Geophysical Research Letters (Mar 2021)
Fair Weather Neutron Bursts From Photonuclear Reactions by Extensive Air Shower Core Interactions in the Ground and Implications for Terrestrial Gamma‐ray Flash Signatures
- Gregory S. Bowers,
- Xuan‐Min Shao,
- William Blaine,
- Brenda Dingus,
- David M. Smith,
- Jeff Chaffin,
- John Ortberg,
- Hamid K. Rassoul,
- Cheng Ho,
- Lukas Nellen,
- Nissim Fraija,
- C. Alvarez,
- J. C. Arteaga‐Velázquez,
- V. Baghmanyan,
- E. Belmont‐Moreno,
- K. S. Caballero‐Mora,
- A. Carramiñana,
- S. Casanova,
- E. De la Fuente,
- M. M. González,
- F. Hueyotl‐Zahuantitla,
- O. Martinez,
- J. A. Matthews,
- E. Moreno,
- M. Newbold,
- E. G. Pérez‐Pérez,
- I. Torres
Affiliations
- Gregory S. Bowers
- Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA
- Xuan‐Min Shao
- Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA
- William Blaine
- Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA
- Brenda Dingus
- Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA
- David M. Smith
- University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz CA USA
- Jeff Chaffin
- University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz CA USA
- John Ortberg
- University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz CA USA
- Hamid K. Rassoul
- Florida Institude of Technology Melbourne FL USA
- Cheng Ho
- Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA
- Lukas Nellen
- Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Mexico D.F Mexico
- Nissim Fraija
- Instituto de Astronomía Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Mexico D.F Mexico
- C. Alvarez
- Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas Tuxtla Gutiérrez Chiapas México
- J. C. Arteaga‐Velázquez
- Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo Morelia Mexico
- V. Baghmanyan
- Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences PL‐31342 IFJ‐PAN Krakow Poland
- E. Belmont‐Moreno
- Instituto de Física Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de Mexico Mexico
- K. S. Caballero‐Mora
- Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas Tuxtla Gutiérrez Chiapas México
- A. Carramiñana
- Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica Óptica y Electrónica Puebla Mexico
- S. Casanova
- Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences PL‐31342 IFJ‐PAN Krakow Poland
- E. De la Fuente
- Departamento de Física Centro Universitario de Ciencias Exactase Ingenierias Universidad de Guadalajara Guadalajara Mexico
- M. M. González
- Instituto de Astronomía Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de Mexico Mexico
- F. Hueyotl‐Zahuantitla
- Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas Tuxtla Gutiérrez Chiapas México
- O. Martinez
- Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla Puebla Mexico
- J. A. Matthews
- Dept of Physics and Astronomy University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM USA
- E. Moreno
- Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla Puebla Mexico
- M. Newbold
- Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Utah Salt Lake City UT USA
- E. G. Pérez‐Pérez
- Universidad Politecnica de Pachuca Pachuca Hgo Mexico
- I. Torres
- Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica Óptica y Electrónica Puebla Mexico
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl090033
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 48,
no. 6
pp. n/a – n/a
Abstract
Abstract We report on anomalously long duration (2 ms) count rate bursts following the impact of cosmic ray showers near a 7.62 cm x⊘7.62 cm LaBr3 scintillation detector at the High Altitude Water Cherenkov array in Mexico, previously described by Stenkin et al. (2001), and termed “neutron bursts.” The largest burst produced 198 counts within 2 ms in our LaBr3 detector. We simulate the neutron burst albedo flux (that is, secondary emissions from an extensive air shower core impacting the ground), and show that (1) the characteristic spectra and count rates are well explained by neutron absorption in the ground and (2) any cosmic ray secondary that produces neutrons, either through hadron inelastic collisions, or photoneutron production by gamma‐rays, produces the same characteristic spectra. This implies that other natural phenomena that produce downward beams of gamma‐rays, like Terrestrial gamma ray flashes, should produce a similar “neutron burst” signature from the photoneutron reactions occurring in the soil.
Keywords