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

Nelles A, Schellart P, Buitink S, Corstanje A, De Vries KD, Enriquez JE, Falcke H, Frieswijk W, Hoerandel 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, Brueggen M, Butcher HR, Ciardi B, Deller A, Duscha S, Eisloeffel 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, Roettgering 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)

Publication Status: Published

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2015

Journal

Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Book Volume: 65

Pages Range: 11-21

DOI: 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.11.006

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 similar to 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. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Radboud University Nijmegen Netherlands (NL) Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy Netherlands (NL) Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie / Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy Germany (DE) University of Groningen / Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Netherlands (NL) Harvard University United States (USA) (US) Leiden University Netherlands (NL) Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) Germany (DE) University of Oxford United Kingdom (GB) University of Southampton United Kingdom (GB) Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) Belgium (BE) University of Edinburgh United Kingdom (GB) Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam / Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam Germany (DE) Observatoire de Lyon France (FR) University of Sydney (USYD) Australia (AU) Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. (MPG) / Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science Germany (DE) Australian National University (ANU) Australia (AU) Universität Hamburg (UHH) Germany (DE) Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS) - Karl-Schwarzschild-Observatorium Germany (DE) PSL Research University / Université de recherche Paris Sciences et Lettres France (FR) University of Orléans / Université d'Orléans France (FR) Rhodes University South Africa (ZA) Universität Bielefeld Germany (DE) University of Manchester United Kingdom (GB)

How to cite

APA:

Nelles, A., Schellart, P., Buitink, S., Corstanje, A., De Vries, K.D., Enriquez, J.E.,... 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

MLA:

Nelles, Anna, et al. "Measuring a Cherenkov ring in the radio emission from air showers at 110-190 MHz with LOFAR." Astroparticle Physics 65 (2015): 11-21.

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