Though the arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are distributed in a relatively isotropic manner, there is evidence of small-scale anisotropy. This, combined with the detection of cosmic rays with energies above the GZK cut-off, has motivated us to further investigate the idea that UHECRs are the result of a top-down mechanism involving the annihilation of superheavy dark matter particles in our galactic halo. To more precisely characterize the nature of dark matter, we have endeavoured to apply two different models to the leading UHECR spectra, namely those from the AGASA, High Resolution Flys Eye, and Pierre Auger Collaborations. First, we attempt a non-linear, least-squares fit of the particle physics fragmentation function to the spectra. Second, we propose that the observed cosmic ray spectrum above 3.5 × 10E+18 eV is the superposition of flux from two different sources: bottom-up acceleration via a simple power-law relation at lower energies and scattered particles from dark matter annihilation governed by fragmentation functions at higher energies. We find that while the former model does not provide a satisfactory fit to observatory data, the latter yields reduced χ2 values between 1.14 and 2.6. From the fragmentation function component of our second model, we are able to extract estimates of dark matter particle mass. We find values of (1.2 ± 0.6) 10E+21 eV, (5.0 ± 4.3) 10E+20 eV, and (2.6 ± 1.5) 10E+21 eV respectively for the AGASA, HiRes, and Pierre Auger data, which agree with earlier predictions based on a cosmological analysis of non-thermal particle production in an inflationary universe. Furthermore, we verify that the dark matter particle densities required by our two-source model are in line with current CDM theory.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USASK/oai:usask.ca:etd-01112007-162324 |
| Date | 15 January 2007 |
| Creators | Hopp, Karla Marie |
| Contributors | Tanaka, Kaori, Szmigielski, Jacek, Pywell, Robert E., Moewes, Alexander, Manson, Alan, Dick, Rainer |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | University of Saskatchewan Library |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-01112007-162324/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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