Search for Ultra-relativistic Magnetic Monopoles with the Pierre Auger Observatory

Aab, Alexander

doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.94.082002

Title: Search for Ultra-relativistic Magnetic Monopoles with the Pierre Auger Observatory

Journal Article · Mon Oct 03 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Physical Review D

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.94.082002· OSTI ID:1327017

Aab, Alexander ^[1]

Univ. of Siegen (Germany). et al.

In this paper, we present a search for ultra-relativistic magnetic monopoles with the Pierre Auger Observatory. Such particles, possibly a relic of phase transitions in the early universe, would deposit a large amount of energy along their path through the atmosphere, comparable to that of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). The air shower profile of a magnetic monopole can be effectively distinguished by the fluorescence detector from that of standard UHECRs. No candidate was found in the data collected between 2004 and 2012, with an expected background of less than 0.1 event from UHECRs. The corresponding 90% confidence level (C.L.) upper limits on the flux of ultra-relativistic magnetic monopoles range from $$10^{-19}$$ (cm$$^{2}$$ sr s)$$^{-1}$$ for a Lorentz factor $$\gamma=10^9$$ to $$2.5 \times10^{-21}$$ (cm$$^{2}$$ sr s)$$^{-1}$$ for $$\gamma=10^{12}$$. Lastly, these results - the first obtained with a UHECR detector - improve previously published limits by up to an order of magnitude.

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Research Organization:: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)

Contributing Organization:: Pierre Auger Collaboration

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-07CH11359; FR02-04ER41300; FG02-99ER41107; SC0011689

OSTI ID:: 1327017

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1328466

Report Number(s):: FERMILAB-PUB-16-373-AD-AE-CD-TD; arXiv:1609.04451; 1486632

Journal Information:: Physical Review D, Vol. 94; ISSN 2470-0010

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 16 works

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Cited By (2)

Searches for cosmic magnetic monopoles: past, present and future Patrizii, Laura; Sahnoun, Zouleikha; Togo, Vincent Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 377, Issue 2161 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2018.0328	journal	November 2019
Physical implications of electroweak monopole Cho, Y. M. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 377, Issue 2161 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0038	journal	November 2019

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