The Pierre Auger Observatory, located in western Argentina, is the world’s largest cosmic-ray observatory. While it was originally built to study the cosmic-ray flux above 1018.5 eV, several enhancements have reduced this energy threshold. One such enhancement is a surface array composed of a triangular grid of 19 water-Cherenkov detectors separated by 433 m (SD-433) to explore the energies down to about 1016 eV. We are developing two research lines employing the SD-433. Firstly, we will measure the energy spectrum in a region where previous experiments have shown evidence of the second knee. Secondly, we will search for ultra-high energy photons to study PeV cosmic-ray sources residing in the Galactic center. In this work, we introduce the SD-433 and we show that it is fully efficient above 5×1016 eV for hadronic primaries with θ < 45°. Using seven years of data, we present the parametrization of the lateral distribution function of measured signals. Finally, we show that an angular resolution of 1.8° (0.5°) can be attained at the lowest (highest) primary energies. Our study lays the goundmark for measurements in the energy range above 1016 eV by utilizing the SD-433 and thus expanding the scientific output of the Auger surface detector.

Performance of the 433 m surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory / Silli, G., Abreu, P., Aglietta, M., Albury, J.M., Allekotte, I., Almela, A., Alvarez-Muniz, J., Alves Batista, R., Anastasi, G.A., Anchordoqui, L., Andrada, B., Andringa, S., Aramo, C., Araujo Ferreira, P.R., Arteaga Velazquez, J.C., Asorey, H., Assis, P., Avila, G., Badescu, A.M., Bakalova, A., et al.. - In: POS PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENCE. - ISSN 1824-8039. - 395:(2022), pp. 1-12. (37th International cosmic ray conference, ICRC 2021 Berlin, Germany ) [10.22323/1.395.0224].

Performance of the 433 m surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Mastrodicasa M.;
2022

Abstract

The Pierre Auger Observatory, located in western Argentina, is the world’s largest cosmic-ray observatory. While it was originally built to study the cosmic-ray flux above 1018.5 eV, several enhancements have reduced this energy threshold. One such enhancement is a surface array composed of a triangular grid of 19 water-Cherenkov detectors separated by 433 m (SD-433) to explore the energies down to about 1016 eV. We are developing two research lines employing the SD-433. Firstly, we will measure the energy spectrum in a region where previous experiments have shown evidence of the second knee. Secondly, we will search for ultra-high energy photons to study PeV cosmic-ray sources residing in the Galactic center. In this work, we introduce the SD-433 and we show that it is fully efficient above 5×1016 eV for hadronic primaries with θ < 45°. Using seven years of data, we present the parametrization of the lateral distribution function of measured signals. Finally, we show that an angular resolution of 1.8° (0.5°) can be attained at the lowest (highest) primary energies. Our study lays the goundmark for measurements in the energy range above 1016 eV by utilizing the SD-433 and thus expanding the scientific output of the Auger surface detector.
2022
37th International cosmic ray conference, ICRC 2021
pierre auger observatory; cosmic rays; surface detector
04 Pubblicazione in atti di convegno::04c Atto di convegno in rivista
Performance of the 433 m surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory / Silli, G., Abreu, P., Aglietta, M., Albury, J.M., Allekotte, I., Almela, A., Alvarez-Muniz, J., Alves Batista, R., Anastasi, G.A., Anchordoqui, L., Andrada, B., Andringa, S., Aramo, C., Araujo Ferreira, P.R., Arteaga Velazquez, J.C., Asorey, H., Assis, P., Avila, G., Badescu, A.M., Bakalova, A., et al.. - In: POS PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENCE. - ISSN 1824-8039. - 395:(2022), pp. 1-12. (37th International cosmic ray conference, ICRC 2021 Berlin, Germany ) [10.22323/1.395.0224].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1752523
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