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Science 9 November 2007:
Vol. 318. no. 5852, pp. 938 - 943
DOI: 10.1126/science.1151124
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Research Articles

Correlation of the Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays with Nearby Extragalactic Objects

The Pierre Auger Collaboration*

Using data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory during the past 3.7 years, we demonstrated a correlation between the arrival directions of cosmic rays with energy above 6 x 1019 electron volts and the positions of active galactic nuclei (AGN) lying within ~75 megaparsecs. We rejected the hypothesis of an isotropic distribution of these cosmic rays with at least a 99% confidence level from a prescribed a priori test. The correlation we observed is compatible with the hypothesis that the highest-energy particles originate from nearby extragalactic sources whose flux has not been substantially reduced by interaction with the cosmic background radiation. AGN or objects having a similar spatial distribution are possible sources.

* The full list of authors and their affiliations appears at the end of this paper.

Observatorio Pierre Auger, Avenida San Martín Norte 304, (5613) Malargüe, Mendoza, Argentina. E-mail: auger_collaboration2{at}fnal.gov

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
On the acceleration of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
F. Fraschetti (2008)
Phil Trans R Soc A 366, 4417-4428
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