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On the significance of the observed clustering of ultra-high energy cosmic rays

Three pairs of possibly correlated ultra-high energy cosmic ray events were reported by Hayashida et al (1996). Here we calculate the propagation of the corresponding particles through both the intergalactic and galactic magnetic fields. The large scale disc and halo magnetic components are approximated by the models of Stanev (1997). The intergalactic magnetic field intensity is modulated by the actual density of luminous matter along the corresponding lines of sight, calculated from the CfA redshift catalogue (Huchra et al, 1995). The results indicate that, if the events of each pair had a common source and were simultaneously produced, they either originated inside the galactic halo or otherwise very unlikely events were observed. On the other hand, an estimate of the arrival probability of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, under the assumption that the distribution of luminous matter in the nearby universe traces the distribution of the sources of the particles and intensity of the intergalactic magnetic field, suggests that the pairs are chance clusterings.