Investigation of the Galactic Magnetic Field with Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to correct for galactic magnetic field deflections of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, enabling better source identification and verification of magnetic field effects using simulations and observables.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel correction method for cosmic ray deflections in the galactic magnetic field based on simulations and specific observables.

Findings

Protons can be identified through magnetic field pattern analysis.

Cosmic ray deflections can be experimentally verified.

The method facilitates searches for source correlations.

Abstract

We present a method to correct for deflections of ultra-high energy cosmic rays in the galactic magnetic field. We perform these corrections by simulating the expected arrival directions of protons using a parameterization of the field derived from Faraday rotation and synchrotron emission measurements. To evaluate the method we introduce a simulated astrophysical scenario and two observables designed for testing cosmic ray deflections. We show that protons can be identified by taking advantage of the galactic magnetic field pattern. Consequently, cosmic ray deflection in the galactic field can be verified experimentally. The method also enables searches for directional correlations of cosmic rays with source candidates.