Prof Subir Sarkar

Abstract:

From direct observations of the longitudinal development of ultra-high energy air showers performed with the Pierre Auger Observatory, upper limits of 3.8%, 2.4%, 3.5% and 11.7% (at 95% c.l.) are obtained on the fraction of cosmic-ray photons above 2, 3, 5 and 10 EeV (1 EeV = 10^18 eV) respectively. These are the first experimental limits on ultra-high energy photons at energies below 10 EeV. The results complement previous constraints on top-down models from array data and they reduce systematic uncertainties in the interpretation of shower data in terms of primary flux, nuclear composition and proton-air cross-section.

Abstract:

We present a search for point sources of high energy neutrinos using 3.8 yr of data recorded by AMANDA-II during 2000-2006. After reconstructing muon tracks and applying selection criteria designed to optimally retain neutrino-induced events originating in the northern sky, we arrive at a sample of 6595 candidate events, predominantly from atmospheric neutrinos with primary energy 100 GeV to 8 TeV. Our search of this sample reveals no indications of a neutrino point source. We place the most stringent limits to date on E-2 neutrino fluxes from points in the northern sky, with an average upper limit of E2Φνμ+ντ≤5.2×10-11TeVcm-2s-1 on the sum of νμ and ντ fluxes, assumed equal, over the energy range from 1.9 TeV to 2.5 PeV. © 2009 The American Physical Society.

Abstract:

The energy at which cosmic rays from extra-galactic sources begin to dominate over those from galactic sources is an important open question in astroparticle physics. A natural candidate is the energy at the 'ankle' in the approximately power-law energy spectrum which is indicative of a cross-over from a falling galactic component to a flatter extra-galactic component. The transition can occur without such flattening but this requires some degree of conspiracy of the spectral shapes and normalizations of the two components. Nevertheless it has been argued that extra-galactic sources of cosmic ray protons which undergo interactions on the CMB can reproduce the energy spectrum below the ankle if the cross-over energy is as low as the 'second knee' in the spectrum. This low cross-over model is constrained by direct measurements by the Pierre Auger Observatory which indicate a heavier composition at these energies. We demonstrate that upper limits on the cosmic diffuse neutrino flux provide a complementary constraint on the proton fraction in ultra-high energy extra-galactic cosmic rays and forthcoming data from IceCube will provide a definitive test of this model.

Abstract:

We present new results of searches for neutrino point sources in the northern sky, using data recorded in 2007-2008 with 22 strings of the IceCube detector (approximately one-fourth of the planned total) and 275.7 days of live time. The final sample of 5114 neutrino candidate events agrees well with the expected background of atmospheric muon neutrinos and a small component of atmospheric muons. No evidence of a point source is found, with the most significant excess of events in the sky at 2.2σ after accounting for all trials. The average upper limit over the northern sky for point sources of muon-neutrinos with E -2 spectrum is E -2 φv le; 1.4 × 10-11 TeV cm?2 ≤ s?1, in the energy range from 3TeV to 3PeV, improving the previous best average upper limit by the AMANDA-II detector by a factor of 2. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society.