A large light-mass component of cosmic rays at 1017-1017.5 electronvolts from radio observations

S. Buitink; A. Corstanje; H. Falcke; J. R. Hörandel; T. Huege; A. Nelles; J. P. Rachen; L. Rossetto; P. Schellart; O. Scholten; S. Ter Veen; S. Thoudam; T. N.G. Trinh; J. Anderson; A. Asgekar; I. M. Avruch; M. E. Bell; M. J. Bentum; G. Bernardi; P. Best; A. Bonafede; F. Breitling; J. W. Broderick; W. N. Brouw; M. Brüggen; H. R. Butcher; D. Carbone; B. Ciardi; J. E. Conway; F. De Gasperin; E. De Geus; A. Deller; R. J. Dettmar; G. Van Diepen; S. Duscha; J. Eislöffel; D. Engels; J. E. Enriquez; R. A. Fallows; R. Fender; C. Ferrari; W. Frieswijk; M. A. Garrett; J. M. Grießmeier; A. W. Gunst; M. P. Van Haarlem; T. E. Hassall; G. Heald; J. W.T. Hessels; M. Hoeft; A. Horneffer; M. Iacobelli; H. Intema; E. Juette; A. Karastergiou; V. I. Kondratiev; M. Kramer; M. Kuniyoshi; G. Kuper; J. Van Leeuwen; G. M. Loose; P. Maat; G. Mann; S. Markoff; R. McFadden; D. McKay-Bukowski; J. P. McKean; M. Mevius; D. D. Mulcahy; H. Munk; M. J. Norden; E. Orru; H. Paas; M. Pandey-Pommier; V. N. Pandey; M. Pietka; R. Pizzo; A. G. Polatidis; W. Reich; H. J.A. Röttgering; A. M.M. Scaife; D. J. Schwarz; M. Serylak; J. Sluman; O. Smirnov; B. W. Stappers; M. Steinmetz; A. Stewart; J. Swinbank; M. Tagger; Y. Tang; C. Tasse; M. C. Toribio; R. Vermeulen; C. Vocks; C. Vogt; R. J. Van Weeren; R. A.M.J. Wijers; S. J. Wijnholds; M. W. Wise; O. Wucknitz; S. Yatawatta; P. Zarka; J. A. Zensus

doi:10.1038/nature16976

A large light-mass component of cosmic rays at 10¹⁷-10^17.5 electronvolts from radio observations

S. Buitink
, A. Corstanje
, H. Falcke
, J. R. Hörandel
, T. Huege
, A. Nelles
, J. P. Rachen
, L. Rossetto
, P. Schellart
, O. Scholten
, S. Ter Veen
, S. Thoudam
, T. N.G. Trinh
, J. Anderson
, A. Asgekar
, I. M. Avruch
, M. E. Bell
, M. J. Bentum
, G. Bernardi
, P. Best

A. Bonafede, F. Breitling, J. W. Broderick, W. N. Brouw, M. Brüggen, H. R. Butcher, D. Carbone, B. Ciardi, J. E. Conway, F. De Gasperin, E. De Geus, A. Deller, R. J. Dettmar, G. Van Diepen, S. Duscha, J. Eislöffel, D. Engels, J. E. Enriquez, R. A. Fallows, R. Fender, C. Ferrari, W. Frieswijk, M. A. Garrett, J. M. Grießmeier, A. W. Gunst, M. P. Van Haarlem, T. E. Hassall, G. Heald, J. W.T. Hessels, M. Hoeft, A. Horneffer, M. Iacobelli, H. Intema, E. Juette, A. Karastergiou, V. I. Kondratiev, M. Kramer, M. Kuniyoshi, G. Kuper, J. Van Leeuwen, G. M. Loose, P. Maat, G. Mann, S. Markoff, R. McFadden, D. McKay-Bukowski, J. P. McKean, M. Mevius, D. D. Mulcahy, H. Munk, M. J. Norden, E. Orru, H. Paas, M. Pandey-Pommier, V. N. Pandey, M. Pietka, R. Pizzo, A. G. Polatidis, W. Reich, H. J.A. Röttgering, A. M.M. Scaife, D. J. Schwarz, M. Serylak, J. Sluman, O. Smirnov, B. W. Stappers, M. Steinmetz, A. Stewart, J. Swinbank, M. Tagger, Y. Tang, C. Tasse, M. C. Toribio, R. Vermeulen, C. Vocks, C. Vogt, R. J. Van Weeren, R. A.M.J. Wijers, S. J. Wijnholds, M. W. Wise, O. Wucknitz, S. Yatawatta, P. Zarka, J. A. Zensus

Physics

Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Radboud University Nijmegen
Netherlands Institute of Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
NIKHEF
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
University of California-Irvine
KVI-Center for Advanced Radiation Technology
GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences
Shell Technology
SRON Netherlands Insitute for Space Research
University of Groningen
CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility
University of Twente
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
SKA South Africa
University of Edinburgh, Institute for Astronomy
Universität Hamburg
Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)
University of Southampton
Australian National University
University of Amsterdam
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
Onsala Space Observatory
SmarterVision BV
University of Bochum
Thüringer Landessternwarte
University of Oxford
CNRS
Leiden University
LPC2E - Univ. d'Orléans/cnrs
National Radio Astronomy Observatory Socorro
P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute
University of Manchester
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory
Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
University Groningen
Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon
Universität Bielefeld
Rhodes University
Princeton University
GEPI, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot
LESIA - Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

153 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cosmic rays are the highest-energy particles found in nature. Measurements of the mass composition of cosmic rays with energies of 10¹⁷-10¹⁸ electronvolts are essential to understanding whether they have galactic or extragalactic sources. It has also been proposed that the astrophysical neutrino signal comes from accelerators capable of producing cosmic rays of these energies. Cosmic rays initiate air showers - cascades of secondary particles in the atmosphere - and their masses can be inferred from measurements of the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum (X_max; the depth of the air shower when it contains the most particles) or of the composition of shower particles reaching the ground. Current measurements have either high uncertainty, or a low duty cycle and a high energy threshold. Radio detection of cosmic rays is a rapidly developing technique for determining X_max (refs 10, 11) with a duty cycle of, in principle, nearly 100 per cent. The radiation is generated by the separation of relativistic electrons and positrons in the geomagnetic field and a negative charge excess in the shower front. Here we report radio measurements of X_max with a mean uncertainty of 16 grams per square centimetre for air showers initiated by cosmic rays with energies of 10¹⁷-10^17.5 electronvolts. This high resolution in X_max enables us to determine the mass spectrum of the cosmic rays: we find a mixed composition, with a light-mass fraction (protons and helium nuclei) of about 80 per cent. Unless, contrary to current expectations, the extragalactic component of cosmic rays contributes substantially to the total flux below 10^17.5 electronvolts, our measurements indicate the existence of an additional galactic component, to account for the light composition that we measured in the 10¹⁷-10^17.5 electronvolt range.

Original language	British English
Pages (from-to)	70-72
Number of pages	3
Journal	Nature
Volume	531
Issue number	7592
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16976
State	Published - 2 Mar 2016

Access to Document

10.1038/nature16976

OpenUrl availability

Full text

Cite this

Buitink, S., Corstanje, A., Falcke, H., Hörandel, J. R., Huege, T., Nelles, A., Rachen, J. P., Rossetto, L., Schellart, P., Scholten, O., Ter Veen, S., Thoudam, S., Trinh, T. N. G., Anderson, J., Asgekar, A., Avruch, I. M., Bell, M. E., Bentum, M. J., Bernardi, G., ... Zensus, J. A. (2016). A large light-mass component of cosmic rays at 10¹⁷-10^17.5 electronvolts from radio observations. Nature, 531(7592), 70-72. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16976

@article{d4d1f4d9fcd242808c41836383cbaaaf,

title = "A large light-mass component of cosmic rays at 1017-1017.5 electronvolts from radio observations",

abstract = "Cosmic rays are the highest-energy particles found in nature. Measurements of the mass composition of cosmic rays with energies of 1017-1018 electronvolts are essential to understanding whether they have galactic or extragalactic sources. It has also been proposed that the astrophysical neutrino signal comes from accelerators capable of producing cosmic rays of these energies. Cosmic rays initiate air showers - cascades of secondary particles in the atmosphere - and their masses can be inferred from measurements of the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum (Xmax; the depth of the air shower when it contains the most particles) or of the composition of shower particles reaching the ground. Current measurements have either high uncertainty, or a low duty cycle and a high energy threshold. Radio detection of cosmic rays is a rapidly developing technique for determining Xmax (refs 10, 11) with a duty cycle of, in principle, nearly 100 per cent. The radiation is generated by the separation of relativistic electrons and positrons in the geomagnetic field and a negative charge excess in the shower front. Here we report radio measurements of Xmax with a mean uncertainty of 16 grams per square centimetre for air showers initiated by cosmic rays with energies of 1017-1017.5 electronvolts. This high resolution in Xmax enables us to determine the mass spectrum of the cosmic rays: we find a mixed composition, with a light-mass fraction (protons and helium nuclei) of about 80 per cent. Unless, contrary to current expectations, the extragalactic component of cosmic rays contributes substantially to the total flux below 1017.5 electronvolts, our measurements indicate the existence of an additional galactic component, to account for the light composition that we measured in the 1017-1017.5 electronvolt range.",

author = "S. Buitink and A. Corstanje and H. Falcke and H{\"o}randel, \{J. R.\} and T. Huege and A. Nelles and Rachen, \{J. P.\} and L. Rossetto and P. Schellart and O. Scholten and \{Ter Veen\}, S. and S. Thoudam and Trinh, \{T. N.G.\} and J. Anderson and A. Asgekar and Avruch, \{I. M.\} and Bell, \{M. E.\} and Bentum, \{M. J.\} and G. Bernardi and P. Best and A. Bonafede and F. Breitling and Broderick, \{J. W.\} and Brouw, \{W. N.\} and M. Br{\"u}ggen and Butcher, \{H. R.\} and D. Carbone and B. Ciardi and Conway, \{J. E.\} and \{De Gasperin\}, F. and \{De Geus\}, E. and A. Deller and Dettmar, \{R. J.\} and \{Van Diepen\}, G. and S. Duscha and J. Eisl{\"o}ffel and D. Engels and Enriquez, \{J. E.\} and Fallows, \{R. A.\} and R. Fender and C. Ferrari and W. Frieswijk and Garrett, \{M. A.\} and Grie{\ss}meier, \{J. M.\} and Gunst, \{A. W.\} and \{Van Haarlem\}, \{M. P.\} and Hassall, \{T. E.\} and G. Heald and Hessels, \{J. W.T.\} and M. Hoeft and A. Horneffer and M. Iacobelli and H. Intema and E. Juette and A. Karastergiou and Kondratiev, \{V. I.\} and M. Kramer and M. Kuniyoshi and G. Kuper and \{Van Leeuwen\}, J. and Loose, \{G. M.\} and P. Maat and G. Mann and S. Markoff and R. McFadden and D. McKay-Bukowski and McKean, \{J. P.\} and M. Mevius and Mulcahy, \{D. D.\} and H. Munk and Norden, \{M. J.\} and E. Orru and H. Paas and M. Pandey-Pommier and Pandey, \{V. N.\} and M. Pietka and R. Pizzo and Polatidis, \{A. G.\} and W. Reich and R{\"o}ttgering, \{H. J.A.\} and Scaife, \{A. M.M.\} and Schwarz, \{D. J.\} and M. Serylak and J. Sluman and O. Smirnov and Stappers, \{B. W.\} and M. Steinmetz and A. Stewart and J. Swinbank and M. Tagger and Y. Tang and C. Tasse and Toribio, \{M. C.\} and R. Vermeulen and C. Vocks and C. Vogt and \{Van Weeren\}, \{R. J.\} and Wijers, \{R. A.M.J.\} and Wijnholds, \{S. J.\} and Wise, \{M. W.\} and O. Wucknitz and S. Yatawatta and P. Zarka and Zensus, \{J. A.\}",

note = "Funding Information: We acknowledge financial support from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), VENI grant 639-041-130, the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA), the Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland (SNN) and the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM). We acknowledge funding from the European Research Council under the European Union''s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC (grant agreement no. 227610) and under the European Union''s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 640130). LOFAR, the Low Frequency Array designed and constructed by ASTRON, has facilities in several countries that are owned by various parties (each with their own funding sources) and that are collectively operated by the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) foundation under a joint scientific policy. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.",

year = "2016",

month = mar,

day = "2",

doi = "10.1038/nature16976",

language = "British English",

volume = "531",

pages = "70--72",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature Research",

number = "7592",

}

Buitink, S, Corstanje, A, Falcke, H, Hörandel, JR, Huege, T, Nelles, A, Rachen, JP, Rossetto, L, Schellart, P, Scholten, O, Ter Veen, S, Thoudam, S, Trinh, TNG, Anderson, J, Asgekar, A, Avruch, IM, Bell, ME, Bentum, MJ, Bernardi, G, Best, P, Bonafede, A, Breitling, F, Broderick, JW, Brouw, WN, Brüggen, M, Butcher, HR, Carbone, D, Ciardi, B, Conway, JE, De Gasperin, F, De Geus, E, Deller, A, Dettmar, RJ, Van Diepen, G, Duscha, S, Eislöffel, J, Engels, D, Enriquez, JE, Fallows, RA, Fender, R, Ferrari, C, Frieswijk, W, Garrett, MA, Grießmeier, JM, Gunst, AW, Van Haarlem, MP, Hassall, TE, Heald, G, Hessels, JWT, Hoeft, M, Horneffer, A, Iacobelli, M, Intema, H, Juette, E, Karastergiou, A, Kondratiev, VI, Kramer, M, Kuniyoshi, M, Kuper, G, Van Leeuwen, J, Loose, GM, Maat, P, Mann, G, Markoff, S, McFadden, R, McKay-Bukowski, D, McKean, JP, Mevius, M, Mulcahy, DD, Munk, H, Norden, MJ, Orru, E, Paas, H, Pandey-Pommier, M, Pandey, VN, Pietka, M, Pizzo, R, Polatidis, AG, Reich, W, Röttgering, HJA, Scaife, AMM, Schwarz, DJ, Serylak, M, Sluman, J, Smirnov, O, Stappers, BW, Steinmetz, M, Stewart, A, Swinbank, J, Tagger, M, Tang, Y, Tasse, C, Toribio, MC, Vermeulen, R, Vocks, C, Vogt, C, Van Weeren, RJ, Wijers, RAMJ, Wijnholds, SJ, Wise, MW, Wucknitz, O, Yatawatta, S, Zarka, P & Zensus, JA 2016, 'A large light-mass component of cosmic rays at 10¹⁷-10^17.5 electronvolts from radio observations', Nature, vol. 531, no. 7592, pp. 70-72. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16976

TY - JOUR

T1 - A large light-mass component of cosmic rays at 1017-1017.5 electronvolts from radio observations

AU - Buitink, S.

AU - Corstanje, A.

AU - Falcke, H.

AU - Hörandel, J. R.

AU - Huege, T.

AU - Nelles, A.

AU - Rachen, J. P.

AU - Rossetto, L.

AU - Schellart, P.

AU - Scholten, O.

AU - Ter Veen, S.

AU - Thoudam, S.

AU - Trinh, T. N.G.

AU - Anderson, J.

AU - Asgekar, A.

AU - Avruch, I. M.

AU - Bell, M. E.

AU - Bentum, M. J.

AU - Bernardi, G.

AU - Best, P.

AU - Bonafede, A.

AU - Breitling, F.

AU - Broderick, J. W.

AU - Brouw, W. N.

AU - Brüggen, M.

AU - Butcher, H. R.

AU - Carbone, D.

AU - Ciardi, B.

AU - Conway, J. E.

AU - De Gasperin, F.

AU - De Geus, E.

AU - Deller, A.

AU - Dettmar, R. J.

AU - Van Diepen, G.

AU - Duscha, S.

AU - Eislöffel, J.

AU - Engels, D.

AU - Enriquez, J. E.

AU - Fallows, R. A.

AU - Fender, R.

AU - Ferrari, C.

AU - Frieswijk, W.

AU - Garrett, M. A.

AU - Grießmeier, J. M.

AU - Gunst, A. W.

AU - Van Haarlem, M. P.

AU - Hassall, T. E.

AU - Heald, G.

AU - Hessels, J. W.T.

AU - Hoeft, M.

AU - Horneffer, A.

AU - Iacobelli, M.

AU - Intema, H.

AU - Juette, E.

AU - Karastergiou, A.

AU - Kondratiev, V. I.

AU - Kramer, M.

AU - Kuniyoshi, M.

AU - Kuper, G.

AU - Van Leeuwen, J.

AU - Loose, G. M.

AU - Maat, P.

AU - Mann, G.

AU - Markoff, S.

AU - McFadden, R.

AU - McKay-Bukowski, D.

AU - McKean, J. P.

AU - Mevius, M.

AU - Mulcahy, D. D.

AU - Munk, H.

AU - Norden, M. J.

AU - Orru, E.

AU - Paas, H.

AU - Pandey-Pommier, M.

AU - Pandey, V. N.

AU - Pietka, M.

AU - Pizzo, R.

AU - Polatidis, A. G.

AU - Reich, W.

AU - Röttgering, H. J.A.

AU - Scaife, A. M.M.

AU - Schwarz, D. J.

AU - Serylak, M.

AU - Sluman, J.

AU - Smirnov, O.

AU - Stappers, B. W.

AU - Steinmetz, M.

AU - Stewart, A.

AU - Swinbank, J.

AU - Tagger, M.

AU - Tang, Y.

AU - Tasse, C.

AU - Toribio, M. C.

AU - Vermeulen, R.

AU - Vocks, C.

AU - Vogt, C.

AU - Van Weeren, R. J.

AU - Wijers, R. A.M.J.

AU - Wijnholds, S. J.

AU - Wise, M. W.

AU - Wucknitz, O.

AU - Yatawatta, S.

AU - Zarka, P.

AU - Zensus, J. A.

N1 - Funding Information: We acknowledge financial support from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), VENI grant 639-041-130, the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA), the Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland (SNN) and the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM). We acknowledge funding from the European Research Council under the European Union''s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC (grant agreement no. 227610) and under the European Union''s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 640130). LOFAR, the Low Frequency Array designed and constructed by ASTRON, has facilities in several countries that are owned by various parties (each with their own funding sources) and that are collectively operated by the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) foundation under a joint scientific policy. Publisher Copyright: © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

PY - 2016/3/2

Y1 - 2016/3/2

N2 - Cosmic rays are the highest-energy particles found in nature. Measurements of the mass composition of cosmic rays with energies of 1017-1018 electronvolts are essential to understanding whether they have galactic or extragalactic sources. It has also been proposed that the astrophysical neutrino signal comes from accelerators capable of producing cosmic rays of these energies. Cosmic rays initiate air showers - cascades of secondary particles in the atmosphere - and their masses can be inferred from measurements of the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum (Xmax; the depth of the air shower when it contains the most particles) or of the composition of shower particles reaching the ground. Current measurements have either high uncertainty, or a low duty cycle and a high energy threshold. Radio detection of cosmic rays is a rapidly developing technique for determining Xmax (refs 10, 11) with a duty cycle of, in principle, nearly 100 per cent. The radiation is generated by the separation of relativistic electrons and positrons in the geomagnetic field and a negative charge excess in the shower front. Here we report radio measurements of Xmax with a mean uncertainty of 16 grams per square centimetre for air showers initiated by cosmic rays with energies of 1017-1017.5 electronvolts. This high resolution in Xmax enables us to determine the mass spectrum of the cosmic rays: we find a mixed composition, with a light-mass fraction (protons and helium nuclei) of about 80 per cent. Unless, contrary to current expectations, the extragalactic component of cosmic rays contributes substantially to the total flux below 1017.5 electronvolts, our measurements indicate the existence of an additional galactic component, to account for the light composition that we measured in the 1017-1017.5 electronvolt range.

AB - Cosmic rays are the highest-energy particles found in nature. Measurements of the mass composition of cosmic rays with energies of 1017-1018 electronvolts are essential to understanding whether they have galactic or extragalactic sources. It has also been proposed that the astrophysical neutrino signal comes from accelerators capable of producing cosmic rays of these energies. Cosmic rays initiate air showers - cascades of secondary particles in the atmosphere - and their masses can be inferred from measurements of the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum (Xmax; the depth of the air shower when it contains the most particles) or of the composition of shower particles reaching the ground. Current measurements have either high uncertainty, or a low duty cycle and a high energy threshold. Radio detection of cosmic rays is a rapidly developing technique for determining Xmax (refs 10, 11) with a duty cycle of, in principle, nearly 100 per cent. The radiation is generated by the separation of relativistic electrons and positrons in the geomagnetic field and a negative charge excess in the shower front. Here we report radio measurements of Xmax with a mean uncertainty of 16 grams per square centimetre for air showers initiated by cosmic rays with energies of 1017-1017.5 electronvolts. This high resolution in Xmax enables us to determine the mass spectrum of the cosmic rays: we find a mixed composition, with a light-mass fraction (protons and helium nuclei) of about 80 per cent. Unless, contrary to current expectations, the extragalactic component of cosmic rays contributes substantially to the total flux below 1017.5 electronvolts, our measurements indicate the existence of an additional galactic component, to account for the light composition that we measured in the 1017-1017.5 electronvolt range.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84960157938

U2 - 10.1038/nature16976

DO - 10.1038/nature16976

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84960157938

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 531

SP - 70

EP - 72

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 7592

ER -

A large light-mass component of cosmic rays at 10¹⁷-10^17.5 electronvolts from radio observations

Abstract

Access to Document

OpenUrl availability

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this