Magnetic deflections and possible sources of the ultra-high-energy cosmic rays in the AGASA-HiRes-Yakutsk cluster

Abstract

The cluster of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays observed by the AGASA, HiRes and Yakutsk experiments is studied with respect to possible deflections of particles in regular magnetic fields. Best-fit positions of a potential source of these clustered particles are found, with account of the errors in energy estimation, both in the frameworks of particular models of the Galactic magnetic field and treating the direction and the amount of deflection as free parameters. The study suggests that an unknown regular component of either Galactic or extragalactic magnetic field may dominate over modelled components in the direction of the cluster. Possible sources of the cosmic rays in that direction are considered.