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Title: A 3-Year Sample of Almost 1,600 Elves Recorded Above South America by the Pierre Auger Cosmic-Ray Observatory

Journal Article · · Earth and Space Science
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019ea000582· OSTI ID:1616021
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  1. IMAPPRadboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen The Netherlands
  2. Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas – LIP and Instituto Superior Técnico – ISTUniversidade de Lisboa – UL Lisboa Portugal
  3. Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino (INAF) Torino Italy; INFNSezione di Torino Torino Italy
  4. Instituto de FísicaUniversidade de São Paulo São Paulo SP Brazil
  5. University of Adelaide Adelaide South Australia Australia
  6. Centro Atómico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro (CNEA‐UNCuyo‐CONICET) San Carlos de Bariloche Argentina
  7. Instituto de Tecnologías en Detección y Astropartículas (CNEA, CONICET, UNSAM) Buenos Aires Argentina; Universidad Tecnológica Nacional – Facultad Regional Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
  8. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México México D.F. México
  9. Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (I.G.F.A.E.)Universidad de Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Spain
  10. Gran Sasso Science Institute L'Aquila Italy; INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Assergi (L'Aquila) Italy
  11. Department of Physics and AstronomyLehman College, City University of New York Bronx NY USA
  12. Instituto de Tecnologías en Detección y Astropartículas (CNEA, CONICET, UNSAM) Buenos Aires Argentina
  13. INFNSezione di Napoli Napoli Italy
  14. Centro Atómico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro (CNEA‐UNCuyo‐CONICET) San Carlos de Bariloche Argentina; Universidad Industrial de Santander Bucaramanga Colombia
  15. Observatorio Pierre Auger Malargüe Argentina; Observatorio Pierre Auger and Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica Malargüe Argentina
  16. University Politehnica of Bucharest Bucharest Romania
  17. Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Prague Czech Republic
  18. “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering Bucharest‐Magurele Romania
  19. INFNSezione di Napoli Napoli Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica “Ettore Pancini”Università di Napoli “Federico II” Napoli Italy
  20. Institut für KernphysikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
  21. Department of PhysicsBergische Universität Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany
  22. Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble Institute of Engineering Université Grenoble Alpes, LPSC‐IN2P3 Grenoble France
  23. INFNSezione di Torino Torino Italy; Dipartimento di FisicaUniversità Torino Torino Italy
  24. Max‐Planck‐Institut für Radioastronomie Bonn Germany
  25. Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay (IPNO)Université Paris‐Sud, Université Paris/Saclay, CNRS‐IN2P3 Orsay France
  26. Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “E. De Giorgi”Università del Salento Lecce Italy; INFNSezione di Lecce Lecce Italy
  27. Instituto de FísicaUniversidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
  28. Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN Krakow Poland
  29. Colorado State University Fort Collins CO USA
  30. III. Physikalisches Institut ARWTH Aachen University Aachen Germany
  31. Institute for Experimental Particle Physics (ETP)Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
  32. Universität Siegen, Fachbereich 7 Physik – Experimentelle Teilchenphysik Siegen Germany
  33. Universidad de Granada and C.A.F.P.E. Granada Spain
  34. Vrije Universiteit Brussels Brussels Belgium
  35. Dipartimento di Fisica e AstronomiaUniversità di Catania Catania Italy; INFNSezione di Catania Catania Italy
  36. Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas Tuxtla Gutiérrez Chiapas México
  37. Dipartimento di FisicaUniversità di Milano Milano Italy
  38. IFLPUniversidad Nacional de La Plata and CONICET La Plata Argentina
  39. IMAPPRadboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen The Netherlands; Nationaal Instituut voor Kernfysica en Hoge Energie Fysica (NIKHEF), Science Park Amsterdam The Netherlands
  40. Escola de Engenharia de LorenaUniversidade de São Paulo Lorena SP Brazil
  41. INFNSezione di Lecce Lecce Italy
  42. Observatorio Pierre Auger Malargüe Argentina
  43. IFGWUniversidade Estadual de Campinas Campinas SP Brazil
  44. RCPTMPalacky University Olomouc Czech Republic
  45. Instituto de Tecnologías en Detección y Astropartículas (CNEA, CONICET, UNSAM)and Universidad Tecnológica Nacional – Facultad Regional Mendoza (CONICET/CNEA) Mendoza Argentina
  46. Pennsylvania State University University Park PA USA
  47. INFNSezione di Milano Milano Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie AerospazialiPolitecnico di Milano Milano Italy
  48. Case Western Reserve University Cleveland OH USA
  49. 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
  50. EEIMVRUniversidade Federal Fluminense Volta Redonda RJ Brazil
  51. 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
  52. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
  53. Instituto de Física de São CarlosUniversidade de São Paulo São Carlos SP Brazil
  54. Observatorio Pierre Auger and Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica Malargüe Argentina
  55. Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor Palotina Palotina Brazil
  56. II. Institut für Theoretische PhysikUniversität Hamburg Hamburg Germany
  57. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Batavia IL USA
  58. 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
  59. Enrico Fermi InstituteUniversity of Chicago Chicago IL USA
  60. New York University New York NY USA
  61. Institut für Prozessdatenverarbeitung und ElektronikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
  62. Experimental Particle Physics DepartmentJ. Stefan Institute Ljubljana Slovenia; Center for Astrophysics and Cosmology (CAC)University of Nova Gorica Nova Gorica Slovenia
  63. Instituto de Física de Rosario (IFIR) – CONICET/U.N.R. and Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas U.N.R. Rosario Argentina
  64. Enrico Fermi InstituteUniversity of Chicago Chicago IL USA; Now at the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research and Graduate School of ScienceKyoto University Kyoto Japan
  65. INFNSezione di Milano Milano Italy
  66. Faculty of AstrophysicsUniversity of Łódź Łódź Poland
  67. Faculty of High‐Energy AstrophysicsUniversity of Łódź Łódź Poland
  68. Centro Atómico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro (CNEA‐UNCuyo‐CONICET) San Carlos de Bariloche Argentina; Institut für KernphysikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
  69. Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana Feira de Santana Brazil
  70. Institut für KernphysikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany; Vrije Universiteit Brussels Brussels Belgium
  71. Instituto de Tecnologías en Detección y Astropartículas (CNEA, CONICET, UNSAM) Buenos Aires Argentina; Institut für KernphysikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
  72. Institute of Space Science Bucharest‐Magurele Romania
  73. Colorado School of Mines Golden CO USA
  74. Center for Astrophysics and Cosmology (CAC)University of Nova Gorica Nova Gorica Slovenia
  75. Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca Nova Friburgo Brazil
  76. Universidade Federal do ABC Santo André SP Brazil
  77. Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies (LPNHE)Universités Paris 6 et Paris 7, CNRS‐IN2P3 Paris France
  78. Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla Puebla México
  79. Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Brussels Belgium
  80. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV) México D.F. México
  81. INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Assergi (L'Aquila) Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche e ChimicheUniversità dell'Aquila L'Aquila Italy
  82. Louisiana State University Baton Rouge LA USA
  83. Dipartimento di FisicaUniversità di Roma “Tor Vergata” Roma Italy; INFNSezione di Roma “Tor Vergata” Roma Italy
  84. Dipartimento di FisicaUniversità di Milano Milano Italy; INFNSezione di Milano Milano Italy
  85. IFGWUniversidade Estadual de Campinas Campinas SP Brazil; Also at Universidade Federal de Alfenas Poços de Caldas Brazil
  86. INFNSezione di Torino Torino Italy
  87. Michigan Technological University Houghton MI USA; Also at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany
  88. Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Institute of Particle and Nuclear PhysicsCharles University Prague Czech Republic
  89. Universidad Industrial de Santander Bucaramanga Colombia
  90. Centro de Investigaciones en Láseres y Aplicaciones, CITEDEF and CONICET Villa Martelli Argentina
  91. Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria en Ingeniería y Tecnologías Avanzadas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (UPIITA‐IPN) México D.F. México
  92. Michigan Technological University Houghton MI USA
  93. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio (IAFE, CONICET‐UBA) Buenos Aires Argentina
  94. INFNSezione di Roma “Tor Vergata” Roma Italy
  95. Vrije Universiteit Brussels Brussels Belgium; KVI – Center for Advanced Radiation TechnologyUniversity of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
  96. Institut für KernphysikKarlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe Germany; Bartol Research Institute, Department of Physics and AstronomyUniversity of Delaware Newark DE USA
  97. “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering Bucharest‐Magurele Romania; Also at Physics DepartmentUniversity of Bucharest Bucharest Romania
  98. University of Nebraska Lincoln NE USA
  99. Universidad de Medellín Medellín Colombia
  100. KVI – Center for Advanced Radiation TechnologyUniversity of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
  101. Observatório do ValongoUniversidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
  102. Faculty of ScienceUniversiteit van Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
  103. School of Physics and AstronomyUniversity of Leeds Leeds UK
+ Show Author Affiliations

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
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 7 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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