Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory Research Articles

Data quality control system and long-term performance monitor of LHAASO-KM2A

The KM2A is the largest sub-array of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). It consists of 5216 electromagnetic particle detectors (EDs) and 1188 muon detectors (MDs). The data recorded by the EDs and MDs are used to reconstruct primary information of cosmic-ray and gamma-ray showers. To ensure the reliability of the LHAASO-KM2A data, a three-level quality control system has been established. It is used to monitor the status of detector units, stability of reconstructed parameters and the performance of the array based on observations of the Crab Nebula and Moon shadow. This paper will introduce the control system and its application on the LHAASO-KM2A data collected from August 2021 to July 2023. During this period, the pointing and angular resolution of the array were stable. From the observations of the Moon shadow and Crab Nebula, the results achieved using the two methods are consistent with each other. For example, according to the observation of the Crab Nebula with KM2A at energies from 25 TeV to 100 TeV, the time averaged pointing errors are estimated to be −0.003°±0.005° and 0.001°±0.006° in the R.A. and Dec directions, respectively.

Stringent Tests of Lorentz Invariance Violation from LHAASO Observations of GRB 221009A.

On 9 October 2022, the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) reported the observation of the very early TeV afterglow of the brightest-of-all-time gamma-ray burst 221009A, recording the highest photon statistics in the TeV band ever obtained from a gamma-ray burst. We use this unique observation to place stringent constraints on the energy dependence of the speed of light in vacuum, a manifestation of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) predicted by some quantum gravity (QG) theories. Our results show that the 95% confidence level lower limits on the QG energy scales are E_{QG,1}>10 times the Planck energy E_{Pl} for the linear LIV effect, and E_{QG,2}>6×10^{-8}E_{Pl} for the quadratic LIV effect. Our limits on the quadratic LIV case improve previous best bounds by factors of 5-7.

Shower formation constraints on cubic Lorentz invariance violation parameters in quantum electrodynamics

We present shower formation constraints on the Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) energy scale for photons with a cubic dispersion relation from recent gamma-ray observations in the 100 TeV–PeV energy range by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). We assume a Myers–Pospelov effective field theory framework, and calculate the suppression for the Bethe–Heitler process which is mainly responsible for the formation of photon-initiated atmospheric showers. Comparing the high-energy photon events with the suppressed flux predictions, we obtain 95%\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$95\\%$$\\end{document} CL constraints on the LIV energy scale. The obtained shower constraint ELIV≳O1020GeV\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$E_\ extrm{LIV} \\gtrsim \\mathcal {O} \\left( 10^{20} \ ext{ GeV }\\right) $$\\end{document} is significantly weaker than existing birefringence constraints but is independent.

Constraints on Ultraheavy Dark Matter Properties from Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies with LHAASO Observations.

In this Letter we try to search for signals generated by ultraheavy dark matter at the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) data. We look for possible γ rays by dark matter annihilation or decay from 16 dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the field of view of the LHAASO. Dwarf spheroidal galaxies are among the most promising targets for indirect detection of dark matter that have low fluxes of astrophysical γ-ray background while having large amount of dark matter. By analyzing more than 700days of observational data at LHAASO, no significant dark matter signal from 1TeV to 1EeV is detected. Accordingly we derive the most stringent constraints on the ultraheavy dark matter annihilation cross section up to EeV. The constraints on the lifetime of dark matter in decay mode are also derived.

Discovery of Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Emissions from the Low-luminosity AGN NGC 4278 by LHAASO

Abstract The first source catalog of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) reported the detection of a very high energy gamma-ray source, 1LHAASO J1219+2915. This Letter presents a further detailed study of the spectral and temporal behavior of this pointlike source. The best-fit position of the TeV source (R.A. = 185.°05 ± 0.°04, decl. = 29.°25 ± 0.°03) is compatible with NGC 4278 within ∼0.°03. Variation analysis shows an indication of variability on a timescale of a few months in the TeV band, which is consistent with low-frequency observations. Based on these observations, we report the detection of TeV γ-ray emissions from this low-luminosity active galactic nucleus. The observation by LHAASO's Water Cherenkov Detector Array during the active period has a significance level of 8.8σ with a best-fit photon spectral index Γ = 2.56 ± 0.14 and a flux f 1–10 TeV = (7.0 ± 1.1sta ± 0.35syst) × 10−13 photons cm−2 s−1, or approximately 5% of the Crab Nebula. The discovery of VHE gamma-ray emission from NGC 4278 indicates that compact, weak radio jets can efficiently accelerate particles and emit TeV photons.

Prospects for joint reconstruction of imaging air Cherenkov telescope array and extensive air shower array

In this paper, we proposed a joint reconstruction of γ-ray events using both extensive air array (EAS) and Imaging air Cherenkov Telescope array (IACT). We considered eight Cherenkov telescopes to be built on the LHAASO (Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory) site and investigate the improvement in differential sensitivity when combining the information from both IACT and Moun detectors of LHAASO-KM2A. We found that due to the higher cosmic ray background rejection power and higher gamma ray retention ratio provided by muon detectors of LHAASO, such a joint reconstruction can significantly improve the sensitivity of IACTs, especially for extended sources and long exposure time. The sensitivity of the eight-telescopes array can be improved by 25%−60% in different energy ranges using joint reconstructions with muon detectors.

Evidence for particle acceleration approaching PeV energies in the W51 complex

The γ-ray emission from the W51 complex is widely acknowledged to be attributed to the interaction between the cosmic rays (CRs) accelerated by the shock of supernova remnant (SNR) W51C and the dense molecular clouds in the adjacent star-forming region, W51B. However, the maximum acceleration capability of W51C for CRs remains elusive. Based on observations conducted with the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), we report a significant detection of γ rays emanating from the W51 complex, with energies from 2 to 200 TeV. The LHAASO measurements, for the first time, extend the γ-ray emission from the W51 complex beyond 100 TeV and reveal a significant spectrum bending at tens of TeV. By combining the “π0-decay bump” featured data from Fermi-LAT, the broadband γ-ray spectrum of the W51 region can be well-characterized by a simple pp-collision model. The observed spectral bending feature suggests an exponential cutoff at ∼400 TeV or a power-law break at ∼200 TeV in the CR proton spectrum, most likely providing the first evidence of SNRs serving as CR accelerators approaching the PeV regime. Additionally, two young star clusters within W51B could also be theoretically viable to produce the most energetic γ rays observed by LHAASO. Our findings strongly support the presence of extreme CR accelerators within the W51 complex and provide new insights into the origin of Galactic CRs.

Diagnosing the Particle Transport Mechanism in the Pulsar Halo via X-Ray Observations

Pulsar halos (also termed “TeV halos”) are a new class of γ-ray sources in the Galaxy, which manifest as extended γ-ray emission around middle-aged pulsars, as discovered around the Geminga pulsar, the Monogem pulsar, and PSR J0622+3749 by the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory and the Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory. A consensus has been reached that the teraelectronvolt emission comes from the inverse Compton scattering of escaping electrons/positrons from the pulsar wind nebula of the soft background radiation field, while the particle transport mechanism in the halo is still in dispute. Currently, there are mainly three interpretations: the isotropic, suppressed diffusion model; the isotropic, unsuppressed diffusion model that considers the ballistic propagation of newly injected particles; and the anisotropic diffusion model. While the predicted γ-ray surface brightness profiles of all three models can be more or less consistent with the observations, the implications of the three models for cosmic-ray transport mechanisms and the properties of the interstellar magnetic field are quite different. In this study, we calculate the anticipated X-ray emission of pulsar halos under the three models. We show that the synchrotron radiation of these escaping electrons/positrons can produce a corresponding X-ray halo around the pulsar and that the expected surface brightness profiles are distinct in the three models. We suggest that sensitive X-ray detectors of a large field of view (such as eROSITA and the Einstein Probe) with a reasonably long exposure time are crucial to understanding the formation mechanism of pulsar halos and can serve as a probe of the properties of interstellar turbulence.

Search for Neutrino Emission from the Cygnus Bubble Based on LHAASO γ-Ray Observations

The Cygnus region, which contains massive molecular and atomic clouds and young stars, is a promising Galactic neutrino source candidate. Cosmic-ray transport in the region can produce neutrinos and γ-rays. Recently, the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) detected an ultrahigh-energy γ-ray bubble (Cygnus Bubble) in this region. Using publicly available track events detected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in 7 yr of full detector operation, we conduct searches for correlated neutrino signals from the Cygnus Bubble with neutrino emission templates based on LHAASO γ-ray observations. No significant signals were found for any employed templates. With the 7 TeV γ-ray flux template, we set a flux upper limit of 90% confidence level for the neutrino emission from the Cygnus Bubble to be 5.7 × 10−13 TeV−1 cm−2 s−1 at 5 TeV.

TeV afterglow from GRB 221009A: photohadronic origin?

ABSTRACT Gamma-ray burst (GRB), GRB 221009A, a long-duration GRB, was observed simultaneously by the Water Cherenkov Detector Array (WCDA) and the Kilometer Squared Array (KM2A) of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) during the prompt emission and the afterglow periods. Characteristic multi-TeV photons up to 13 TeV were observed in the afterglow phase. The observed very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray spectra by WCDA and KM2A during different time intervals and in different energy ranges can be explained very well in the context of the photohadronic model with the inclusion of extragalactic background light models. In the photohadronic scenario, interaction of high-energy protons with the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) photons in the forward shock region of the jet is assumed to be the source of these VHE photons. The observed VHE spectra from the afterglow of GRB 221009A are similar to the VHE gamma-ray spectra observed from the temporary extreme high-energy peaked BL Lac (EHBL), 1ES 2344+514 only during the 11th and the 12th of August, 2016. Such spectra are new and have been observed for the first time in a GRB.

A method of three-dimensional muon imaging using cosmic ray ground array

Cosmic ray muon imaging technology is an effective non-destructive imaging technique. It is currently used to survey the internal structure of large-scale objects such as active volcanoes, pyramids, and some buildings. Additionally, it is used to detect high-Z materials in scenarios such as border security, nuclear reactor monitoring, and container inspection. All applications of cosmic ray muons require a detector to reveal and measure the flux or angular variations of muons. However, detectors may have specific characteristics for each application depending on the detection requirements. Unlike single-point track detectors, we propose using ground array detectors to investigate how ground array detection technology can be used for 3D reconstruction of objects. We use ground array detection technology for simulation studies and apply the Iterative Correction Algorithm (ICA) to reconstruct two-dimensional projections and obtain three-dimensional images of density distribution. We have also addressed the convergence problem and analyzed and optimized some parameters that may affect the detection results. The advantages of using ground arrays include their ability to simultaneously measure the transmittance flux data of muons in different directions, achieve multi-angle detection, and have a large field of view, enabling the collection of sufficient data for more accurate detection results. To verify the feasibility of our new method, we conducted a simple experimental validation on a cylindrical cement building located in the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). By comparing the experimental results with the cement building in the array, we found that their shape structure and density information are basically consistent, demonstrating the effectiveness of our method.

Constraints on Lorentz invariance violation from the LHAASO observation of GRB 221009A

In some quantum gravity (QG) theories, Lorentz symmetry may be broken above the Planck scale. The Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) may induce observable effects at low energies and be detected at high energy astrophysical measurements.The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) has detected the onset, rise, and decay phases of the afterglow of GRB 221009A, covering a wide energy range of photons approximately from 0.2 to 13 TeV. This observation provides an excellent opportunity to study the Lorentz invariance violation effect. In this study, we simultaneously utilize the data from the KM2A and WCDA detectors of LHAASO, and apply two event by event methods, namely the pair view method and maximum likelihood method, to investigate LIV. We obtain stringent constraints on the QG energy scale. For instance, through the maximum likelihood method, we determine the 95% confidence level lower limits to be E QG,1 > 14.7 (6.5) × 1019 GeV for the subluminal (superluminal) scenario of n = 1, and E QG,2 > 12.0 (7.2) × 1011 GeV for the subluminal (superluminal) scenario of n = 2. We find that the rapid rise and slow decay behaviors of the afterglow can impose strong constraints on the subluminal scenario, while the constraints are weaker for the superluminal scenario.

LHAASO J2108+5157 as a molecular cloud illuminated by a supernova remnant

Context. The search for Galactic PeVatrons – astrophysical accelerators of cosmic rays to PeV energies – has entered a new phase in recent years with the discovery of the first ultra-high-energy (UHE, E > 100 TeV) γ-ray sources by the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory and Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). Establishing whether the emission is leptonic or hadronic in nature, however, requires multi-wavelength data and modelling studies. Among the currently known UHE sources, LHAASO J2108+5157 is an enigmatic source without clear association to a plausible accelerator, yet spatially coincident with molecular clouds. Aims. We aim to investigate the scenario of a molecular cloud illuminated by cosmic rays accelerated in a nearby supernova remnant (SNR) as an explanation for LHAASO J2108+5157. We aim to constrain the required properties of the SNR as well as which of the clouds identified in the vicinity is the most likely association. Methods. We used a model for cosmic-ray acceleration in SNRs, their transport through the interstellar medium, and subsequent interaction with molecular material to predict the corresponding γ-ray emission. The parameter space of SNR properties was explored to find the most plausible parameter combination that can account for the γ-ray spectrum of LHAASO J2108+5157. Results. In the case that a SNR is illuminating the cloud, we find that it must be young (< 10 kyr) and located within 40–60 pc of the cloud. A SN scenario with a low Sedov time is preferred, with a maximum proton energy of 3 PeV assumed. No SNRs matching these properties are currently known, although an as yet undetected SNR remains feasible. The Galactic CR sea is insufficient to solely account for the observed flux, such that a PeVatron accelerator must be present in the vicinity.

Constraints on axion-like particles from the observation of Galactic sources by the LHAASO* *Xiao-Jun Bi is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12175248). Xiaoyuan Huang is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFF0503304), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12322302), the Project for Young Scientists in Basic Research of Chinese Academy

High-energy photons may oscillate with axion-like particles (ALPs) when they propagate through the Milky Way's magnetic field, resulting in an alteration in the observed photon energy spectrum. Ultra-high energy gamma-ray spectra, measured by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) up to , provide a promising opportunity to investigate the ALP-photon oscillation effect. In this study, we utilize the gamma-ray spectra of four Galactic sources measured by the LHAASO, that is, the Crab Nebula, LHAASO J2226+6057, LHAASO J1908+0621, and LHAASO J1825-1326, to explore this effect. We employ the CLs method to set constraints on the ALP parameters. Our analysis of the observations of the four sources reveals that the ALP-photon coupling is constrained to be smaller than for an ALP mass of at 95% C.L. Combining the observations of the Crab Nebula from the LHAASO and other experiments, we find that the ALP-photon coupling may be set to approximately for an ALP mass of , which is similar to the CAST constraint.

Optimization of performance of the KM2A full array using the Crab Nebula* *Supported by the National Key R & D Program of China (2018YFA0404201, 2018YFA0404202, 2018YFA0404203, 2018YFA0404204), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12022502, 12205314, 12105301, 12261160362, 12105294, U1931201), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2022010) and in Thailand by the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), and

The full array of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) has been in operation since July 2021. For its kilometer-square array (KM2A), we optimized the selection criteria for very high and ultra-high energy γ-rays using data collected from August 2021 to August 2022, resulting in an improvement in significance of the detection in the Crab Nebula of approximately 15%, compared with that of previous cuts. With the implementation of these new selection criteria, the angular resolution was also significantly improved by approximately 10% at tens of TeV. Other aspects of the full KM2A array performance, such as the pointing error, were also calibrated using the Crab Nebula. The resulting energy spectrum of the Crab Nebula in the energy range of 10-1000 TeV are well fitted by a log-parabola model, which is consistent with the previous results from LHAASO and other experiments.

Broadband Multiwavelength Study of LHAASO-detected Active Galactic Nuclei

Recently, the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) collaboration presented the first catalog of γ-ray sources using 508 days of LHAASO data, from 2021 March to 2022 September. This catalog contains four blazars and a possible LINER-type active galactic nucleus (AGN) counterpart. In this work, we establish averaged multiwavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs) by combining data from the Fermi-Large Area Telescope, Swift, Zwicky Transient Facility, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) covering the same period as the LHAASO detection. In general, these five AGNs are found in low states at all wavelengths. To study the multiwavelength properties of these AGNs, several jet emission models, including the one-zone leptonic model, the one-zone leptonic and hadronuclear (pp) model, the one-zone proton-synchrotron model, and the spine-layer model, are applied to reproduce their averaged SEDs. We find that the one-zone leptonic model can reproduce most of the SEDs, except for the high-energy tail of the LHAASO spectra of Mrk 421 and Mrk 501. To improve the fitting, emission from pp interactions is favored in the framework of a one-zone model. The spine-layer model, which can be treated as a multizone scenario, can also provide good spectral fits. The influence of different extragalactic background light models on fitting a LHAASO energy spectrum is also discussed.

Lorentz invariance violation from GRB 221009A

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) reported observation of photons with energies above 10[Formula: see text]TeV from gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A. A suggestion was proposed that this result may contradict our knowledge of special relativity (SR) and the standard model (SM), according to which photons of about 10[Formula: see text]TeV from such a distant object should be severely suppressed because of the absorption by extragalactic background light. As a result, a number of mechanisms have been proposed to solve this potential puzzle, including Lorentz invariance violation (LIV). In this work, we perform a detailed numerical calculation and show the feasibility to constrain LIV of photons from the LHAASO observation of GRB 221009A quantitatively.

Determining the Origin of Very-high-energy Gamma Rays from Galactic Sources by Future Neutrino Observations

Recently, the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) identified 12 gamma-ray sources emitting gamma rays with energies above 100 TeV, making them potential PeV cosmic-ray accelerators (PeVatrons). Neutrino observations are crucial in determining whether the gamma-ray radiation process is of hadronic or leptonic origin. In this paper, we study three detected sources, LHAASO J1908+0621, LHAASO J2018+3651, and LHAASO J2032+4102, which are also the most promising Galactic high-energy neutrino candidate sources with the lowest pretrial p-value based on the stacking searches testing for excess neutrino emission by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. We study the lepto-hadronic scenario for the observed multiband spectra of these LHAASO sources considering the possible counterpart source of the LHAASO sources. The very-high-energy gamma rays are entirely attributed to the hadronic contribution; therefore, the most optimistic neutrino flux can be derived. Then, we evaluate the statistical significance (p-value) as a function of the observation time of IceCube and the next-generation IceCube-Gen2 neutrino observatory, respectively. Our results tend to disfavor that all gamma rays above 100 GeV from LHAASO J1908+0621 are of purely hadronic origin based on current IceCube observations, but the purely hadronic origin of gamma rays above 100 TeV is still possible. By IceCube-Gen2, the origin of gamma rays above 100 TeV from LHAASO J1908+0621 can be further determined at a 5σ significance level within a running time of ∼3 yr. For LHAASO J2018+3651 and LHAASO J2032+4102, the required running time of IceCube-Gen2 is ∼10 yr (3σ) and ∼10 yr (5σ), respectively. Future observations by the next-generation neutrino telescope will be crucial to understanding the particle acceleration and radiation processes inside the sources.

Effects of thunderstorms electric field on secondary photons of cosmic ray at large high altitude air shower observatory

Large high altitude air shower observatory (LHAASO) is a complex of extensive air shower (EAS) detector arrays, located on the Mt. Haizi (29°21' N, 100°08' E) at an altitude of 4410 m a. s. l., Daocheng, Sichuan Province, China. The information about primary cosmic rays can be obtained by using data from secondary particles measured at LHAASO, with photons make up the majority among these secondary particles. During thunderstorms, the atmospheric electric field can affect secondary charged particles (mainly positrons and electrons), thus changing the information of photons on the ground. In this work, Monte Carlo simulations are performed to investigate the effects of near-ground thunderstorm electric fields on cosmic ray secondary photons at LHAASO. A simple model with a vertical and uniform atmospheric electric field in a layer of atmosphere is used in our simulations. During thunderstorms, the number and energy of photons are found to significantly change and strongly depend on the electric field strength. In a field of –1000 V/cm (below the threshold of the relativistic runaway electron avalanche (RREA) process), the number of photons is increased by 23%. Also, the spectrum of photons softens, and the increased number of photons with energy less than 2 MeV exceeds 29%. In an electric field of –1700 V/cm (above the threshold of the RREA process), the number of photons experiences exponential growth, with an increase of 279%. The spectrum of photons becomes softer than that at –1000 V/cm, and the increased number with energy less than 2 MeV is more than 361%. It is consistent with the theory of RREA. For these phenomena of photons at LHAASO, the main factor is that the number of positrons and electrons are increased due to the acceleration of negative electric field on electrons, with increase of 65% in –1000 V/cm and 992% in –1700 V/cm, and the spectrum of positrons and electrons soften. Newborn free positrons/electrons may undergo bremsstrahlung and deposit part of their energy into photons, causing the change of number and energy of photons to follow roughly the same pattern as positrons and electrons. The simulation results can provide the information for understanding the variations of the data detected by LHAASO during thunderstorms and the acceleration mechanisms of secondary charged particles caused by an atmospheric electric field.

Porting LHAASO WFCTA simulation job to ARM computing cluster

With the advancement of many large-scale high-energy physics experiments, the amount of data to be processed and analyzed has significantly increased. For example, since the start of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) experiment in 2020, their simulation jobs have been running on an Intel X86 cluster, producing only a fraction of the planned data for the first phase due to limited CPU resources. Therefore, it is necessary to explore and expand other computing service devices. We built an application ecosystem based on the ARM architecture to support offline data processing for high-energy physics. The main work includes porting the offline software based on LHAASO experiments to run on ARM machines, formulating data transfer and job scheduling strategies in the ARM cluster, and evaluating performance and power consumption in both Intel X86 and ARM clusters. The results show that the LHAASO simulation jobs can run correctly on the ARM computing cluster. The singlecore performance of Intel X86 CPUs is better than ARM CPUs, but for the entire server with a multicore architecture, ARM servers perform better.