The shape of the radio wavefront of extensive air showers as measured with LOFAR

A. Corstanje; P. Schellart; A. Nelles; S. Buitink; J. E. Enriquez; H. Falcke; W. Frieswijk; J. R. Horandel; M. Krause; J. P. Rachen; O. Scholten; S. ter Veen; S. Thoudam; T. N. G. Trinh; M. van den Akker; A. Alexov; J. Anderson; I. M. Avruch; M. E. Bell; M. J. Bentum; G. Bernardi; P. Best; A. Bonafede; F. Breitling; J. Broderick; M. Bruegen; H. R. Butcher; B. Ciardi; F. de Gasperin; E. de Geus; M. de Vos; S. Duscha; J. Eisloeffel; D. Engels; R. A. Fallows; C. Ferrari; M. A. Garrett; J. Griessmseier; A. W. Gunst; J. P. Hamaker; M. Hoeft; A. Homeffer; M. Icobelli; E. Juette; A. Karastergiou; J. Kohler; V. I. Kondratiev; M. Kuniyoshi; G. Kuper; P. Maat; G. Mann; R. McFadden; D. McKay-Bukowski; M. Mevius; H. Munk; M. J. Norden; E. Orru; H. Paas; M. Pandey-Pommier; V. N. Pandey; R. Pizzo; A. G. Polatidis; W. Reich; H. Rottgering; A. M. M. Scaife; D. Schwarz; O. Smirnov; A. Stewart; M. Steinmetz; J. Swinbank; M. Tagger; Y. Tang; C. Tasse; C. Toribio; R. Vermeulen; C. Vocks; R. J. van Weeren; S. J. Wijnholds; O. Wucknitz; S. Yatawatta; P. Zarka

doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.06.001

The shape of the radio wavefront of extensive air showers as measured with LOFAR

A. Corstanje, P. Schellart^*, A. Nelles, S. Buitink, J. E. Enriquez, H. Falcke, W. Frieswijk, J. R. Horandel, M. Krause, J. P. Rachen, O. Scholten, S. ter Veen, S. Thoudam, T. N. G. Trinh, M. van den Akker, A. Alexov, J. Anderson, I. M. Avruch, M. E. Bell, M. J. BentumG. Bernardi, P. Best, A. Bonafede, F. Breitling, J. Broderick, M. Bruegen, H. R. Butcher, B. Ciardi, F. de Gasperin, E. de Geus, M. de Vos, S. Duscha, J. Eisloeffel, D. Engels, R. A. Fallows, C. Ferrari, M. A. Garrett, J. Griessmseier, A. W. Gunst, J. P. Hamaker, M. Hoeft, A. Homeffer, M. Icobelli, E. Juette, A. Karastergiou, J. Kohler, V. I. Kondratiev, M. Kuniyoshi, G. Kuper, P. Maat, G. Mann, R. McFadden, D. McKay-Bukowski, M. Mevius, H. Munk, M. J. Norden, E. Orru, H. Paas, M. Pandey-Pommier, V. N. Pandey, R. Pizzo, A. G. Polatidis, W. Reich, H. Rottgering, A. M. M. Scaife, D. Schwarz, O. Smirnov, A. Stewart, M. Steinmetz, J. Swinbank, M. Tagger, Y. Tang, C. Tasse, C. Toribio, R. Vermeulen, C. Vocks, R. J. van Weeren, S. J. Wijnholds, O. Wucknitz, S. Yatawatta, P. Zarka

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Extensive air showers, induced by high energy cosmic rays impinging on the Earth’s atmosphere, produce radio emission that is measured with the LOFAR radio telescope. As the emission comes from a finite distance of a few kilometers, the incident wavefront is non-planar. A spherical, conical or hyperbolic shape of the wavefront has been proposed, but measurements of individual air showers have been inconclusive so far. For a selected high-quality sample of 161 measured extensive air showers, we have reconstructed the wavefront by measuring pulse arrival times to sub-nanosecond precision in 200 to 350 individual antennas. For each measured air shower, we have fitted a conical, spherical, and hyperboloid shape to the arrival times. The fit quality and a likelihood analysis show that a hyperboloid is the best parameterization. Using a non-planar wavefront shape gives an improved angular resolution, when reconstructing the shower arrival direction. Furthermore, a dependence of the wavefront shape on the shower geometry can be seen. This suggests that it will be possible to use a wavefront shape analysis to get an additional handle on the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum, which is sensitive to the mass of the primary particle.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	22-31
Number of pages	10
Journal	Astroparticle Physics
Volume	61
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.06.001
Publication status	Published - Feb 2015

Keywords

Cosmic rays
Extensive air showers
Radio emission
Wavefront shape
EMISSION
RADIATION
PULSES
ARRAY

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10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.06.001

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015APh....61...22C

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Corstanje, A., Schellart, P., Nelles, A., Buitink, S., Enriquez, J. E., Falcke, H., Frieswijk, W., Horandel, J. R., Krause, M., Rachen, J. P., Scholten, O., ter Veen, S., Thoudam, S., Trinh, T. N. G., van den Akker, M., Alexov, A., Anderson, J., Avruch, I. M., Bell, M. E., ... Zarka, P. (2015). The shape of the radio wavefront of extensive air showers as measured with LOFAR. Astroparticle Physics, 61, 22-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.06.001

@article{5b324bd60faf4a848277e5362a5fdc60,

title = "The shape of the radio wavefront of extensive air showers as measured with LOFAR",

abstract = "Extensive air showers, induced by high energy cosmic rays impinging on the Earth{\textquoteright}s atmosphere, produce radio emission that is measured with the LOFAR radio telescope. As the emission comes from a finite distance of a few kilometers, the incident wavefront is non-planar. A spherical, conical or hyperbolic shape of the wavefront has been proposed, but measurements of individual air showers have been inconclusive so far. For a selected high-quality sample of 161 measured extensive air showers, we have reconstructed the wavefront by measuring pulse arrival times to sub-nanosecond precision in 200 to 350 individual antennas. For each measured air shower, we have fitted a conical, spherical, and hyperboloid shape to the arrival times. The fit quality and a likelihood analysis show that a hyperboloid is the best parameterization. Using a non-planar wavefront shape gives an improved angular resolution, when reconstructing the shower arrival direction. Furthermore, a dependence of the wavefront shape on the shower geometry can be seen. This suggests that it will be possible to use a wavefront shape analysis to get an additional handle on the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum, which is sensitive to the mass of the primary particle.",

keywords = "Cosmic rays, Extensive air showers, Radio emission, Wavefront shape, EMISSION, RADIATION, PULSES, ARRAY",

author = "A. Corstanje and P. Schellart and A. Nelles and S. Buitink and Enriquez, {J. E.} and H. Falcke and W. Frieswijk and Horandel, {J. R.} and M. Krause and Rachen, {J. P.} and O. Scholten and {ter Veen}, S. and S. Thoudam and Trinh, {T. N. G.} and {van den Akker}, M. and A. Alexov and J. Anderson and Avruch, {I. M.} and Bell, {M. E.} and Bentum, {M. J.} and G. Bernardi and P. Best and A. Bonafede and F. Breitling and J. Broderick and M. Bruegen and Butcher, {H. R.} and B. Ciardi and {de Gasperin}, F. and {de Geus}, E. and {de Vos}, M. and S. Duscha and J. Eisloeffel and D. Engels and Fallows, {R. A.} and C. Ferrari and Garrett, {M. A.} and J. Griessmseier and Gunst, {A. W.} and Hamaker, {J. P.} and M. Hoeft and A. Homeffer and M. Icobelli and E. Juette and A. Karastergiou and J. Kohler and Kondratiev, {V. I.} and M. Kuniyoshi and G. Kuper and P. Maat and G. Mann and R. McFadden and D. McKay-Bukowski and M. Mevius and H. Munk and Norden, {M. J.} and E. Orru and H. Paas and M. Pandey-Pommier and Pandey, {V. N.} and R. Pizzo and Polatidis, {A. G.} and W. Reich and H. Rottgering and Scaife, {A. M. M.} and D. Schwarz and O. Smirnov and A. Stewart and M. Steinmetz and J. Swinbank and M. Tagger and Y. Tang and C. Tasse and C. Toribio and R. Vermeulen and C. Vocks and {van Weeren}, {R. J.} and Wijnholds, {S. J.} and O. Wucknitz and S. Yatawatta and P. Zarka",

year = "2015",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.06.001",

language = "English",

volume = "61",

pages = "22--31",

journal = "Astroparticle Physics",

issn = "0927-6505",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

Corstanje, A, Schellart, P, Nelles, A, Buitink, S, Enriquez, JE, Falcke, H, Frieswijk, W, Horandel, JR, Krause, M, Rachen, JP, Scholten, O, ter Veen, S, Thoudam, S, Trinh, TNG, van den Akker, M, Alexov, A, Anderson, J, Avruch, IM, Bell, ME, Bentum, MJ, Bernardi, G, Best, P, Bonafede, A, Breitling, F, Broderick, J, Bruegen, M, Butcher, HR, Ciardi, B, de Gasperin, F, de Geus, E, de Vos, M, Duscha, S, Eisloeffel, J, Engels, D, Fallows, RA, Ferrari, C, Garrett, MA, Griessmseier, J, Gunst, AW, Hamaker, JP, Hoeft, M, Homeffer, A, Icobelli, M, Juette, E, Karastergiou, A, Kohler, J, Kondratiev, VI, Kuniyoshi, M, Kuper, G, Maat, P, Mann, G, McFadden, R, McKay-Bukowski, D, Mevius, M, Munk, H, Norden, MJ, Orru, E, Paas, H, Pandey-Pommier, M, Pandey, VN, Pizzo, R, Polatidis, AG, Reich, W, Rottgering, H, Scaife, AMM, Schwarz, D, Smirnov, O, Stewart, A, Steinmetz, M, Swinbank, J, Tagger, M, Tang, Y, Tasse, C, Toribio, C, Vermeulen, R, Vocks, C, van Weeren, RJ, Wijnholds, SJ, Wucknitz, O, Yatawatta, S & Zarka, P 2015, 'The shape of the radio wavefront of extensive air showers as measured with LOFAR', Astroparticle Physics, vol. 61, pp. 22-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.06.001

TY - JOUR

T1 - The shape of the radio wavefront of extensive air showers as measured with LOFAR

AU - Corstanje, A.

AU - Schellart, P.

AU - Nelles, A.

AU - Buitink, S.

AU - Enriquez, J. E.

AU - Falcke, H.

AU - Frieswijk, W.

AU - Horandel, J. R.

AU - Krause, M.

AU - Rachen, J. P.

AU - Scholten, O.

AU - ter Veen, S.

AU - Thoudam, S.

AU - Trinh, T. N. G.

AU - van den Akker, M.

AU - Alexov, A.

AU - Anderson, J.

AU - Avruch, I. M.

AU - Bell, M. E.

AU - Bentum, M. J.

AU - Bernardi, G.

AU - Best, P.

AU - Bonafede, A.

AU - Breitling, F.

AU - Broderick, J.

AU - Bruegen, M.

AU - Butcher, H. R.

AU - Ciardi, B.

AU - de Gasperin, F.

AU - de Geus, E.

AU - de Vos, M.

AU - Duscha, S.

AU - Eisloeffel, J.

AU - Engels, D.

AU - Fallows, R. A.

AU - Ferrari, C.

AU - Garrett, M. A.

AU - Griessmseier, J.

AU - Gunst, A. W.

AU - Hamaker, J. P.

AU - Hoeft, M.

AU - Homeffer, A.

AU - Icobelli, M.

AU - Juette, E.

AU - Karastergiou, A.

AU - Kohler, J.

AU - Kondratiev, V. I.

AU - Kuniyoshi, M.

AU - Kuper, G.

AU - Maat, P.

AU - Mann, G.

AU - McFadden, R.

AU - McKay-Bukowski, D.

AU - Mevius, M.

AU - Munk, H.

AU - Norden, M. J.

AU - Orru, E.

AU - Paas, H.

AU - Pandey-Pommier, M.

AU - Pandey, V. N.

AU - Pizzo, R.

AU - Polatidis, A. G.

AU - Reich, W.

AU - Rottgering, H.

AU - Scaife, A. M. M.

AU - Schwarz, D.

AU - Smirnov, O.

AU - Stewart, A.

AU - Steinmetz, M.

AU - Swinbank, J.

AU - Tagger, M.

AU - Tang, Y.

AU - Tasse, C.

AU - Toribio, C.

AU - Vermeulen, R.

AU - Vocks, C.

AU - van Weeren, R. J.

AU - Wijnholds, S. J.

AU - Wucknitz, O.

AU - Yatawatta, S.

AU - Zarka, P.

PY - 2015/2

Y1 - 2015/2

N2 - Extensive air showers, induced by high energy cosmic rays impinging on the Earth’s atmosphere, produce radio emission that is measured with the LOFAR radio telescope. As the emission comes from a finite distance of a few kilometers, the incident wavefront is non-planar. A spherical, conical or hyperbolic shape of the wavefront has been proposed, but measurements of individual air showers have been inconclusive so far. For a selected high-quality sample of 161 measured extensive air showers, we have reconstructed the wavefront by measuring pulse arrival times to sub-nanosecond precision in 200 to 350 individual antennas. For each measured air shower, we have fitted a conical, spherical, and hyperboloid shape to the arrival times. The fit quality and a likelihood analysis show that a hyperboloid is the best parameterization. Using a non-planar wavefront shape gives an improved angular resolution, when reconstructing the shower arrival direction. Furthermore, a dependence of the wavefront shape on the shower geometry can be seen. This suggests that it will be possible to use a wavefront shape analysis to get an additional handle on the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum, which is sensitive to the mass of the primary particle.

AB - Extensive air showers, induced by high energy cosmic rays impinging on the Earth’s atmosphere, produce radio emission that is measured with the LOFAR radio telescope. As the emission comes from a finite distance of a few kilometers, the incident wavefront is non-planar. A spherical, conical or hyperbolic shape of the wavefront has been proposed, but measurements of individual air showers have been inconclusive so far. For a selected high-quality sample of 161 measured extensive air showers, we have reconstructed the wavefront by measuring pulse arrival times to sub-nanosecond precision in 200 to 350 individual antennas. For each measured air shower, we have fitted a conical, spherical, and hyperboloid shape to the arrival times. The fit quality and a likelihood analysis show that a hyperboloid is the best parameterization. Using a non-planar wavefront shape gives an improved angular resolution, when reconstructing the shower arrival direction. Furthermore, a dependence of the wavefront shape on the shower geometry can be seen. This suggests that it will be possible to use a wavefront shape analysis to get an additional handle on the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum, which is sensitive to the mass of the primary particle.

KW - Cosmic rays

KW - Extensive air showers

KW - Radio emission

KW - Wavefront shape

KW - EMISSION

KW - RADIATION

KW - PULSES

KW - ARRAY

U2 - 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.06.001

DO - 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2014.06.001

M3 - Article

VL - 61

SP - 22

EP - 31

JO - Astroparticle Physics

JF - Astroparticle Physics

SN - 0927-6505

ER -

The shape of the radio wavefront of extensive air showers as measured with LOFAR

Abstract

Keywords

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