We present the analysis of the arrival direction distribution of the highest-energy cosmic rays detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory. The data collected to date, with a total exposure of approximately 90,000 km2 sr yr, allow us a precise characterisation of the patterns in the arrival direction distribution.
An update of the two largest departures from isotropy already reported is discussed here. The region of the sky close to the direction of Centaurus A is analyzed and the correlation with the positions of the most luminous AGNs detected by Swift-BAT is investigated.
We also examine the correlation of our highest energy events with two populations of extragalactic sources of gamma rays, namely star-forming galaxies and AGNs motivated by the observations of the Fermi-LAT satellite. In this new search, a likelihood analysis is adopted which gives weights to the individual sources in proportion to their fluxes. The same flux-weighted search for an angular correlation with the extragalactic sources listed in the Swift-BAT catalog is also performed.
The significances of the excesses around Centaurs A and the most luminous AGNs detected by Swift-BAT have increased and reached to the 3σ level approximately. An excess at 2.7σ level is found for the gamma-ray AGNs while for the star-forming galaxies there is a 4σ deviation from isotropy for energies greater than 39 EeV at an intermediate angular scale of 13◦.