P1-0031 — Annual report 2010
1.
Measurement of the depth of maximum of extensive air showers above 10[sup]18 eV.

We describe the measurement of the depth of maximum of the longitudinal development of air showers induced by cosmic rays. Almost four thousand events above 10^18 eV observed by the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory in coincidence with at least one surface detector station are selected for the analysis. The interpretation of the results in terms of the cosmic ray mass composition is briefly discussed.

COBISS.SI-ID: 1400315
2.
Measurement of the energy spectrum of cosmic rays above 10[sup]18 eV using the Pierre Auger Observatory.

We report a measurement of the flux of cosmic rays with unprecedented precision and statistics using the Pierre Auger Observatory. Based on fluorescence observations in coincidence with at least one surface detector we derive a spectrum for energies above 10^18 eV. We also update the previously published energy spectrum obtained with the surface detector array. The two spectra are combined addressing the systematic uncertainties and, in particular, the influence of the energy resolution on the spectral shape.

COBISS.SI-ID: 1386747
3.
Ultra high energy cosmic rays.

In this article, the physics of cosmic rays is reviewed briefly. We present a short history and the present status of the field mainly from an experimental point of view. Special attention is given to the Pierre Auger Observatory, the world's largest operating hybrid detector. The most recent and fascinating results are also presented and discussed. Finally, some attention is given to the next generation of detectors devoted to the exploration of the highest energy ranges, which is likely to dramatically increase our knowledge about UHECRs in the near future.

COBISS.SI-ID: 1620731
4.
Measurement of the differential branching fraction and forward-backward asymmetry for B [to] K[sup]([ast]) l[sup]+ l[sup]-.

We study B-)K(*)l+l- decays (l=e,mu) based on a data sample of 657 million BB pairs collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB e+e- collider. We report the differential branching fraction, isospin asymmetry, K* polarization, and the forward-backward asymmetry (AFB) as functions of q^2 = M_{ll}^2*c^2. The fitted AFB spectrum exceeds the Standard Model expectation by 2.7 standard deviations.

COBISS.SI-ID: 23094055
5.
The non-Abelian gauge theory of matrix big bangs.

We study the time-dependent Yang-Mills theory obtained via the generalisation of discrete light-cone quantisation to singular homogeneous plane waves. The non-Abelian nature of this theory is known to be important for physics near the singularity, at least as far as the number of degrees of freedom is concerned. We will show that the quartic interaction is always subleading as one approaches the singularity and that close enough to t=0 the evolution is driven by the diverging tachyonic mass term. The evolution towards asymptotically flat space-time also reveals some surprising features.

COBISS.SI-ID: 1737467