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            Eventdisplay is a reconstruction and analysis pipeline for data of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACT). It has been primarily developed for VERITAS and CTA analysis. Code, analysis files and scripts can be find in the Eventdisplay GitHub Organisation. Docker images are available from the Eventdisplay container registry. In case Eventdisplay is used in a research project, please cite the following publication: Maier, G.; Holder, J., Eventdisplay: An Analysis and Reconstruction Package for Ground-based Gamma-ray Astronomy, 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference. 10-20 July, 2017. Bexco, Busan, Korea, Proceedings of Science, Vol. 301. Online at [https://pos.sissa.it/cgi-bin/reader/conf.cgi?confid=301], id.747 arXiv:1708.04048 This release adds zstd to the alma linux containers. What's Changed v5.13.1 - add zstd to almalinux containers. by @GernotMaier in https://github.com/Eventdisplay/Eventdisplay/pull/164 Full Changelog: https://github.com/Eventdisplay/Eventdisplay/compare/v5.13.0...v5.13.2more » « less
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            Abstract Data collected so far by the Pierre Auger Observatory have enabled major advances in ultra-high energy cosmic ray physics and demonstrated that improved determination of masses of primary cosmic-ray particles, preferably on an event-by-event basis, is necessary for understanding their origin and nature. Improvement in primary mass measurements was the main motivation for the upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory, called AugerPrime. As part of this upgrade, scintillator detectors are added to the existing water-Cherenkov surface detector stations. By making use of the differences in detector response to the electromagnetic particles and muons between scintillator and water-Cherenkov detectors, the electromagnetic and muonic components of cosmic-ray air showers can be disentangled. Since the muonic component is sensitive to the primary mass, such combination of detectors provides a powerful way to improve primary mass composition measurements over the original Auger surface detector design. In this paper, the so-called Scintillator Surface Detectors are discussed, including their design characteristics, production process, testing procedure and deployment in the field.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available August 1, 2026
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            Abstract The modulation of low-energy galactic cosmic rays reflects interplanetary magnetic field variations and can provide useful information on solar activity. An array of ground-surface detectors can reveal the secondary particles, which originate from the interaction of cosmic rays with the atmosphere. In this work, we present an investigation of the low-threshold rate (scaler) time series recorded in 16 yr of operation by the Pierre Auger Observatory surface detectors in Malargüe, Argentina. Through an advanced spectral analysis, we detected highly statistically significant variations in the time series with periods ranging from the decadal to the daily scale. We investigate their origin, revealing a direct connection with solar variability. Thanks to their intrinsic very low noise level, the Auger scalers allow a thorough and detailed investigation of the galactic cosmic-ray flux variations in the heliosphere at different timescales and can, therefore, be considered a new proxy of solar variability.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available June 27, 2026
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            Abstract Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays are known to be mainly of extragalactic origin, and their propagation is limited by energy losses, so their arrival directions are expected to correlate with the large-scale structure of the local Universe. In this work, we investigate the possible presence of intermediate-scale excesses in the flux of the most energetic cosmic rays from the direction of the supergalactic plane region using events with energies above 20 EeV recorded with the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory up to 2022 December 31, with a total exposure of 135,000 km2sr yr. The strongest indication for an excess that we find, with a posttrial significance of 3.1σ, is in the Centaurus region, as in our previous reports, and it extends down to lower energies than previously studied. We do not find any strong hints of excesses from any other region of the supergalactic plane at the same angular scale. In particular, our results do not confirm the reports by the Telescope Array Collaboration of excesses from two regions in the Northern Hemisphere at the edge of the field of view of the Pierre Auger Observatory. With a comparable integrated exposure over these regions, our results there are in good agreement with the expectations from an isotropic distribution.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available May 9, 2026
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            Search for a diffuse flux of photons with energies above tens of PeV at the Pierre Auger ObservatoryAbstract Diffuse photons of energy above 0.1 PeV, produced through the interactions between cosmic rays and either interstellar matter or background radiation fields, are powerful tracers of the distribution of cosmic rays in the Galaxy. Furthermore, the measurement of a diffuse photon flux would be an important probe to test models of super-heavy dark matter decaying into gamma-rays. In this work, we search for a diffuse photon flux in the energy range between 50 PeV and 200 PeV using data from the Pierre Auger Observatory. For the first time, we combine the air-shower measurements from a 2 km2surface array consisting of 19 water-Cherenkov surface detectors, spaced at 433 m, with the muon measurements from an array of buried scintillators placed in the same area. Using 15 months of data, collected while the array was still under construction, we derive upper limits to the integral photon flux ranging from 13.3 to 13.8 km-2sr-1yr-1above tens of PeV. We extend the Pierre Auger Observatory photon search program towards lower energies, covering more than three decades of cosmic-ray energy. This work lays the foundation for future diffuse photon searches: with the data from the next 10 years of operation of the Observatory, this limit is expected to improve by a factor of ∼20.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available May 1, 2026
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            A dedicated search for upward-going air showers at zenith angles exceeding 110° and energies has been performed using the Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The search is motivated by two “anomalous” radio pulses observed by the ANITA flights I and III that appear inconsistent with the standard model of particle physics. Using simulations of both regular cosmic-ray showers and upward-going events, a selection procedure has been defined to separate potential upward-going candidate events and the corresponding exposure has been calculated in the energy range [0.1–33] EeV. One event has been found in the search period between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2018, consistent with an expected background of events from misreconstructed cosmic-ray showers. This translates to an upper bound on the integral flux of and for an and spectrum, respectively. An upward-going flux of showers normalized to the ANITA observations is shown to predict over 34 events for an spectrum and over 8.1 events for a conservative spectrum, in strong disagreement with the interpretation of the anomalous events as upward-going showers. Published by the American Physical Society2025more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available March 27, 2026
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            ABSTRACT A wide variety of Galactic sources show transient emission at soft and hard X-ray energies: low- and high-mass X-ray binaries containing compact objects, isolated neutron stars exhibiting extreme variability as magnetars as well as pulsar-wind nebulae. Although most of them can show emission up to MeV and/or GeV energies, many have not yet been detected in the TeV domain by Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of detecting new Galactic transients with the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) and the prospects for studying them with Target of Opportunity observations. We show that CTAO will likely detect new sources in the TeV regime, such as the massive microquasars in the Cygnus region, low-mass X-ray binaries with low-viewing angle, flaring emission from the Crab pulsar-wind nebula or other novae explosions, among others. Since some of these sources could also exhibit emission at larger time-scales, we additionally test their detectability at longer exposures. We finally discuss the multiwavelength synergies with other instruments and large astronomical facilities.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available May 15, 2026
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            We report an investigation of the mass composition of cosmic rays with energies from 3 to 100 EeV ( ) using the distributions of the depth of shower maximum . The analysis relies on events recorded by the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory and a deep-learning-based reconstruction algorithm. Above energies of 5 EeV, the dataset offers a 10-fold increase in statistics with respect to fluorescence measurements at the Observatory. After cross-calibration using the fluorescence detector, this enables the first measurement of the evolution of the mean and the standard deviation of the distributions up to 100 EeV. Our findings are threefold: (i) The evolution of the mean logarithmic mass toward a heavier composition with increasing energy can be confirmed and is extended to 100 EeV. (ii) The evolution of the fluctuations of toward a heavier and purer composition with increasing energy can be confirmed with high statistics. We report a rather heavy composition and small fluctuations in at the highest energies. (iii) We find indications for a characteristic structure beyond a constant change in the mean logarithmic mass, featuring three breaks that are observed in proximity to the ankle, instep, and suppression features in the energy spectrum. Published by the American Physical Society2025more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2026
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            We present measurements of the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum , inferred for the first time on an event-by-event level using the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Using deep learning, we were able to extend measurements of the distributions up to energies of 100 EeV ( ), not yet revealed by current measurements, providing new insights into the mass composition of cosmic rays at extreme energies. Gaining a 10-fold increase in statistics compared to the fluorescence detector data, we find evidence that the rate of change of the average with the logarithm of energy features three breaks at , , and , in the vicinity to the three prominent features (ankle, instep, suppression) of the cosmic-ray flux. The energy evolution of the mean and standard deviation of the measured distributions indicates that the mass composition becomes increasingly heavier and purer, thus being incompatible with a large fraction of light nuclei between 50 and 100 EeV. Published by the American Physical Society2025more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2026
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            Abstract The Pierre Auger Collaboration has embraced the concept of open access to their research data since its foundation, with the aim of giving access to the widest possible community. A gradual process of release began as early as 2007 when 1% of the cosmic-ray data was made public, along with 100% of the space-weather information. In February 2021, a portal was released containing 10% of cosmic-ray data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory from 2004 to 2018, during the first phase of operation of the Observatory. The Open Data Portal includes detailed documentation about the detection and reconstruction procedures, analysis codes that can be easily used and modified and, additionally, visualization tools. Since then, the Portal has been updated and extended. In 2023, a catalog of the highest-energy cosmic-ray events examined in depth has been included. A specific section dedicated to educational use has been developed with the expectation that these data will be explored by a wide and diverse community, including professional and citizen scientists, and used for educational and outreach initiatives. This paper describes the context, the spirit, and the technical implementation of the release of data by the largest cosmic-ray detector ever built and anticipates its future developments.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2026
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