Phys. Rev. Lett.
101,
061101
(2008)
[7 pages]
Observation of the Suppression of the Flux of Cosmic Rays above 4×1019 eV
J. Abraham et al. The Pierre Auger Collaboration
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J. Abraham1, P. Abreu2, M. Aglietta3, C. Aguirre4, D. Allard5, I. Allekotte6, J. Allen7, P. Allison8, J. Alvarez-Muñiz9, M. Ambrosio10, L. Anchordoqui11,12, S. Andringa2, A. Anzalone13, C. Aramo10, S. Argirò14, K. Arisaka15, E. Armengaud5, F. Arneodo16, F. Arqueros17, T. Asch18, H. Asorey19, P. Assis2, B. S. Atulugama20, J. Aublin21, M. Ave22, G. Avila23, T. Bäcker24, D. Badagnani25, A. F. Barbosa26, D. Barnhill15, S. L. C. Barroso27, B. Baughman8, P. Bauleo28, J. J. Beatty8, T. Beau5, B. R. Becker29, K. H. Becker30, J. A. Bellido20, S. BenZvi31, C. Berat32, T. Bergmann33, P. Bernardini34, X. Bertou19, P. L. Biermann35, P. Billoir21, O. Blanch-Bigas21, F. Blanco17, P. Blasi36,37,38, C. Bleve39, H. Blümer33,40, M. Boháčová41, C. Bonifazi21,26, R. Bonino3, J. Brack28, P. Brogueira2, W. C. Brown42, P. Buchholz24, A. Bueno43, R. E. Burton44, N. G. Busca5, K. S. Caballero-Mora33, B. Cai45, D. V. Camin46, L. Caramete35, R. Caruso47, W. Carvalho48, A. Castellina3, O. Catalano13, G. Cataldi34, L. Cazon22, R. Cester14, J. Chauvin32, A. Chiavassa3, J. A. Chinellato49, A. Chou7,36, J. Chudoba41, J. Chye50, P. D. J. Clark51, R. W. Clay52, E. Colombo53, R. Conceição2, B. Connolly54, F. Contreras55, J. Coppens56,57, A. Cordier58, U. Cotti59, S. Coutu20, C. E. Covault44, A. Creusot60, A. Criss20, J. Cronin22, A. Curutiu35, S. Dagoret-Campagne58, K. Daumiller40, B. R. Dawson52, R. M. de Almeida49, C. De Donato46, S. J. de Jong56, G. De La Vega61, W. J. M. de Mello Junior49, J. R. T. de Mello Neto22,62, I. De Mitri34, V. de Souza33, L. del Peral63, O. Deligny64, A. Della Selva65, C. Delle Fratte66, H. Dembinski67, C. Di Giulio66, J. C. Diaz50, P. N. Diep68, C. Dobrigkeit49, J. C. D’Olivo69, P. N. Dong68, D. Dornic64, A. Dorofeev70, J. C. dos Anjos26, M. T. Dova25, D. D’Urso65, I. Dutan35, M. A. DuVernois71, R. Engel40, L. Epele25, M. Erdmann67, C. O. Escobar49, A. Etchegoyen72, P. Facal San Luis9, H. Falcke56,73, G. Farrar7, A. C. Fauth49, N. Fazzini36, F. Ferrer44, A. Ferrero53, B. Fick50, A. Filevich53, A. Filipčič74,60, I. Fleck24, C. E. Fracchiolla75, W. Fulgione3, B. García1, D. García Gámez43, D. Garcia-Pinto17, X. Garrido58, H. Geenen30, G. Gelmini15, H. Gemmeke18, P. L. Ghia64,3, M. Giller76, H. Glass36, M. S. Gold29, G. Golup77, F. Gomez Albarracin25, M. Gómez Berisso77, P. Gonçalves2, M. Gonçalves do Amaral78, D. Gonzalez33, J. G. Gonzalez70, M. González79, D. Góra33,80, A. Gorgi3, P. Gouffon48, V. Grassi46, A. F. Grillo16, C. Grunfeld25, Y. Guardincerri81, F. Guarino65, G. P. Guedes82, J. Gutiérrez63, J. D. Hague29, V. Halenka41, J. C. Hamilton5, P. Hansen25, D. Harari77, S. Harmsma83,57, J. L. Harton64,28, A. Haungs40, T. Hauschildt3, M. D. Healy15, T. Hebbeker67, G. Hebrero63, D. Heck40, C. Hojvat36, V. C. Holmes52, P. Homola80, J. R. Hörandel56, A. Horneffer56, M. Hrabovský41, T. Huege40, M. Hussain60, M. Iarlori37, A. Insolia47, F. Ionita22, A. Italiano47, M. Kaducak36, K. H. Kampert30, T. Karova41, P. Kasper36, B. Kégl58, B. Keilhauer33, E. Kemp49, R. M. Kieckhafer50, H. O. Klages40, M. Kleifges18, J. Kleinfeller40, R. Knapik28, J. Knapp39, D.-H. Koang32, A. Krieger53, O. Krömer18, D. Kuempel30, N. Kunka18, A. Kusenko15, G. La Rosa13, C. Lachaud5, B. L. Lago62, D. Lebrun32, P. Lebrun36, J. Lee15, M. A. Leigui de Oliveira84, A. Letessier-Selvon21, M. Leuthold67, I. Lhenry-Yvon64, R. López85, A. Lopez Agüera9, J. Lozano Bahilo43, A. Lucero86, R. Luna García79, M. C. Maccarone13, C. Macolino37, S. Maldera3, G. Mancarella34, M. E. Manceñido25, D. Mandat41, P. Mantsch36, A. G. Mariazzi25, I. C. Maris33, H. R. Marquez Falcon59, D. Martello34, J. Martínez79, O. Martínez Bravo85, H. J. Mathes40, J. Matthews70,87, J. A. J. Matthews29, G. Matthiae66, D. Maurizio14, P. O. Mazur36, T. McCauley12, M. McEwen63, R. R. McNeil70, M. C. Medina72, G. Medina-Tanco69, D. Melo14,53, E. Menichetti14, A. Menschikov18, C. Meurer40, R. Meyhandan83, M. I. Micheletti72, G. Miele65, W. Miller29, S. Mollerach77, M. Monasor17,63, D. Monnier Ragaigne58, F. Montanet32, B. Morales69, C. Morello3, J. C. Moreno25, C. Morris8, M. Mostafá88, M. A. Muller49, R. Mussa14, G. Navarra3, J. L. Navarro43, S. Navas43, P. Necesal41, L. Nellen69, C. Newman-Holmes36, D. Newton39, P. T. Nhung68, N. Nierstenhoefer30, D. Nitz50, D. Nosek89, L. Nožka41, J. Oehlschläger40, T. Ohnuki15, A. Olinto5,22, V. M. Olmos-Gilbaja9, M. Ortiz17, F. Ortolani66, S. Ostapchenko33, L. Otero1, N. Pacheco63, D. Pakk Selmi-Dei49, M. Palatka41, J. Pallotta90, G. Parente9, E. Parizot5, S. Parlati16, S. Pastor91, M. Patel39, T. Paul12, V. Pavlidou22, K. Payet32, M. Pech41, J. Pękala80, R. Pelayo79, I. M. Pepe92, L. Perrone93, R. Pesce94,37, S. Petrera37, P. Petrinca66, Y. Petrov28, A. Pichel95, R. Piegaia81, T. Pierog40, M. Pimenta2, T. Pinto91, V. Pirronello47, O. Pisanti65, M. Platino53, J. Pochon19, P. Privitera22,66, M. Prouza41, E. J. Quel90, J. Rautenberg30, A. Redondo63, S. Reucroft12, B. Revenu5, F. A. S. Rezende26, J. Ridky41, S. Riggi47, M. Risse30, C. Rivière32, V. Rizi37, M. Roberts20, C. Robledo85, G. Rodriguez9, J. Rodriguez Martino47, J. Rodriguez Rojo55, I. Rodriguez-Cabo9, M. D. Rodríguez-Frías63, G. Ros17,63, J. Rosado17, M. Roth40, B. Rouillé-d’Orfeuil5, E. Roulet77, A. C. Rovero95, F. Salamida37, H. Salazar85, G. Salina66, F. Sánchez69, M. Santander55, C. E. Santo2, E. M. Santos21, F. Sarazin96, S. Sarkar97, R. Sato55, V. Scherini30, H. Schieler40, A. Schmidt18, F. Schmidt22, T. Schmidt33, O. Scholten83, P. Schovánek41, F. Schroeder40, S. Schulte67, F. Schüssler40, S. J. Sciutto25, M. Scuderi47, A. Segreto13, D. Semikoz5, M. Settimo34, R. C. Shellard26,75, I. Sidelnik72, B. B. Siffert62, G. Sigl5, N. Smetniansky De Grande53, A. Smiałkowski76, R. Šmída41, A. G. K. Smith52, B. E. Smith39, G. R. Snow98, P. Sokolsky88, P. Sommers20, J. Sorokin52, H. Spinka99,36, R. Squartini55, E. Strazzeri66, A. Stutz32, F. Suarez3, T. Suomijärvi64, A. D. Supanitsky69, M. S. Sutherland8, J. Swain12, Z. Szadkowski76, J. Takahashi49, A. Tamashiro95, A. Tamburro33, T. Tarutina25, O. Taşcău30, R. Tcaciuc24, N. T. Thao68, D. Thomas88, R. Ticona100, J. Tiffenberg81, C. Timmermans57,56, W. Tkaczyk76, C. J. Todero Peixoto49, B. Tomé2, A. Tonachini14, I. Torres85, P. Travnicek41, A. Tripathi15, G. Tristram5, D. Tscherniakhovski18, V. Tuci66, M. Tueros25,101, V. Tunnicliffe51, R. Ulrich40, M. Unger40, M. Urban58, J. F. Valdés Galicia69, I. Valiño9, L. Valore65, A. M. van den Berg83, V. van Elewyck64, R. A. Vázquez9, D. Veberič60,74, A. Veiga25, A. Velarde100, T. Venters22, V. Verzi66, M. Videla61, L. Villaseñor59, S. Vorobiov60, L. Voyvodic36, H. Wahlberg25, P. Wahrlich52, O. Wainberg86, P. Walker51, D. Warner28, A. A. Watson39, S. Westerhoff31, G. Wieczorek76, L. Wiencke96, B. Wilczyńska80, H. Wilczyński80, C. Wileman39, M. G. Winnick52, H. Wu58, B. Wundheiler53, T. Yamamoto22, P. Younk88, E. Zas9, D. Zavrtanik60,74, M. Zavrtanik60,74, I. Zaw7, A. Zepeda79, and M. Ziolkowski24 (The Pierre Auger Collaboration)
1Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, FR-Mendoza, Argentina
2LIP and Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa, Portugal
3Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (INAF), Università di Torino and Sezione INFN, Torino, Italy
4Universidad Catolica de Bolivia, La Paz, Bolivia
5Laboratoire AstroParticule et Cosmologie, Université Paris 7, IN2P3/CNRS, Paris, France
6Centro Atómico Bariloche, Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica and Instituto Balseiro (CNEA-UNC), San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
7New York University, New York, New York, USA
8Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
9Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
10Sezione INFN di Napoli, Napoli, Italy
11University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
12Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
13Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Palermo (INAF), Palermo, Italy
14Università di Torino and Sezione INFN, Torino, Italy
15University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
16INFN, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Assergi (L’Aquila), Italy
17Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
18Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut für Prozessdatenverarbeitung und Elektronik, Germany
19Centro Atómico Bariloche, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
20Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
21Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies, Universités Paris 6 & 7, IN2P3/CNRS, Paris Cedex 05, France
22University of Chicago, Enrico Fermi Institute, Chicago, Illinois, USA
23Pierre Auger Southern Observatory and Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Malargüe, Argentina
24Universität Siegen, Siegen, Germany
25IFLP, Universidad Nacional de La Plata and CONICET, La Plata, Argentina
26Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
27Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia, Vitoria da Conquista, BA, Brazil
28Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
29University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
30Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
31University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
32Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie, IN2P3/CNRS, Université Grenoble 1 et INPG, Grenoble, France
33Universität Karlsruhe (TH), Institut für Experimentelle Kernphysik (IEKP), Karlsruhe, Germany
34Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università del Salento and Sezione INFN, Lecce, Italy
35Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany
36Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois, USA
37Università dell’Aquila and INFN, L’Aquila, Italy
38Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Florence, Italy
39School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
40Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut für Kernphysik, Karlsruhe, Germany
41Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
42Colorado State University, Pueblo, Colorado, USA
43Universidad de Granada & C.A.F.P.E., Granada, Spain
44Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
45University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
46Università di Milano and Sezione INFN, Milan, Italy
47Università di Catania and Sezione INFN, Catania, Italy
48Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Fisica, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
49Universidade Estadual de Campinas, IFGW, Campinas, SP, Brazil
50Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, USA
51Institute of Integrated Information Systems, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
52University of Adelaide, Adelaide, S.A., Australia
53Laboratorio Tandar, Centro Atómico Constituyentes, CNEA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
54University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
55Pierre Auger Southern Observatory, Malargüe, Argentina
56IMAPP, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
57NIKHEF, Amsterdam, Netherlands
58Laboratoire de l’Accélérateur Linéaire, Université Paris-Sud, IN2P3/CNRS, Orsay, France
59Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico
60Laboratory for Astroparticle Physics, University of Nova Gorica, Slovenia
61Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, FR-Mendoza and Fundación Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Argentina
62Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Física, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
63Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), Spain
64Institut de Physique Nucléaire, Université Paris- Sud, IN2P3/CNRS, Orsay, France
65Università di Napoli “Federico II” and Sezione INFN, Napoli, Italy
66Università di Roma II “Tor Vergata” and Sezione INFN, Roma, Italy
67RWTH Aachen University, III. Physikalisches Institut A, Aachen, Germany
68Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
69Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, D.F., Mexico
70Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
71University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
72Centro Atómico Constituyentes, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica and CONICET, Argentina
73ASTRON, Dwingeloo, Netherlands
74J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
75Pontifícia Universidade Católica, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
76University of Łódź, Łódz, Poland
77Departamento de Física, Centro Atómico Bariloche, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica and CONICET, Argentina
78Universidade Federal Fluminense, Instituto de Fisica, Niterói, RJ, Brazil
79Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV), México, D.F., Mexico
80Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Krakow, Poland
81Departamento de Física, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires y CONICET, Argentina
82Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Brazil
83Kernfysisch Versneller Instituut, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
84Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André, SP, Brazil
85Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
86Centro Atómico Constituyentes, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica and UTN-FRBA, Argentina
87Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
88University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
89Charles University, Institute of Particle & Nuclear Physics, Prague, Czech Republic
90Centro de Investigaciones en Láseres y Aplicaciones, CITEFA and CONICET, Argentina
91Instituto de Física Corpuscular, CSIC-Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
92Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil
93Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Innovazione dell’Università del Salento and Sezione INFN, Lecce, Italy
94Università di Genova and Sezione INFN, Genova, Italy
95Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
96Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA
97Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
98University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
99Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, USA
100Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Bolivia
101Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional de La Plata and Fundación Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Argentina
Received 11 April 2008; published 4 August 2008
See accompanying
Physics
Viewpoint
The energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 2.5×1018 eV, derived from 20 000 events recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory, is described. The spectral index γ of the particle flux, J∝E-γ, at energies between 4×1018 eV and 4×1019 eV is 2.69±0.02(stat)±0.06(syst), steepening to 4.2±0.4(stat)±0.06(syst) at higher energies. The hypothesis of a single power law is rejected with a significance greater than 6 standard deviations. The data are consistent with the prediction by Greisen and by Zatsepin and Kuz’min.
© 2008 The American Physical Society
URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.061101
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.061101
PACS:
98.70.Sa, 95.85.Ry, 96.50.sb, 96.50.sd
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