The Pierre Auger Observatory uses 27 large-aperture wide-angle Schmidt telescopes to measure the longitudinal profile of air showers using the air-fluorescence technique. Up to the year 2013, the absolute calibration of the telescopes was performed by mounting a uniform large-diameter light source on each of the telescopes and illuminating the entire aperture with a known photon flux. Due to the high amount of work and person-power required, this procedure was only carried out roughly once every three years, and a relative calibration was performed every night to track short-term changes. Since 2013, only the relative calibration has been performed. In this paper, we present a novel tool for the absolute end-to-end calibration of the fluorescence detectors, the XY-Scanner. The XY-Scanner uses a portable integrating sphere as a light source, which has been absolutely calibrated. This light source is installed onto a motorized rail system and moved across the aperture of each telescope. We mimic the illumination of the entire aperture by flashing the light source at ∼1700 positions evenly distributed across the telescope aperture. For the absolute calibration of the light source, we built a dedicated setup that uses a NIST-calibrated photodiode to measure the average photon flux and a PMT to track the pulse-to-pulse stability. We present the laboratory setups used to study the characteristics of the employed light sources and discuss the inter-calibration between selected telescopes.

A novel tool for the absolute end-to-end calibration of fluorescence telescopes. The XY-Scanner / Schafer, C.M., Abdul Halim, A., Abreu, P., Aglietta, M., Allekotte, I., Almeida Cheminant, K., Almela, A., Aloisio, R., Alvarez-Muniz, J., Ammerman Yebra, J., Anastasi, G.A., Anchordoqui, L., Andrada, B., Andringa, S., Aramo, C., Araujo Ferreira, P.R., Arnone, E., Arteaga Velazquez, J.C., Asorey, H., Assis, P., et al.. - In: POS PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENCE. - ISSN 1824-8039. - 444:(2024), pp. 1-13. (38th International cosmic ray conference, ICRC 2023 Nagoya, Japan ) [10.22323/1.444.0305].

A novel tool for the absolute end-to-end calibration of fluorescence telescopes. The XY-Scanner

Mastrodicasa M.;
2024

Abstract

The Pierre Auger Observatory uses 27 large-aperture wide-angle Schmidt telescopes to measure the longitudinal profile of air showers using the air-fluorescence technique. Up to the year 2013, the absolute calibration of the telescopes was performed by mounting a uniform large-diameter light source on each of the telescopes and illuminating the entire aperture with a known photon flux. Due to the high amount of work and person-power required, this procedure was only carried out roughly once every three years, and a relative calibration was performed every night to track short-term changes. Since 2013, only the relative calibration has been performed. In this paper, we present a novel tool for the absolute end-to-end calibration of the fluorescence detectors, the XY-Scanner. The XY-Scanner uses a portable integrating sphere as a light source, which has been absolutely calibrated. This light source is installed onto a motorized rail system and moved across the aperture of each telescope. We mimic the illumination of the entire aperture by flashing the light source at ∼1700 positions evenly distributed across the telescope aperture. For the absolute calibration of the light source, we built a dedicated setup that uses a NIST-calibrated photodiode to measure the average photon flux and a PMT to track the pulse-to-pulse stability. We present the laboratory setups used to study the characteristics of the employed light sources and discuss the inter-calibration between selected telescopes.
2024
38th International cosmic ray conference, ICRC 2023
pierre auger observatory; cosmic rays; air showers
04 Pubblicazione in atti di convegno::04c Atto di convegno in rivista
A novel tool for the absolute end-to-end calibration of fluorescence telescopes. The XY-Scanner / Schafer, C.M., Abdul Halim, A., Abreu, P., Aglietta, M., Allekotte, I., Almeida Cheminant, K., Almela, A., Aloisio, R., Alvarez-Muniz, J., Ammerman Yebra, J., Anastasi, G.A., Anchordoqui, L., Andrada, B., Andringa, S., Aramo, C., Araujo Ferreira, P.R., Arnone, E., Arteaga Velazquez, J.C., Asorey, H., Assis, P., et al.. - In: POS PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENCE. - ISSN 1824-8039. - 444:(2024), pp. 1-13. (38th International cosmic ray conference, ICRC 2023 Nagoya, Japan ) [10.22323/1.444.0305].
File allegati a questo prodotto
File Dimensione Formato  
Schäfer_A-novel-tool_2024.pdf

accesso aperto

Note: Atto di convegno su rivista
Tipologia: Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 5.45 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
5.45 MB Adobe PDF

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1752620
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 0
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact