A 3-Year Sample of Almost 1,600 Elves Recorded Above South America by the Pierre Auger Cosmic-Ray Observatory
- IMAPPRadboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen The Netherlands
- Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas – LIP and Instituto Superior Técnico – ISTUniversidade de Lisboa – UL Lisboa Portugal
- Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino (INAF) Torino Italy; INFNSezione di Torino Torino Italy
- Instituto de FísicaUniversidade de São Paulo São Paulo SP Brazil
- University of Adelaide Adelaide South Australia Australia
- Centro Atómico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro (CNEA‐UNCuyo‐CONICET) San Carlos de Bariloche Argentina
- Instituto de Tecnologías en Detección y Astropartículas (CNEA, CONICET, UNSAM) Buenos Aires Argentina; Universidad Tecnológica Nacional – Facultad Regional Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México México D.F. México
- Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (I.G.F.A.E.)Universidad de Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Spain
- Gran Sasso Science Institute L'Aquila Italy; INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Assergi (L'Aquila) Italy
- Department of Physics and AstronomyLehman College, City University of New York Bronx NY USA
- Instituto de Tecnologías en Detección y Astropartículas (CNEA, CONICET, UNSAM) Buenos Aires Argentina
- INFNSezione di Napoli Napoli Italy
- Centro Atómico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro (CNEA‐UNCuyo‐CONICET) San Carlos de Bariloche Argentina; Universidad Industrial de Santander Bucaramanga Colombia
- Observatorio Pierre Auger Malargüe Argentina; Observatorio Pierre Auger and Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica Malargüe Argentina
- University Politehnica of Bucharest Bucharest Romania
- Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
- “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering Bucharest‐Magurele Romania
- INFNSezione di Napoli Napoli Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica “Ettore Pancini”Università di Napoli “Federico II” Napoli Italy
- Institut für KernphysikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
- Department of PhysicsBergische Universität Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble Institute of Engineering Université Grenoble Alpes, LPSC‐IN2P3 Grenoble France
- INFNSezione di Torino Torino Italy; Dipartimento di FisicaUniversità Torino Torino Italy
- Max‐Planck‐Institut für Radioastronomie Bonn Germany
- Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay (IPNO)Université Paris‐Sud, Université Paris/Saclay, CNRS‐IN2P3 Orsay France
- Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “E. De Giorgi”Università del Salento Lecce Italy; INFNSezione di Lecce Lecce Italy
- Instituto de FísicaUniversidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
- Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN Krakow Poland
- Colorado State University Fort Collins CO USA
- III. Physikalisches Institut ARWTH Aachen University Aachen Germany
- Institute for Experimental Particle Physics (ETP)Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
- Universität Siegen, Fachbereich 7 Physik – Experimentelle Teilchenphysik Siegen Germany
- Universidad de Granada and C.A.F.P.E. Granada Spain
- Vrije Universiteit Brussels Brussels Belgium
- Dipartimento di Fisica e AstronomiaUniversità di Catania Catania Italy; INFNSezione di Catania Catania Italy
- Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas Tuxtla Gutiérrez Chiapas México
- Dipartimento di FisicaUniversità di Milano Milano Italy
- IFLPUniversidad Nacional de La Plata and CONICET La Plata Argentina
- IMAPPRadboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen The Netherlands; Nationaal Instituut voor Kernfysica en Hoge Energie Fysica (NIKHEF), Science Park Amsterdam The Netherlands
- Escola de Engenharia de LorenaUniversidade de São Paulo Lorena SP Brazil
- INFNSezione di Lecce Lecce Italy
- Observatorio Pierre Auger Malargüe Argentina
- IFGWUniversidade Estadual de Campinas Campinas SP Brazil
- RCPTMPalacky University Olomouc Czech Republic
- Instituto de Tecnologías en Detección y Astropartículas (CNEA, CONICET, UNSAM)and Universidad Tecnológica Nacional – Facultad Regional Mendoza (CONICET/CNEA) Mendoza Argentina
- Pennsylvania State University University Park PA USA
- INFNSezione di Milano Milano Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie AerospazialiPolitecnico di Milano Milano Italy
- Case Western Reserve University Cleveland OH USA
- Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio (IAFE, CONICET‐UBA) Buenos Aires Argentina; Departamento de Física and Departamento de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y los Océanos, FCEyNUniversidad de Buenos Aires and CONICET Buenos Aires Argentina
- EEIMVRUniversidade Federal Fluminense Volta Redonda RJ Brazil
- Instituto de FísicaUniversidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil; Observatório do ValongoUniversidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
- Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
- Instituto de Física de São CarlosUniversidade de São Paulo São Carlos SP Brazil
- Observatorio Pierre Auger and Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica Malargüe Argentina
- Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor Palotina Palotina Brazil
- II. Institut für Theoretische PhysikUniversität Hamburg Hamburg Germany
- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Batavia IL USA
- IMAPPRadboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen The Netherlands; Nationaal Instituut voor Kernfysica en Hoge Energie Fysica (NIKHEF), Science Park Amsterdam The Netherlands; Stichting Astronomisch Onderzoek in Nederland (ASTRON) Dwingeloo The Netherlands
- Enrico Fermi InstituteUniversity of Chicago Chicago IL USA
- New York University New York NY USA
- Institut für Prozessdatenverarbeitung und ElektronikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
- Experimental Particle Physics DepartmentJ. Stefan Institute Ljubljana Slovenia; Center for Astrophysics and Cosmology (CAC)University of Nova Gorica Nova Gorica Slovenia
- Instituto de Física de Rosario (IFIR) – CONICET/U.N.R. and Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas U.N.R. Rosario Argentina
- Enrico Fermi InstituteUniversity of Chicago Chicago IL USA; Now at the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research and Graduate School of ScienceKyoto University Kyoto Japan
- INFNSezione di Milano Milano Italy
- Faculty of AstrophysicsUniversity of Łódź Łódź Poland
- Faculty of High‐Energy AstrophysicsUniversity of Łódź Łódź Poland
- Centro Atómico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro (CNEA‐UNCuyo‐CONICET) San Carlos de Bariloche Argentina; Institut für KernphysikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
- Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana Feira de Santana Brazil
- Institut für KernphysikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany; Vrije Universiteit Brussels Brussels Belgium
- Instituto de Tecnologías en Detección y Astropartículas (CNEA, CONICET, UNSAM) Buenos Aires Argentina; Institut für KernphysikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
- Institute of Space Science Bucharest‐Magurele Romania
- Colorado School of Mines Golden CO USA
- Center for Astrophysics and Cosmology (CAC)University of Nova Gorica Nova Gorica Slovenia
- Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca Nova Friburgo Brazil
- Universidade Federal do ABC Santo André SP Brazil
- Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies (LPNHE)Universités Paris 6 et Paris 7, CNRS‐IN2P3 Paris France
- Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla Puebla México
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Brussels Belgium
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV) México D.F. México
- INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Assergi (L'Aquila) Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche e ChimicheUniversità dell'Aquila L'Aquila Italy
- Louisiana State University Baton Rouge LA USA
- Dipartimento di FisicaUniversità di Roma “Tor Vergata” Roma Italy; INFNSezione di Roma “Tor Vergata” Roma Italy
- Dipartimento di FisicaUniversità di Milano Milano Italy; INFNSezione di Milano Milano Italy
- IFGWUniversidade Estadual de Campinas Campinas SP Brazil; Also at Universidade Federal de Alfenas Poços de Caldas Brazil
- INFNSezione di Torino Torino Italy
- Michigan Technological University Houghton MI USA; Also at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Institute of Particle and Nuclear PhysicsCharles University Prague Czech Republic
- Universidad Industrial de Santander Bucaramanga Colombia
- Centro de Investigaciones en Láseres y Aplicaciones, CITEDEF and CONICET Villa Martelli Argentina
- Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria en Ingeniería y Tecnologías Avanzadas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (UPIITA‐IPN) México D.F. México
- Michigan Technological University Houghton MI USA
- Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio (IAFE, CONICET‐UBA) Buenos Aires Argentina
- INFNSezione di Roma “Tor Vergata” Roma Italy
- Vrije Universiteit Brussels Brussels Belgium; KVI – Center for Advanced Radiation TechnologyUniversity of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
- Institut für KernphysikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany; Bartol Research Institute, Department of Physics and AstronomyUniversity of Delaware Newark DE USA
- “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering Bucharest‐Magurele Romania; Also at Physics DepartmentUniversity of Bucharest Bucharest Romania
- University of Nebraska Lincoln NE USA
- Universidad de Medellín Medellín Colombia
- KVI – Center for Advanced Radiation TechnologyUniversity of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
- Observatório do ValongoUniversidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
- Faculty of ScienceUniversiteit van Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
- School of Physics and AstronomyUniversity of Leeds Leeds UK
Elves are a class of transient luminous events, with a radial extent typically greater than 250 km, that occur in the lower ionosphere above strong electrical storms. We report the observation of 1,598 elves, from 2014 to 2016, recorded with unprecedented time resolution (100 ns) using the fluorescence detector (FD) of the Pierre Auger Cosmic-Ray Observatory. The Auger Observatory is located in the Mendoza province of Argentina with a viewing footprint for elve observations of 3∙10sup>6km ₂, reaching areas above the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, as well as the Córdoba region, which is known for severe convective thunderstorms. Primarily designed for ultrahigh energy cosmic-ray observations, the Auger FD turns out to be very sensitive to the ultraviolet emission in elves. The detector features modified Schmidt optics with large apertures resulting in a field of view that spans the horizon, and year-round operation on dark nights with low moonlight background, when the local weather is favorable. The measured light profiles of 18% of the elve events have more than one peak, compatible with intracloud activity. Within the 3-year sample, 72% of the elves correlate with the far-field radiation measurements of the World Wide Lightning Location Network. The Auger Observatory plans to continue operations until at least 2025, including elve observations and analysis. To the best of our knowledge, this observatory is the only facility on Earth that measures elves with year-round operation and full horizon coverage.
- 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
- OSTI ID:
- 1616021
- Report Number(s):
- FERMILAB-PUB-20-127-ND-PPD-TD; oai:inspirehep.net:1788416; TRN: US2106394
- Journal Information:
- Earth and Space Science, Vol. 7, Issue 4; ISSN 2333-5084
- Publisher:
- Wiley, American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Similar Records
The Surface Detector System of the Pierre Auger Observatory
First cosmic-ray grapes ripen in Argentina: Results and progress of the Pierre Auger Observatory