Angle-Time-Energy Images of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray Sources.pdf

a r X i v : a s t r o - p h / 9 7 1 2 1 4 4 v 1 1 0 D e c 1 9 9 7 Angle-Time-Energy Images of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray Sources Gu?nter Sigl? ?Department of Astronomy Astrophysics Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637-1433 Abstract. Substantial amount of information both on the source and on character- istics of intercepting magnetic fields is encoded in the distribution in arrival times, directions, and energies of charged ultra-high energy cosmic rays from discrete sources. We present a numerical approach that allows to extract such information from data from next generation experiments. INTRODUCTION The origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays is still a major unresolved mystery in astrophysics. It is hard to imagine a mechanism producing particles of energy up to several 100 EeV (= 1020 eV). In addition, sources must be closer than ? 50Mpc because of the limited range of nucleons due to photo-pion production at these en- ergies. No obvious astrophysical sources have been found within this distance [1,2]. Although deflection of charged primaries can be strong in the direction of strong magnetic fields along large mass agglomerations such as the supergalactic plane [3], a deflection of several degrees at the most is expected along most other lines of sight for nucleons above 1020 eV, due to the Faraday rotation limit on the large-scale field. For next generation experiments with their anticipated much improved exposure, this opens up the possibility to do “particle astronomy” and pinpoint sources along the arrival directions. It has been noted in that respect that a sub class of events above 4 × 1019 eV seems to cluster in arrival directions [4]. If these clusters originated in discrete sources, some interesting qualitative consequences result already, such as a limit on the intercepted magnetic fields that is comparable to the Faraday rotation limit [5]. Next generation experiments should in this case see clusters of several