Identification of patterns in cosmic-ray arrival directions using dynamic graph convolutional neural networks

Astroparticle Physics, vol. 126, pp. 102527

Abstract

We present a new approach for the identification of ultra-high energy cosmic rays from sources using dynamic graph convolutional neural networks. These networks are designed to handle sparsely arranged objects and to exploit their short- and long-range correlations. Our method searches for patterns in the arrival directions of cosmic rays, which are expected to result from coherent deflections in cosmic magnetic fields. The network discriminates astrophysical scenarios with source signatures from those with only isotropically distributed cosmic rays and allows for the identification of cosmic rays that belong to a deflection pattern. We use simulated astrophysical scenarios where the source density is the only free parameter to show how density limits can be derived. We apply this method to a public data set from the AGASA Observatory.

Authors 6

1. Teresa Bister Aachen III. Physikalisches Institut A

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   III. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Str., 52056 Aachen, Germany

2. Martin Erdmann corresponding Aachen III. Physikalisches Institut A

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   III. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Str., 52056 Aachen, Germany

3. Jonas Glombitza Aachen III. Physikalisches Institut A

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   III. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Str., 52056 Aachen, Germany

4. Niklas Langner Aachen III. Physikalisches Institut A

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   III. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Str., 52056 Aachen, Germany

5. J. F. Schulte Aachen III. Physikalisches Institut A

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   III. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Str., 52056 Aachen, Germany

6. Marcus Wirtz Aachen III. Physikalisches Institut A

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   III. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Str., 52056 Aachen, Germany