articleScienceNov 9, 2007GREEN OA

Correlation of the Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays with Nearby Extragalactic Objects

Pierre Auger Observatory

PubMed
Indexed inarxivcrossrefpubmed

Abstract

Using data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory during the past 3.7 years, we demonstrated a correlation between the arrival directions of cosmic rays with energy above 6 x 10(19) electron volts and the positions of active galactic nuclei (AGN) lying within approximately 75 megaparsecs. We rejected the hypothesis of an isotropic distribution of these cosmic rays with at least a 99% confidence level from a prescribed a priori test. The correlation we observed is compatible with the hypothesis that the highest-energy particles originate from nearby extragalactic sources whose flux has not been substantially reduced by interaction with the cosmic background radiation. AGN or objects having a similar spatial…

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Authors

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Topics & keywords

Keywords
  • Pierre Auger Observatory
  • Cosmic ray
  • Physics
  • Astrophysics
  • Ultra-high-energy cosmic ray
  • Astronomy
  • Flux (metallurgy)
  • Isotropy
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Affordable and clean energy
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