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<p dir="ltr"> This article-based dissertation provides an account of two distinct classes of expansive astrophysical outflows and techniques to interpret their observations using numerical modeling. The primary purpose of this dissertation is to provide an extensive description of the research projects I undertook during my tenure as a Graduate Research Assistant, under the guidance of my advisor Prof. Paul Duffell.</p><p dir="ltr">Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to numerical hydrodynamics and techniques of modeling expanding flows numerically. I also introduce the aforementioned classes of astrophysical outflows, namely relativistic jets from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and supernova remnants (SNRs). I provide a general overview of the theoretical picture, and the general strategy used in this work to model them.</p><p dir="ltr">Chapter 2 describes my investigation on the connection of kiloparsec scale AGN jet properties to their intrinsic parameters and surroundings, based on an article published in The Astrophysical Journal. Using a suite of over 40 relativistic hydrodynamic jet models, we find that the dynamics of relativistic jets can be described in terms of only two parameters, the jet to ambient medium energy density ratio, and the jet opening angle. The former is found to strongly control the Fanaroff-Riley (FR) morphological dichotomy, which was previously thought to be tied to the magnitude of the jet luminosity. We also suggest a purely hydrodynamical origin of bright spots observed in some AGN jets. Our models were tested against and found to be consistent with the observations of the jets in M87 and Cygnus A.</p><p dir="ltr">In chapter 3, I present my moving-mesh hydrodynamics code Sprout, also described in an article published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplements. Sprout solves the equations of ideal hydrodynamics on an expanding Cartesian mesh. The expanding mesh can follow fluid outflows for several orders of magnitude with very little numerical diffusion. This allows Sprout to capture expanding flows with very high dynamic range. Sprout is thus particularly suitable for studying expanding outflows such as supernova remnants and active galactic nuclei. Relative to other moving mesh codes, the simple mesh structure in Sprout is also convenient for implementing additional physics or algorithms. I discuss many code tests that were performed to test the accuracy and performance of the numerical scheme.</p><p dir="ltr">Chapter 4 details my study of hydrodynamic instabilities in supernova remnants (SNRs) as they expand against the circumstellar medium (CSM). This is based on an article published in The Astrophysical Journal. A suite of 3D hydrodynamical SNR models, generated using my hydro code \sprout, was used to study the impact of the stellar ejecta density profile and seed anisotropies in the ejecta and the CSM on formation of turbulent structures in the SNRs. We found that most of the turbulent power in these models resides at a typical angular mode or scale that is determined by the ejecta density structure. It was also found that clumps or anisotropies in either the ejecta or CSM do not imprint upon these turbulence structures unless they are massive and form large-scale coherent structures.</p><p dir="ltr">In chapter 5, I discuss the implementation of a technique to measure anisotropies in observed SNRs just using 2D high-resolution images. This technique is calibrated using 3D hydro SNR models and synthetic images derived from them. As seen in Chapter 4, we find a similar dominant angular scale of turbulent structures dictated by the ejecta density structure. Both the 3D models and the synthetic images yield the same value of this scale, which validates the image analysis technique used in this work. As an example of how this technique can be applied to observations, we analyze observations of a known supernova remnant (Tycho's SNR) and compare with our models. Our technique picks out the angular scale of Tycho's fleece-like structures and also agrees with the small-scale power seen in Tycho.</p><p dir="ltr">PhChapter 6 summarizes the results, conclusions, and future prospects of all the research work described so far. It is followed by a bibliography, my curriculum vita, and a list of publications.</p>

O conhecimento sobre a composição de raios cósmicos de altas energias é fundamental na abordagem da maior parte das grandes questões referentes à astrofísica de altas energias. Entretanto, do ponto de vista experimental, determinar o tipo de partícula medida nesse regime de energia ainda é um enorme desafio e essa tarefa tem recebido especial atenção por parte das colaborações responsáveis pelos experimentos em atividade. A principal dificuldade está no fato das medidas serem realizadas indiretamente através das cascatas de partículas formadas a partir da interação do raio cósmico inicial com átomos da atmosfera, os chamados chuveiros atmosféricos. Entre os principais experimentos em funcionamento, o Observatório Pierre Auger se destaca por ter a maior área de detecção (3000 km2) e por utilizar pioneiramente um sistema híbrido de detecção, com detectores de superfície e de fluorescência funcionando simultaneamente. Os telescópios de fluorescência medem o número de partículas do chuveiro em função da profundidade, o que chamamos de perfil longitudinal. Alguns parâmetros extraídos desse perfil são sensíveis à composição das partículas primárias. No presente trabalho, aplicamos métodos estatísticos novos aos dados extraídos dos perfis longitudinais de chuveiros medidos pelo Auger com o objetivo de inferir informações sobre a massa média, ou seja, a composição dos raios cósmicos. A primeira análise apresentada é baseada no parâmetro XMax. A evolução do valor médio de XMax com a energia contém informações sobre a composição inicial. Com o objetivo de eliminar vieses experimentais, corrigindo os efeitos dos detectores, aplicamos métodos de deconvolução às distribuições de XMax. A segunda análise é do tipo multiparamétrica e aplica redes neurais do tipo Multilayer Perceptrons a outros parâmetros extraídos dos perfis longitudinais. A partir desse procedimento é possível obter informações sobre a composição média das partículas e também reconstruir a energia dos eventos. / The knowledge about high energy cosmic rays composition is fundamental to approach most of the big questions regarding high energy astrophysics. However, from the experimental point of view, to determine the kind of the measured particle in this energy range is still a huge challenge and this task has received special attention from the collaborations responsible for running the experiments in activity. The main difficulty is on the fact that the measurements are made indirectly by the secondary particles cascades formed by the interaction of primary particles with atmosphere atoms, which are called air showers. Among the main experiments in operation, Pierre Auger Observatory has the larger collecting area (3000 km2) and uses a pioneer hybrid detection system, with surface detectors and fluorescence telescopes working simultaneously. The fluorescence telescopes measure the number of particles in the shower as a function of atmospheric depth, which we call longitudinal profiles. Some parameters extracted from these profiles are sensitive to primary composition. In this study, we applied new statistical methods to the data from longitudinal profiles measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory aiming to infer information about the mean mass, in other words, the composition of cosmic rays. The first analysis shown (chapter 4) is based on the known parameter called XMax. The evolution of XMax mean value with energy contains information about primary composition. Unfolding methods have been applied to the XMax distribution in order to minimize experimental bias and to correct detector effects. The second analysis shown is of the multi-parametric type and applies neural networks of the Multilayer Perceptrons class to longitudinal profiles parameters. From this procedure, it is possible to obtain information about average composition and to reconstruct the energy of events.

O conhecimento sobre a composição de raios cósmicos de altas energias é fundamental na abordagem da maior parte das grandes questões referentes à astrofísica de altas energias. Entretanto, do ponto de vista experimental, determinar o tipo de partícula medida nesse regime de energia ainda é um enorme desafio e essa tarefa tem recebido especial atenção por parte das colaborações responsáveis pelos experimentos em atividade. A principal dificuldade está no fato das medidas serem realizadas indiretamente através das cascatas de partículas formadas a partir da interação do raio cósmico inicial com átomos da atmosfera, os chamados chuveiros atmosféricos. Entre os principais experimentos em funcionamento, o Observatório Pierre Auger se destaca por ter a maior área de detecção (3000 km2) e por utilizar pioneiramente um sistema híbrido de detecção, com detectores de superfície e de fluorescência funcionando simultaneamente. Os telescópios de fluorescência medem o número de partículas do chuveiro em função da profundidade, o que chamamos de perfil longitudinal. Alguns parâmetros extraídos desse perfil são sensíveis à composição das partículas primárias. No presente trabalho, aplicamos métodos estatísticos novos aos dados extraídos dos perfis longitudinais de chuveiros medidos pelo Auger com o objetivo de inferir informações sobre a massa média, ou seja, a composição dos raios cósmicos. A primeira análise apresentada é baseada no parâmetro XMax. A evolução do valor médio de XMax com a energia contém informações sobre a composição inicial. Com o objetivo de eliminar vieses experimentais, corrigindo os efeitos dos detectores, aplicamos métodos de deconvolução às distribuições de XMax. A segunda análise é do tipo multiparamétrica e aplica redes neurais do tipo Multilayer Perceptrons a outros parâmetros extraídos dos perfis longitudinais. A partir desse procedimento é possível obter informações sobre a composição média das partículas e também reconstruir a energia dos eventos. / The knowledge about high energy cosmic rays composition is fundamental to approach most of the big questions regarding high energy astrophysics. However, from the experimental point of view, to determine the kind of the measured particle in this energy range is still a huge challenge and this task has received special attention from the collaborations responsible for running the experiments in activity. The main difficulty is on the fact that the measurements are made indirectly by the secondary particles cascades formed by the interaction of primary particles with atmosphere atoms, which are called air showers. Among the main experiments in operation, Pierre Auger Observatory has the larger collecting area (3000 km2) and uses a pioneer hybrid detection system, with surface detectors and fluorescence telescopes working simultaneously. The fluorescence telescopes measure the number of particles in the shower as a function of atmospheric depth, which we call longitudinal profiles. Some parameters extracted from these profiles are sensitive to primary composition. In this study, we applied new statistical methods to the data from longitudinal profiles measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory aiming to infer information about the mean mass, in other words, the composition of cosmic rays. The first analysis shown (chapter 4) is based on the known parameter called XMax. The evolution of XMax mean value with energy contains information about primary composition. Unfolding methods have been applied to the XMax distribution in order to minimize experimental bias and to correct detector effects. The second analysis shown is of the multi-parametric type and applies neural networks of the Multilayer Perceptrons class to longitudinal profiles parameters. From this procedure, it is possible to obtain information about average composition and to reconstruct the energy of events.

Title: Study of Cosmic-Ray Acceleration in Extragalactic Objects Author: Stanislav tefnik Department: Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics Supervisor: RNDr. Dalibor Nosek, Dr. Abstract: This thesis deals with production processes of cosmic γ-rays in astro- physical objects and methods of their detection. Possible interactions leading to the emission of high energy γ-rays in the active galaxy Centaurus A are discussed in this context. Cherenkov Telescope Array is presented as a new experiment fo- cused on the detection of air showers initiated by cosmic γ-rays. Cherenkov light of air showers is studied in the simulations done by CORSIKA simulation tool. Method of data analysis within the framework of Cherenkov telescopes is descri- bed and performed on the dataset of the active galaxy PKS 2155-304. The results include statistical tests of γ-ray source presence and its time variability. Keywords: Cosmic rays, gamma rays, astroparticle physics, high energy astro- physics, acceleration, CTA experiment

Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar a implementação de uma sequência de ensino e aprendizagem sobre tópicos de Astrofísica de Partículas para o Ensino Médio. Buscou-se determinar o ponto de impacto e a direção de chegada de um raio cósmico primário ao solo, utilizando dados do Observatório Pierre Auger. A fim de identificar elementos relevantes dessa sequência, analisamos a maneira como os estudantes interagiram e realizamos refinamentos progressivos a fim de aperfeiçoá-la. No refinamento da sequência de ensino, a análise dos dados obtidos desempenhou um importante papel, já que indicou os caminhos a serem tomados para que a atividade desenvolvida fizesse parte do repertório de conhecimentos do aluno. Esperou-se que esse conhecimento, longe de ser mecânico e passageiro, fosse significativo ao aluno no sentido de que os conteúdos tratados se entrelaçassem a conhecimentos prévios e se transformassem em conhecimento mais estáveis e ricos em significados. Por este viés, a Teoria da Aprendizagem Significativa de Ausubel norteou a escolha do método de avaliação e interpretação dos dados coletados neste estudo. Assim, de acordo com o referencial teórico adotado, os mapas conceituais apresentaram-se como forma de análise e serviram de avaliação do conhecimento obtido pelos estudantes e, por conseguinte, da sequência didática proposta. Conforme indicou a análise dos mapas conceituais, a maior parte das informações relacionadas com a dinâmica de determinação do ponto de impacto e da direção de chegada de um raio cósmico primário começou a ter significado na estrutura de conhecimentos dos alunos. Assim, o conteúdo raios cósmicos mostrou-se possível de ser ensinado na sala de aula do Ensino Médio. / This paper aims at investigating the implementation of a teaching and learning sequence for particle Astrophysics topics in High School. Our aim is to determine the impact point and direction of a primary cosmic ray to the ground, using the Pierre Auger Observatory data. To identify the relevant elements of this sequence, we analyzed the way in which students interacted and then implemented progressive refinements to improve it. The data analysis played an important role in refining the teaching sequence, enabling the results to form part of the students\' knowledge. It is hoped the knowledge gained has been significant for the students and when added to previous knowledge has helped them develop a more stable and rich understanding of the subject. Ausubel\'s theory guided the choice of the evaluation method and interpretation of data collected in this study. According to the theoretical approach, the conceptual maps were presented as a way of analyzing and evaluate the knowledge gained by students and therefore the proposed didactic sequence. As indicated by analysis of the conceptual maps, most of the information related to the dynamics of determination of the impact point and the direction of arrival of a primary cosmic ray began to have meaning in students\' knowledge structure. Along these lines, the content cosmic rays proved possible to be taught in the high school classroom.

Extensive air showers&rsquo; (EAS) observables sensible to primary cosmic ray mass are a valuable asset in constraining competing astrophysical and particle physics scenarios proposed both to explaining cosmic rays features, such as their all-particle spectra, as well as their origin. These observables, however, need to be interpreted by comparison to EAS simulations, which are a source of great uncertainty. Shower simulations need to rely on a technique called thinning, an algorithm created to reduce computing time and storage requirement. In this work, we evaluate the effects of thinning over the muon production profile of an EAS simulation. For heavier particles it appears that thinned showers generate profiles with a deeper maximum, while results were not conclusive for protons and photon primaries. We investigate the thinning technique by constructing a toy model for shower simulations in which we have full control of the thinning implementation. To that end, we parameterized the energy distribution and particle production multiplicity from proton-air interactions and proton-pion interactions. However, we find that thinning effects over our model were too severe, rendering it impossible to draw further conclusions about its effects on full air showers simulations. / Observáveis sensíveis à composição de raios cósmicos primários em chuveiros atmosféricos extensos são um recurso valioso na constrição de cenários competidores em astrofísica e física de partículas, propostos tanto para explicar características dos raios cósmicos, como o espectro de energia de todas as partículas, quanto sua origem. Estes observáveis, no entanto, precisam ser interpretados por comparação a simulações de chuveiros atmosféricos, que constituem fonte de grandes incertezas. Simulações de chuveiros são dependentes de uma técnica chamada thinning, um algoritmo criado para reduzir o tempo de computação e exigências de armazenamento. Neste trabalho, nós avaliamos os efeitos do thinning sobre o perfil de produção de múons em uma simulação de chuveiro atmosférico. Para partículas mais pesadas, aparentemente, chuveiros sujeitos ao thinning geram perfis com máximos mais profundos, e para prótons e fótons nossas análises foram inconclusivas. Nós investigamos a técnica do thinning construindo um simulador de chuveiros simplificado, em que o total controle sobre a implementação do thinning é garantido. Para este fim, parametrizamos a distribuição de energia e a multiplicidade de partículas em interações de próton com o ar e de píons com o ar. Entretanto, descobrimos que o efeito do thinning sobre o nosso modelo era muito severo, tornando impossível concluir seus efeitos sobre simulações completas.

AMANDA-II ist ein Neutrino-Teleskop, das sich im Eis des Suedpols befindet. Es wurde optimiert um Spuren von hochenergetischen Myonen, die in Neutrino-Wechselwirkungen entstanden sind, anhand ihrer Emission von Cerenkov-Licht zu detektieren. In dieser Arbeit analysieren wir die Daten, die in 1001 Tagen effektiver Detektorlaufzeit in den Jahren 2000 bis 2004 gesammelt worden sind, um ein Signal von einer Neutrino-Punktquelle zu finden. Ein derartiges Signal wird von kosmischen Objekten erwartet, die Hadronen zu sehr hohen Energien beschleunigen, welche daraufhin mit Photonen und Protonen in der Umgebung des Objekts wechselwirken. Die wichtigste Signatur um ein Myon aus einer Neutrino-Wechselwirkung zu identifizieren ist eine nach oben laufende Spur. Ein Datensatz mit 4282 aufwaertslaufenden Ereignissen wurde aus den ca. 10 Milliarden im Zeitraum dieser Analyse registrierten Ereignissen extrahiert. Diese Zahl ist konsistent mit der erwarteten Anzahl atmosphaerischer Neutrinos. In der Suche nach Punktquellen wird nach einem lokalen Ereignissueberschuss in diesem Datensatz gesucht. Zuerst wird ein Katalog von Quellkandidaten untersucht. Danach wird eine Rastersuche nach unbekannten Quellen auf dem ganzen noerdlichen Himmel durchgefuehrt. Darueberhinaus werden Methoden entwickelt um die Chancen einer Detektion von Quellen zu erhoehen von denen vermutet wird, dass ihre Neutrinoemission hochvariabel ist. Kein signifikanter lokaler Ereignissueberschuss wurde im analysierten Datensatz gefunden. Deswegen berechnen wir obere Grenzen fuer Neutrinofluesse, die mit dieser Beobachtung vertraeglich sind. Die mittlere obere Flussgrenze fuer ein Neutrinospektrum dPhi/dE proportional zu E^-2, die mit dieser Analyse erreicht wird, ist E^2 dPhi/dE = 1.0^-7 GeV cm^-2 s^-1 fuer den aufaddierten Fluss von nu_mu + nu_tau unter der Annahme eines Flavor-Verhaeltnisses von 1:1. Dies entspricht der momentan niedrigsten Flussgrenze fuer Neutrinofluesse von Punktquellen. / AMANDA-II is a neutrino telescope located in the glacial ice at the South Pole. It is optimized to detect neutrino induced muon tracks with energies larger than 100 GeV by their Cerenkov light emission. We analyzed the data collected in 1001 effective days of detector operation between the years 2000 and 2004 for a signal from point-like sources of neutrinos. Such a signal is expected from cosmic objects that accelerate hadrons to very high energies, which subsequently interact with ambient protons or photons. The dominant event class recorded in AMANDA-II are muons produced in the interactions of cosmic rays in the atmosphere. Due to their energy loss, the muons cannot penetrate the Earth and have down-going directions. The main signature to identify a neutrino induced event is therefore its up-going direction. A sample of 4282 up-going events is extracted from the 10 billion events triggered in the period selected for this analysis. The search for point sources is accomplished on this data sample by looking for a localized excess over the isotropic background of atmospheric neutrinos. The procedure is applied for the directions of candidate sources, like Active Galactic Nuclei, Supernova remnants and X-ray binaries. In a second step, the full northern sky is scanned for unknown sources. Further, we investigate methods to enhance the detection chance for sources which are suspected to be highly variable neutrino emitters. No localized excess has been found in the analyzed dataset. Therefore, we calculate upper limits on the neutrino fluxes which are compatible with this observation. The average upper limit achieved for a combined nu_mu + nu_tau flux with a spectrum of dPhi/dE proportional to E^-2 is E^2 dPhi/dE = 1.0 10^-7 GeV cm^-2 s^-1 assuming a flavor ratio of 1:1. It represents the most stringent upper limit on neutrino fluxes from point-like sources reported so far.

IceTop ist ein Detektorfeld fuer kosmische Strahlung, das momentan am Suedpol errichtet wird. Es ist Teil des IceCube-Observatoriums und wird nach Fertigstellung eine Flaeche von 1km^2 ueberspannen. Es zielt auf den Nachweis von Teilchenkaskaden ab, die von kosmischer Strahlung mit Energien im PeV-Bereich induziert werden. Die Dissertation beinhaltet die erste Analyse hochenergetischer kosmischer Strahlung mit IceTop. Zunaechst wird hierfuer die Lichtausbeute der Detektortanks untersucht. Dies ermoeglicht die Erstellung einer Erwartungswertverteilung der Schauersignale, und eines entsprechenden Likelihood-Rekonstruktionsalgorithmus. Die damit erreichten Aufloesungen werden untersucht und Effizienzen berechnet. Anschliessend wird das Ansprechverhaltenn von IceTop im Bezug auf die Energie genauer evaluiert. Aus den Ergebnissen werden Faltungsmatrizen fuer unterschiedliche Primaerteilchensorten extrahiert. Darauf basierend werden zwei Entfaltungsalgorithmen vorgestellt, und vier Faltungsmatrizen fuer verschiedene Kompositionsannahmen berechnet. Im August 2007 genommene Daten werden in drei Zenithwinkel-Abschnitte eingeteilt und separat mit den Kompositionsmodellen entfaltet. Die resultierenden Spektren decken einen Energiebereich von 1-80PeV ab. Mit der Forderung isotropen Flusses lassen sich Wahrscheinlichkeiten definieren, die sensitiv sind auf die Konsistenz der Kompositionsannahmen. Diese neue Methode ermoeglicht eine Untersuchung der Komposition ohne Zuhilfenahme weiterer Detektorkomponenten. Die Analyse zeigt eine klare Praeferenz der Modelle gemischter Komposition. Schliesslich wird das Spektrum mit der hoechsten relativen Wahrscheinlichkeit untersucht. Die gemessenen Parameter stimmen innerhalb der systematischen Fehler gut mit denen anderer Experimente ueberein. Die ermittelte Position des sogenannten Knies des Spektrums ist 3,1+-0,3(stat.)+-0,3(sys.)PeV, die Exponenten davor und danach sind -2,71+-0,07(stat.) und -3,110+-0,014(stat.)+-0,08(sys.). / IceTop is a square-kilometer scale detector array for highly energetic cosmic radiation. It is a part of the IceCube Observatory that is presently being built at the geographic South Pole. It aims for the detection of huge particle cascades induced by PeV cosmic rays in the atmosphere. This thesis presents the first analysis of highly energetic cosmic ray data taken with IceTop. First, the light response of the IceTop tanks is parametrised as a function of energy and particle type. An expectation function for the distribution of shower signals in the detector plane is developed. Based on that, a likelihood reconstruction algorithm is developed and its resolution and performance is studied. The resulting energy response of the array is investigated to set up response matrices for different primary nuclei and inclinations. Two unfolding algorithms are implemented, and response matrices are modeled for four different composition assumptions. With each assumption, energy spectra are unfolded for three different bins in inclination, using a data sample taken in August 2007. The range of the spectrum is 1-80PeV. Finally, a new analysis method is developed that uses the fact that cosmic rays in the PeV range are expected to be isotropic. It is shown that this requirement can be used for a likelihood estimation that is sensitive to composition without using additional information from other detector components. The analysis shows a clear preference of the mixed composition models over pure proton or iron assumption. The spectrum with the highest likelihood shows good agreement with results from other experiments within the systematic uncertainties. The found position of the so-called knee feature is 3.1+-0.3(stat.)+-0.3(sys.)PeV, the power indices before and after that are -2.71+-0.07(stat.) and -3.110+-0.014(stat.)+-0.08 (sys.).