Observation of the Suppression of the Flux of Cosmic Rays above4×1019 eV

2008/06/26 by J. Abraham, The Pierre Auger Collaboration, P. Abreu +98 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.101.061101

published as Phys.Rev.Lett.101:061101,2008 · 7 pages, 2 figues, accepted for publication in Physics Review Letters

arxiv created 2008/06/26 · openalex publication_date 2008/08/04 · arxiv updated 2012/08/27 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

The energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 2.5\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10¹⁸ eV, derived from 20 000 events recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory, is described. The spectral index \ensuremathγ of the particle flux, J\ensuremath∝E^\ensuremath-\ensuremathγ, at energies between 4\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10¹⁸ eV and 4\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10¹⁹ eV is 2.69\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi0.02(stat)\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi0.06(syst), steepening to 4.2\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi0.4(stat)\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi0.06(syst) at higher energies. The hypothesis of a single power law is rejected with a significance greater than 6 standard deviations. The data are consistent with the prediction by Greisen and by Zatsepin and Kuz'min.

Citations

• Upper limit on the cosmic-ray photon flux above 1019eV using the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Correlation of the Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays with Nearby Extragalactic Objects

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