Measuring a Cherenkov ring in the radio emission from air showers at 110-190 MHz with LOFAR

A. Nelles; P. Schellart; S. Buitink; A. Corstanje; K. D. De Vries; J. E. Enriquez; H. Falcke; W. Frieswijk; J. R. Hörandel; O. Scholten; S. Ter Veen; S. Thoudam; M. Van Den Akker; J. Anderson; A. Asgekar; M. E. Bell; M. J. Bentum; G. Bernardi; P. Best; J. Bregman; F. Breitling; J. Broderick; W. N. Brouw; M. Brüggen; H. R. Butcher; B. Ciardi; A. Deller; S. Duscha; J. Eislöffel; R. A. Fallows; M. A. Garrett; A. W. Gunst; T. E. Hassall; G. Heald; A. Horneffer; M. Iacobelli; E. Juette; A. Karastergiou; V. I. Kondratiev; M. Kramer; M. Kuniyoshi; G. Kuper; P. Maat; G. Mann; M. Mevius; M. J. Norden; H. Paas; M. Pandey-Pommier; G. Pietka; R. Pizzo; A. G. Polatidis; W. Reich; H. Röttgering; A. M.M. Scaife; D. Schwarz; O. Smirnov; B. W. Stappers; M. Steinmetz; A. Stewart; M. Tagger; Y. Tang; C. Tasse; R. Vermeulen; C. Vocks; R. J. Van Weeren; S. J. Wijnholds; O. Wucknitz; S. Yatawatta; P. Zarka

doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.11.006

Measuring a Cherenkov ring in the radio emission from air showers at 110-190 MHz with LOFAR

A. Nelles
, P. Schellart
, S. Buitink
, A. Corstanje
, K. D. De Vries
, J. E. Enriquez
, H. Falcke
, W. Frieswijk
, J. R. Hörandel
, O. Scholten
, S. Ter Veen
, S. Thoudam
, M. Van Den Akker
, J. Anderson
, A. Asgekar
, M. E. Bell
, M. J. Bentum
, G. Bernardi
, P. Best
, J. Bregman

F. Breitling, J. Broderick, W. N. Brouw, M. Brüggen, H. R. Butcher, B. Ciardi, A. Deller, S. Duscha, J. Eislöffel, R. A. Fallows, M. A. Garrett, A. W. Gunst, T. E. Hassall, G. Heald, A. Horneffer, M. Iacobelli, E. Juette, A. Karastergiou, V. I. Kondratiev, M. Kramer, M. Kuniyoshi, G. Kuper, P. Maat, G. Mann, M. Mevius, M. J. Norden, H. Paas, M. Pandey-Pommier, G. Pietka, R. Pizzo, A. G. Polatidis, W. Reich, H. Röttgering, A. M.M. Scaife, D. Schwarz, O. Smirnov, B. W. Stappers, M. Steinmetz, A. Stewart, M. Tagger, Y. Tang, C. Tasse, R. Vermeulen, C. Vocks, R. J. Van Weeren, S. J. Wijnholds, O. Wucknitz, S. Yatawatta, P. Zarka

Physics

Radboud University Nijmegen
NIKHEF
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Netherlands Institute of Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
University Groningen
Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)
Shell Technology Center
University of Sydney
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
University of Edinburgh, Institute for Astronomy
University of Southampton
University of Groningen
Universität Hamburg
Australian National University
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
Thüringer Landessternwarte
Leiden University
University of Manchester
University of Bochum
University of Oxford
P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute
Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon
Universität Bielefeld
Rhodes University
SKA South Africa
LPC2E - Univ. d'Orléans/cnrs
Observatoire de Paris
University of Bonn

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

70 Scopus citations

Abstract

Measuring radio emission from air showers offers a novel way to determine properties of the primary cosmic rays such as their mass and energy. Theory predicts that relativistic time compression effects lead to a ring of amplified emission which starts to dominate the emission pattern for frequencies above ∼100 MHz. In this article we present the first detailed measurements of this structure. Ring structures in the radio emission of air showers are measured with the LOFAR radio telescope in the frequency range of 110-190 MHz. These data are well described by CoREAS simulations. They clearly confirm the importance of including the index of refraction of air as a function of height. Furthermore, the presence of the Cherenkov ring offers the possibility for a geometrical measurement of the depth of shower maximum, which in turn depends on the mass of the primary particle.

Original language	British English
Pages (from-to)	11-21
Number of pages	11
Journal	Astroparticle Physics
Volume	65
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.11.006
State	Published - May 2015

Keywords

Cosmic rays
Extensive air showers
LOFAR
Radio emission
Time-compression

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Nelles, A., Schellart, P., Buitink, S., Corstanje, A., De Vries, K. D., Enriquez, J. E., Falcke, H., Frieswijk, W., Hörandel, J. R., Scholten, O., Ter Veen, S., Thoudam, S., Van Den Akker, M., Anderson, J., Asgekar, A., Bell, M. E., Bentum, M. J., Bernardi, G., Best, P., ... Zarka, P. (2015). Measuring a Cherenkov ring in the radio emission from air showers at 110-190 MHz with LOFAR. Astroparticle Physics, 65, 11-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.11.006

@article{9662d8d5d076483da7e9852784aa69a9,

title = "Measuring a Cherenkov ring in the radio emission from air showers at 110-190 MHz with LOFAR",

abstract = "Measuring radio emission from air showers offers a novel way to determine properties of the primary cosmic rays such as their mass and energy. Theory predicts that relativistic time compression effects lead to a ring of amplified emission which starts to dominate the emission pattern for frequencies above ∼100 MHz. In this article we present the first detailed measurements of this structure. Ring structures in the radio emission of air showers are measured with the LOFAR radio telescope in the frequency range of 110-190 MHz. These data are well described by CoREAS simulations. They clearly confirm the importance of including the index of refraction of air as a function of height. Furthermore, the presence of the Cherenkov ring offers the possibility for a geometrical measurement of the depth of shower maximum, which in turn depends on the mass of the primary particle.",

keywords = "Cosmic rays, Extensive air showers, LOFAR, Radio emission, Time-compression",

author = "A. Nelles and P. Schellart and S. Buitink and A. Corstanje and \{De Vries\}, \{K. D.\} and Enriquez, \{J. E.\} and H. Falcke and W. Frieswijk and H{\"o}randel, \{J. R.\} and O. Scholten and \{Ter Veen\}, S. and S. Thoudam and \{Van Den Akker\}, M. and J. Anderson and A. Asgekar and Bell, \{M. E.\} and Bentum, \{M. J.\} and G. Bernardi and P. Best and J. Bregman and F. Breitling and J. Broderick and Brouw, \{W. N.\} and M. Br{\"u}ggen and Butcher, \{H. R.\} and B. Ciardi and A. Deller and S. Duscha and J. Eisl{\"o}ffel and Fallows, \{R. A.\} and Garrett, \{M. A.\} and Gunst, \{A. W.\} and Hassall, \{T. E.\} and G. Heald and A. Horneffer and M. Iacobelli and E. Juette and A. Karastergiou and Kondratiev, \{V. I.\} and M. Kramer and M. Kuniyoshi and G. Kuper and P. Maat and G. Mann and M. Mevius and Norden, \{M. J.\} and H. Paas and M. Pandey-Pommier and G. Pietka and R. Pizzo and Polatidis, \{A. G.\} and W. Reich and H. R{\"o}ttgering and Scaife, \{A. M.M.\} and D. Schwarz and O. Smirnov and Stappers, \{B. W.\} and M. Steinmetz and A. Stewart and M. Tagger and Y. Tang and C. Tasse and R. Vermeulen and C. Vocks and \{Van Weeren\}, \{R. J.\} and Wijnholds, \{S. J.\} and O. Wucknitz and S. Yatawatta and P. Zarka",

note = "Funding Information: We thank both the internal and external reviewers for the fruitful discussions regarding this article. The LOFAR cosmic ray key science project very much acknowledges the scientific and technical support from ASTRON . Furthermore, we acknowledge financial support from the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA) , the Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland (SNN) , the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) , VENI Grant 639-041-130. We acknowledge funding from an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council under the European Union{\textquoteright}s Seventh Framework Program (FP/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement no. 227610. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",

year = "2015",

month = may,

doi = "10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.11.006",

language = "British English",

volume = "65",

pages = "11--21",

journal = "Astroparticle Physics",

issn = "0927-6505",

publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

}

Nelles, A, Schellart, P, Buitink, S, Corstanje, A, De Vries, KD, Enriquez, JE, Falcke, H, Frieswijk, W, Hörandel, JR, Scholten, O, Ter Veen, S, Thoudam, S, Van Den Akker, M, Anderson, J, Asgekar, A, Bell, ME, Bentum, MJ, Bernardi, G, Best, P, Bregman, J, Breitling, F, Broderick, J, Brouw, WN, Brüggen, M, Butcher, HR, Ciardi, B, Deller, A, Duscha, S, Eislöffel, J, Fallows, RA, Garrett, MA, Gunst, AW, Hassall, TE, Heald, G, Horneffer, A, Iacobelli, M, Juette, E, Karastergiou, A, Kondratiev, VI, Kramer, M, Kuniyoshi, M, Kuper, G, Maat, P, Mann, G, Mevius, M, Norden, MJ, Paas, H, Pandey-Pommier, M, Pietka, G, Pizzo, R, Polatidis, AG, Reich, W, Röttgering, H, Scaife, AMM, Schwarz, D, Smirnov, O, Stappers, BW, Steinmetz, M, Stewart, A, Tagger, M, Tang, Y, Tasse, C, Vermeulen, R, Vocks, C, Van Weeren, RJ, Wijnholds, SJ, Wucknitz, O, Yatawatta, S & Zarka, P 2015, 'Measuring a Cherenkov ring in the radio emission from air showers at 110-190 MHz with LOFAR', Astroparticle Physics, vol. 65, pp. 11-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.11.006

TY - JOUR

T1 - Measuring a Cherenkov ring in the radio emission from air showers at 110-190 MHz with LOFAR

AU - Nelles, A.

AU - Schellart, P.

AU - Buitink, S.

AU - Corstanje, A.

AU - De Vries, K. D.

AU - Enriquez, J. E.

AU - Falcke, H.

AU - Frieswijk, W.

AU - Hörandel, J. R.

AU - Scholten, O.

AU - Ter Veen, S.

AU - Thoudam, S.

AU - Van Den Akker, M.

AU - Anderson, J.

AU - Asgekar, A.

AU - Bell, M. E.

AU - Bentum, M. J.

AU - Bernardi, G.

AU - Best, P.

AU - Bregman, J.

AU - Breitling, F.

AU - Broderick, J.

AU - Brouw, W. N.

AU - Brüggen, M.

AU - Butcher, H. R.

AU - Ciardi, B.

AU - Deller, A.

AU - Duscha, S.

AU - Eislöffel, J.

AU - Fallows, R. A.

AU - Garrett, M. A.

AU - Gunst, A. W.

AU - Hassall, T. E.

AU - Heald, G.

AU - Horneffer, A.

AU - Iacobelli, M.

AU - Juette, E.

AU - Karastergiou, A.

AU - Kondratiev, V. I.

AU - Kramer, M.

AU - Kuniyoshi, M.

AU - Kuper, G.

AU - Maat, P.

AU - Mann, G.

AU - Mevius, M.

AU - Norden, M. J.

AU - Paas, H.

AU - Pandey-Pommier, M.

AU - Pietka, G.

AU - Pizzo, R.

AU - Polatidis, A. G.

AU - Reich, W.

AU - Röttgering, H.

AU - Scaife, A. M.M.

AU - Schwarz, D.

AU - Smirnov, O.

AU - Stappers, B. W.

AU - Steinmetz, M.

AU - Stewart, A.

AU - Tagger, M.

AU - Tang, Y.

AU - Tasse, C.

AU - Vermeulen, R.

AU - Vocks, C.

AU - Van Weeren, R. J.

AU - Wijnholds, S. J.

AU - Wucknitz, O.

AU - Yatawatta, S.

AU - Zarka, P.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank both the internal and external reviewers for the fruitful discussions regarding this article. The LOFAR cosmic ray key science project very much acknowledges the scientific and technical support from ASTRON . Furthermore, we acknowledge financial support from the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA) , the Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland (SNN) , the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) , VENI Grant 639-041-130. We acknowledge funding from an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement no. 227610. Publisher Copyright: © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PY - 2015/5

Y1 - 2015/5

N2 - Measuring radio emission from air showers offers a novel way to determine properties of the primary cosmic rays such as their mass and energy. Theory predicts that relativistic time compression effects lead to a ring of amplified emission which starts to dominate the emission pattern for frequencies above ∼100 MHz. In this article we present the first detailed measurements of this structure. Ring structures in the radio emission of air showers are measured with the LOFAR radio telescope in the frequency range of 110-190 MHz. These data are well described by CoREAS simulations. They clearly confirm the importance of including the index of refraction of air as a function of height. Furthermore, the presence of the Cherenkov ring offers the possibility for a geometrical measurement of the depth of shower maximum, which in turn depends on the mass of the primary particle.

AB - Measuring radio emission from air showers offers a novel way to determine properties of the primary cosmic rays such as their mass and energy. Theory predicts that relativistic time compression effects lead to a ring of amplified emission which starts to dominate the emission pattern for frequencies above ∼100 MHz. In this article we present the first detailed measurements of this structure. Ring structures in the radio emission of air showers are measured with the LOFAR radio telescope in the frequency range of 110-190 MHz. These data are well described by CoREAS simulations. They clearly confirm the importance of including the index of refraction of air as a function of height. Furthermore, the presence of the Cherenkov ring offers the possibility for a geometrical measurement of the depth of shower maximum, which in turn depends on the mass of the primary particle.

KW - Cosmic rays

KW - Extensive air showers

KW - LOFAR

KW - Radio emission

KW - Time-compression

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84919725521

U2 - 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.11.006

DO - 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.11.006

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84919725521

SN - 0927-6505

VL - 65

SP - 11

EP - 21

JO - Astroparticle Physics

JF - Astroparticle Physics

ER -

Measuring a Cherenkov ring in the radio emission from air showers at 110-190 MHz with LOFAR

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