We report the reconstruction of the mass component spectra of cosmic rays (protons, helium, carbon, silicon and iron) and their mean mass composition, at energies from 1.4 to 100 PeV. The results are derived from the archival data of the extensive air shower experiment KASCADE. We use a novel machine learning technique developed specifically for this reconstruction, and post-LHC hadronic interaction models: QGSJet-II.04, EPOS-LHC and Sibyll 2.3c. We have found an excess of the proton component and a deficit of intermediate and heavy nuclei components compared to the original KASCADE results. The spectra of protons and helium show a knee-like behavior at ~ 4.4 PeV and ~ 11 PeV, with significances 5.2${\sigma}$ and 3.9${\sigma}$, respectively. The spectrum of the iron component has a hint (2.4${\sigma}$) of a hardening at ~ 4.5 PeV, which can be interpreted as a counterpart of a hardening in the proton spectrum at 166 TeV, recently reported by the GRAPES-3 experiment. The systematic uncertainties of our analysis were found to be smaller than those of the original KASCADE, as well as those of IceTop and TALE experiments, over the most part of the energy range studied. We also estimated separately the uncertainty related to the difference between the three mentioned hadronic interaction models. We also compute a mean logarithm mass of cosmic ray flux as a function of energy. It is in agreement with the results of IceTop, TALE and LHAASO within the uncertainties.

Recently the Telescope Array collaboration reported an observation of cosmic ray event with very high energy 244 EeV ($2.44 \times 10^{20}$ eV). Importantly, the event is hard to correlate with the matter distribution in the local Universe, even after taking into account deflections in magnetic fields. This implies that the event is likely a nucleus with a large charge. An attenuation length of the nucleus of such a high energy in intergalactic space is quite small, therefore its source should be relatively close to our Galaxy. Using these arguments we derive a new upper bound on a distance to the closest ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) source and a lower bound on the UHECR source number density in general. The distance to the closest source should not exceed 5 Mpc at 95% C.L. and the 95% C.L. lower-bound on the sources number density is $\rho > 1.0 \times 10^{-4}$ Mpc$^{-3}$. The number density of UHECR sources emitting heavy nuclei is constrained for the first time.

We study the problem of reconstruction of high-energy cosmic rays mass composition from the experimental data of extensive air showers. We develop several machine learning methods for the reconstruction of energy spectra of separate primary nuclei at energies 1-100 PeV, using the public data and Monte-Carlo simulations of the KASCADE experiment from the KCDC platform. We estimate the uncertainties of our methods, including the unfolding procedure, and show that the overall accuracy exceeds that of the method used in the original studies of the KASCADE experiment.

We report on the updated results on the search for photon-like-induced events in the data, collected by Telescope Array's Surface Detectors during the last 14 years. In order to search for photon-like-induced events, we trained a neural network on Monte-Carlo simulated data to distinguish between the proton-induced and photon-induced air showers. Both reconstructed composition-sensitive parameters and raw signals registered by the Surface Detectors are used as input data for the neural network. The classification threshold was optimized to provide the strongest constraint on the photons' flux.

We study the energy-dependent distribution of ultra-high energy cosmic ray arrival directions with respect to luminous matter in the local Universe. We use a specially designed test statistic (TS) that is robust to uncertainties of the galactic magnetic field. We generate realistic mock UHECR sets assuming various injected compositions, and different strengths of the extragalactic magnetic field (EGMF). Applying the TS to both mock sets and the Telescope Array Surface Detector data we constrain, for a given EGMF strength, the UHECR injected mass composition at energies above 10 EeV. At highest energies, higher than 100 EeV, only heavy composition - iron or at least silicon - is compatible with the data, irrespective of the EGMF strength. We then compare the obtained results with the direct Telescope Array fluorescence measurements of the UHECR mass composition. Requiring that the TA composition measurements are compatible with the arrival direction distribution allows us to constrain the parameters of the EGMF. It appears that light composition, measured by TA at around 10 EeV, is compatible with the arrival directions if the EGMF has strength of order 1 nG.

The origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), particles from outer space with energies~$E \geq 1\;$EeV, is still unknown, though the near-isotropy of their arrival direction distribution excludes a dominant Galactic contribution, and interactions with background photons prevent them from travelling cosmologically large distances. This suggests that their sources must be searched for in nearby galaxy groups and clusters. Deflections by intergalactic and Galactic magnetic fields are expected to hinder such searches but not preclude them altogether. So far, the only anisotropy detected with statistical significance $\geq 5\sigma$ is a modulation in right ascension in the data from the Pierre Auger Observatory at~$E \geq 8\;$EeV interpretable as a 7% dipole moment. Various hints for higher-energy, smaller-scale anisotropies have been reported. UHECR arrival direction data from both the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array experiment have been searched for anisotropies by a working group with members from both collaborations; combining the two datasets requires a cross-calibration procedure due to the different systematic uncertainties on energy measurements but allows us to perform analyses that are less model-dependent than what can be done with partial sky coverage. We report a significant dipole pointing away from the Galactic Center and a ${\sim}4.6\sigma$ anisotropy found when comparing the directions of UHECRs with a catalog of starburst galaxies.

Cosmic rays are energetic charged particles from extraterrestrial sources, with the highest-energy events thought to come from extragalactic sources. Their arrival is infrequent, so detection requires instruments with large collecting areas. In this work, we report the detection of an extremely energetic particle recorded by the surface detector array of the Telescope Array experiment. We calculate the particle's energy as [Formula: see text] (~40 joules). Its arrival direction points back to a void in the large-scale structure of the Universe. Possible explanations include a large deflection by the foreground magnetic field, an unidentified source in the local extragalactic neighborhood, or an incomplete knowledge of particle physics.

We present the results of a search for point sources of photons with energies higher than 1 EeV based on the Telescope Array surface detector data for 9 years. No significant excess of photon signal over UHECR background was found. The photon-flux upper limits were set for each direction in the Telescope Array field of view as well as for stacked directions of dwarf spheroidal galaxies.

The sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays are still unknown, but assuming standard physics, they are expected to lie within a few hundred megaparsecs from us. Indeed, over cosmological distances cosmic rays lose energy to interactions with background photons, at a rate depending on their mass number and energy and properties of photonuclear interactions and photon backgrounds. The universe is not homogeneous at such scales, hence the distribution of the arrival directions of cosmic rays is expected to reflect the inhomogeneities in the distribution of galaxies; the shorter the energy loss lengths, the stronger the expected anisotropies. Galactic and intergalactic magnetic fields can blur and distort the picture, but the magnitudes of the largest-scale anisotropies, namely the dipole and quadrupole moments, are the most robust to their effects. Measuring them with no bias regardless of any higher-order multipoles is not possible except with full-sky coverage. In this work, we achieve this in three energy ranges (approximately 8--16 EeV, 16--32 EeV, and 32--$\infty$ EeV) by combining surface-detector data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory until 2020 and at the Telescope Array (TA) until 2019, before the completion of the upgrades of the arrays with new scintillator detectors. We find that the full-sky coverage achieved by combining Auger and TA data reduces the uncertainties on the north-south components of the dipole and quadrupole in half compared to Auger-only results.

The distribution of ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray arrival directions appears to be nearly isotropic except for a dipole moment of order $6 \times (E/10~\mathrm{EeV})$ per cent. Nonetheless, at the highest energies, as the number of possible candidate sources within the propagation horizon and the magnetic deflections both shrink, smaller-scale anisotropies might be expected to emerge. On the other hand, the flux suppression reduces the statistics available for searching for such anisotropies. In this work, we consider two different lists of candidate sources: a sample of nearby starburst galaxies and the 2MRS catalog tracing stellar mass within $250~\mathrm{Mpc}$. We combine surface-detector data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory until 2020 and the Telescope Array until 2019, and use them to test models in which UHECRs comprise an isotropic background and a foreground originating from the candidate sources and randomly deflected by magnetic fields. The free parameters of these models are the energy threshold, the signal fraction, and the search angular scale. We find a correlation between the arrival directions of $11.8\%_{-3.1\%}^{+5.0\%}$ of cosmic rays detected with $E \ge 38~\mathrm{EeV}$ by Auger or with $E \gtrsim 49~\mathrm{EeV}$ by TA and the position of nearby starburst galaxies on a ${15.5^\circ}_{-3.2^\circ}^{+5.3^\circ}$ angular scale, with a $4.2\sigma$ post-trial significance, as well as a weaker correlation with the overall galaxy distribution.

We propose a new method for the estimation of ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) mass composition from a distribution of their arrival directions. The method employs a test statistic (TS) based on a characteristic deflection of UHECR events with respect to the distribution of luminous matter in the local Universe modeled with a flux-weighed 2MRS catalog. Making realistic simulations of the mock UHECR sets, we show that this TS is robust to the presence of galactic and non-extreme extra-galactic magnetic fields and sensitive to the mass composition of events in a set. We apply the method to Telescope Array surface detector data for 11 years and derive new independent constraints on fraction of protons and iron in p-Fe mix at E > 10 EeV. At 10 < E < 100 EeV the data favors increase of allowed proton fraction and decrease of allowed iron fraction, while at E > 100 EeV - pure iron or even more massive composition. This result is in tension with Auger composition model inferred from spectrum-X-max fit at 2.7 sigma (2.0 sigma) for PT'11 (JF'12) regular GMF model.

In this talk, we summarise the results of recent anisotropy studies conducted by the Telescope Array (TA) collaboration. At largest scales we test the TA data for the presence of a dipole. On smaller scales, an update on the excess of events in the direction of Ursa Major previously found in the TA data will be presented. These flux variations may trace the distribution of UHECR sources. We will examine the data for correlations with large-scale structures in the nearby Universe, and as a result, hints for the chemical composition of primaries will be provided. We also discuss a related anisotropy of the UHECR spectrum.

We propose a new method for the estimation of ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) mass composition from a distribution of their arrival directions. The method employs a test statistic (TS) based on a characteristic deflection of UHECR events with respect to the distribution of luminous matter in the local Universe. Making realistic simulations of the mock UHECR sets, we show that this TS is robust to the presence of galactic and non-extreme extra-galactic magnetic fields and sensitive to the mass composition of events in a set. This allows one to constrain the UHECR mass composition by comparing the TS distribution of a composition model in question with the data TS, and to discriminate between different composition models. While the statistical power of the method depends somewhat on the MF parameters, this dependence decreases with the growth of statistics. The method shows good performance even at GZK energies where the estimation of UHCER mass composition with traditional methods is complicated by a low statistics.

The extremely low flux of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) makes their direct observation by orbital experiments practically impossible. For this reason all current and planned UHECR experiments detect cosmic rays indirectly by observing the extensive air showers (EAS) initiated by cosmic ray particles in the atmosphere. The world largest statistics of the ultra-high energy EAS events is recorded by the networks of surface stations. In this paper we consider a novel approach for reconstruction of the arrival direction of the primary particle based on the deep convolutional neural network. The latter is using raw time-resolved signals of the set of the adjacent trigger stations as an input. The Telescope Array (TA) Surface Detector (SD) is an array of 507 stations, each containing two layers plastic scintillator with an area of 3 m(2). The training of the model is performed with the Monte-Carlo dataset. It is shown that within the Monte-Carlo simulations, the new approach yields better resolution than the traditional reconstruction method based on the fitting of the EAS front. The details of the network architecture and its optimization for this particular task are discussed.

At any epoch, particle physics must be open to completely unexpected discoveries, and that is reason enough to extend the reach of searches for ultra-high energy (UHE) photons. The observation of a population of photons with energies E≳100EeV would for example imply the existence of either a completely new physical phenomena, or particle acceleration mechanisms heretofore never seen or imagined. But as we outline in this Letter of Interest, there are also good arguments for super-heavy dark matter (SHDM) in a parameter range such that it could be discovered via its decays to, in particular, UHE photons. Only ultra-high energy cosmic ray observatories have capabilities to detect UHE photons. We first investigate how current and future observations can probe and constrain SHDM models in important directions, and then outline some of the scenarios that motivate such searches. We also discuss connections between constraints on SHDM and on the parameter values of cosmological models.

A novel ultra-high-energy cosmic rays energy and arrival direction reconstruction method for Telescope Array surface detector is presented. The analysis is based on a deep convolutional neural network using detector signal time series as the input and the network is trained on a large Monte-Carlo dataset. This method is compared in terms of statistical and systematic energy and arrival direction determination errors with the standard Telescope Array surface detector event reconstruction procedure.

The ultra-high-energy cosmic rays mass composition study with the Telescope Array surface detector is discussed. We present the new analysis based on deep convolutional neural network using detector signal time series as an input and trained on a large Monte-Carlo dataset. We compare the sensitivity of the new technique and the previously presented boosted decision tree multivariate analysis built upon 14 observables. Possible systematic errors of the method are discussed.

Spin injectors based on an insulating hexagonal boron nitride ($h$-BN) film and a ferromagnetic Co surface remain promising for spintronic applications. However, a sharp and well-defined interface is required for high performance. Here, the authors explore the structural and electronic properties of a $h$-BN monolayer epitaxially grown on a single-crystalline cobalt surface. They give a comprehensive description of the structure and uncover the peculiarities of interaction between the atoms at the interface.

We examine the hypothesis of decaying heavy dark matter (HDM) in the context of the IceCube highest energy neutrino events and recent limits on the diffuse flux of high-energy photons. We consider DM particles X of mass 106 ≤MX ≤ 1016 GeV decaying on tree-level into X → νν̄, X → e+e− and X → qq̄. The full simulation of hadronic and electroweak decay cascades and the subsequent propagation of the decay products through the interstellar medium allows us to determine the permitted values of MX . We show that for leptonic decay channels it is possible to explain the IceCube highest energy neutrino signal without overproducing highenergy photons for MX . 5.5 · 107 GeV and 1.5 · 108 . MX . 1.5 · 109 GeV, while hadronic decays contradict the gamma-ray limits for almost the whole range of MX values considered. The leptonic hypothesis can be probed by operating and planned gamma-ray observatories: for instance, the currently upgrading Carpet experiment will be capable to test a significant part of the remaining parameter window within one year of observation.

Photoelectron diffraction (XPD) and holography (XPH) are powerful spectroscopic methods that allow comprehensive exploration and characterization of certain structural properties of materials in particular those of 2D systems and interfaces. Recent developments in XPD and XPH are especially impressive when they are applied to partially disordered systems such as intercalation compounds, doped graphene, buffer layers or adsorbates and imperfectly ordered germanene and phoshporene. In our brief review, we sum up the advances in XPD and XPH studies of 2D materials and discuss the unique opportunities granted by these two interrelated methods.