@misc{10481/85140,
year = {2023},
month = {5},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/85140},
abstract = {We use the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory to search for air
showers initiated by photons with an energy above 1019 eV. Photons in the zenith angle range
from 30  to 60  can be identified in the overwhelming background of showers initiated by
charged cosmic rays through the broader time structure of the signals induced in the water-
Cherenkov detectors of the array and the steeper lateral distribution of shower particles
reaching ground. Applying the search method to data collected between January 2004 and
June 2020, upper limits at 95% CL are set to an E−2 diffuse flux of ultra-high energy
photons above 1019 eV, 2×1019 eV and 4×1019 eV amounting to 2.11×10−3, 3.12×10−4 and
1.72×10−4 km−2 sr−1 yr−1, respectively. While the sensitivity of the present search around
2×1019 eV approaches expectations of cosmogenic photon fluxes in the case of a pure-proton
composition, it is one order of magnitude above those from more realistic mixed-composition
models. The inferred limits have also implications for the search of super-heavy dark matter
that are discussed and illustrated.},
organization = {ANPCyT
Spanish Government},
organization = {Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (CONICET)},
organization = {Australian Research Council},
organization = {Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS},
organization = {FWO},
organization = {Financiadora de Inovacao e Pesquisa (Finep)},
organization = {Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)	2019/10151-2
2010/07359-6
1999/05404-3},
organization = {Czech Republic Government},
organization = {Ministry of Education, Youth & Sports - Czech Republic	LTT18004},
organization = {Marie Curie-IRSES/EPLANET},
organization = {Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)},
organization = {Conseil Rgional Ile-de-France	PNC-IN2P3/CNRS},
organization = {Institut Lagrange de Paris (ILP)},
organization = {LABEX	ANR-10-LABX-63
ANR-11-IDEX-0004-02},
organization = {Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF)},
organization = {German Research Foundation (DFG)},
organization = {Helmholtz Alliance for As-troparticle Physics (HAP)},
organization = {Helmholtz Association},
organization = {Ministerium fuuml;r Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen},
organization = {Ministerium fuuml;r Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst des Landes Baden-Wuuml;rttemberg; Italy - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)},
organization = {Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR)},
organization = {Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Italy)},
organization = {Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACyT)	167733},
organization = {Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigacion e Innovacion Tecnologica (PAPIIT)
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico},
organization = {Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)	DIR/WK/2018/11},
organization = {National Science Centre, Poland	2016/22/M/ST9/00198
2016/23/B/ST9/01635
2020/39/B/ST9/01398},
organization = {FEDER funds within Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade},
organization = {Romania - Ministry of Research, Inno-vation and Digitization, CNCS/CCCDI UEFISCDI},
organization = {National Nucleus Program	TE128
PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2021-0924/TE57/2022
PED289},
organization = {Slovenian Research Agency - Slovenia	P1-0031},
organization = {Spanish Government	FPA2017-85114-P
PID2019-104676GB-C32},
organization = {Xunta de Galicia	ED431C 2017/07},
organization = {Junta de Andalucia	SOMM17/6104/UGR
P18-FR-4314
FPA2015-68783-REDT},
organization = {Maria de Maeztu Unit of Excellence	MDM-2016-0692},
organization = {United States Department of Energy (DOE)	DE-AC02-07CH11359},
organization = {National Science Foundation (NSF)	0450696},
organization = {Grainger Foundation},
organization = {European Particle Physics Latin American Network},
organization = {Spanish Government},
publisher = {IOPScience},
keywords = {Cosmic ray experiments},
keywords = {Gamma ray detectors},
keywords = {Ultra high energy cosmic rays},
keywords = {Ultra high energy},
keywords = {Photons and neutrinos},
title = {Search for photons above 1019 eV with the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory},
doi = {10.1088/1475-7516/2023/05/021},
author = {The Pierre Auger collaboration},
}