Fifth Joint Workshop IGFAE/LIP | IGFAE's 2024 Retreat (CANCELLED!)

Session

Astroparticle Physics

27 Jun 2024, 09:20

Centro de Estudos Avanzados

9. Enhancing Pierre Auger Observatory's Neutral Particle Detection Capabilities

Pedro Costa

27/06/2024, 09:20

The main goal of this work is to enhance the Pierre Auger Observatory's neutral particle detection capabilities. This will be achieved through the introduction of two distinct methods, both currently based solely on simulated data.

The first method aims to improve gamma/hadron discrimination by employing a novel variable that exploits the disparity in the spatial and temporal distribution...

13. Proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies in muon-depleted air showers with different depths

Miguel Martins

27/06/2024, 09:40

The hardness of the energy spectrum of neutral pions produced in proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies, above $10^{18}$ eV, is constrained by the steepness of the distribution of the number of muons in muon-depleted extensive air showers.

In this work, we find that this steepness, quantified by the parameter $\Lambda_{\mu}$, evolves with the depth of the shower maximum,...

11. Probing first interaction properties of ultra high energy cosmic rays by measuring the low muon number distribution tail using underground muon detectors

Alexandra Fernandes

27/06/2024, 10:00

The Pierre Auger Observatory, the world’s largest experiment in the study of the highest energy astroparticles, is being upgraded with new detector technologies to reduce its current systematic uncertainties and accurately determine the mass composition of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (HECRs). The Underground Muon Detector (UMD), a part of the recent low-energy extension of the observatory,...

14. Measurement of the air shower components energy spectrum using an hybrid detector station

Ruben Mauricio Da Silva Conceicao (Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental Particle Physics (PT))

27/06/2024, 10:20

The measurement of air shower components' energy spectra has been shown to be crucial for understanding the primary cosmic rays and the physical processes governing their interactions in the atmosphere.

This study introduces the use of a hybrid detector station for precise measurement of the energy spectrum of air shower components. The hybrid detector station integrates data from a...

10. Calibrations at Auger: status and challenges

Raul Sarmento

27/06/2024, 10:40

The development of accurate and robust procedures for the calibration of surface-detector arrays in extensive air-shower experiments presents a formidable task. We discuss methods, challenges and ongoing work regarding the surface-detector calibration in the context of Auger and its upgrade.

2. The Potential of Water-Cherenkov Air Shower Arrays for detecting transient sources of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos

Borja Serrano González (LIP/IST)

27/06/2024, 11:30

We highlight the capacity of current and forthcoming air shower arrays utilizing water-Cherenkov stations to detect neutrino events spanning energies from $10\,$GeV to $100\,$TeV. This detection approach leverages individual stations equipped with both bottom and top photosensors, making use of features of the signal time trace and machine learning techniques. Our findings demonstrate the...

3. P_{tail} - a high-resolution gamma/hadron and composition discriminant variable for Water Cherenkov Detector cosmic-ray observatories

Lucio Gibilisco (LIP)

27/06/2024, 11:50

The precise and efficient identification of the nature of the primary cosmic rays on an event-by-event basis stands as a fundamental aspiration for any cosmic ray observatory.
In particular, the detection and characterization of gamma ray events are challenged by their occurrence within an overwhelmingly greater flux of charged cosmic rays spanning several orders of magnitude. The intricacies...

15. Characteristics of atmosphere-skimming air showers relevant for high-altitude radio experiments.

Sergio Cabana Freire (IGFAE)

27/06/2024, 12:10

Atmosphere-skimming air showers are initiated by cosmic rays with incoming directions located above the Earth’s horizon, such that the development of the cascade occurs exclusively in the atmosphere. In this work, we have performed a first characterisation of atmosphere-skimming particle cascades and their associated radio emission using the ZHAireS-RASPASS simulation program. Both the low air...