays induce huge cascades of secondary particles. The novel method to access cosmic-ray energies are measurements of the energy radiated by these air showers in form of MHz radio waves. The amount of radiation increases with the primary cosmic-ray energy and the radiation process is almost independent of variations in the atmospheric conditions. With the transparency of the atmosphere to MHz radio waves, the emitted radiation reaches ground essentially undisturbed. Their measurement with antenna stations is then complemented by calculations from first-principles using classical electrodynamics which together provide the absolute energy of the cosmic ray. These advantages lead to an improved systematic uncertainty compared to established methods. The new method will be discussed for the Engineering Radio Array (AERA) of the Pierre Auger Cosmic-Ray Observatory. It is compared to alternative methods, and put into the context of other world-wide observatories.