New air fluorescence detectors employed in the Telescope Array experiment
H. Tokuno, Y. Tameda, M. Takeda, K. Kadota, D. Ikeda, M. Chikawa, T. Fujii, M. Fukushima, K. Honda, N. Inoue, F. Kakimoto, S. Kawana, E. Kido, J. N. Matthews, T… 展开作者
H. Tokuno, Y. Tameda, M. Takeda, K. Kadota, D. Ikeda, M. Chikawa, T. Fujii, M. Fukushima, K. Honda, N. Inoue, F. Kakimoto, S. Kawana, E. Kido, J. N. Matthews, T. Nonaka, S. Ogio, T. Okuda, S. Ozawa, H. Sagawa, N. Sakurai, T. Shibata, A. Taketa, S. B. Thomas, T. Tomida, Y. Tsunesada, S. Udo, T. Abu-zayyad, R. Aida, M. Allen, R. Anderson, R. Azuma, E. Barcikowski, J. W. Belz, D. R. Bergman, S. A. Blake, R. Cady, B. G. Cheon, J. Chiba, E. J. Cho, W. R. Cho, H. Fujii, T. Fukuda, D. Gorbunov, W. Hanlon, K. Hayashi, Y. Hayashi, N. Hayashida, K. Hibino, K. Hiyama, T. Iguchi, K. Ikuta, T. Ishii, R. Ishimori, D. Ivanov, S. Iwamoto, C. C. H. Jui, O. Kalashev, T. Kanbe, K. Kasahara, H. Kawai, S. Kawakami, H. B. Kim, H. K. Kim, J. H. Kim, J. H. Kim, K. Kitamoto, K. Kobayashi, Y. Kobayashi, Y. Kondo, K. Kuramoto, V. Kuzmin, Y. J. Kwon, S. I. Lim, S. Machida, K. Martens, J. Martineau, T. Matsuda, T. Matsuura, T. Matsuyama, I. Myers, M. Minamino, K. Miyata, H. Miyauchi, Y. Murano, T. Nakamura, S. W. Nam, M. Ohnishi, H. Ohoka, K. Oki, D. Oku, A. Oshima, I. H. Park, M. S. Pshirkov, D. Rodriguez, S. Y. Roh, G. Rubtsov, D. Ryu, A. L. Sampson, L. M. Scott, P. D. Shah, F. Shibata, H. Shimodaira, B. K. Shin, J. I. Shin, T. Shirahama, J. D. Smith, P. Sokolsky, T. J. Sonley, R. W. Springer, B. T. Stokes, S. R. Stratton, T. Stroman, S. Suzuki, Y. Takahashi, M. Takita, H. Tanaka, K. Tanaka, M. Tanaka, G. B. Thomson, P. Tinyakov, I. Tkachev, S. Troitsky, K. Tsutsumi, Y. Tsuyuguchi, Y. Uchihori, H. Ukai, G. Vasiloff, Y. Wada, T. Wong, M. Wood, Y. Yamakawa, H. Yamaoka, K. Yamazaki, J. Yang, S. Yoshida, H. Yoshii, R. Zollinger, Z. Zundel
Since 2007, the Telescope Array (TA) experiment, based in Utah, USA, has been observing ultra high energy cosmic rays to understand their origins. The experiment involves a surface detector (SD) array and three fluorescence detector (FD) stations. FD stations, installed surrounding the SD array, measure the air fluorescence light emitted from extensive air showers (EASs) for precise determination of their energies and species. The detectors employed at one of the three FD stations were relocated from the High Resolution Fly's Eye experiment. At the other two stations, newly designed detectors were constructed for the TA experiment. An FD consists of a primary mirror and a camera equipped with photomultiplier tubes. To obtain the EAS parameters with high accuracies, understanding the FD optical characteristics is important. In this paper, we report the characteristics and installation of new FDs and the performances of the FD components. The results of the monitored mirror reflectance during the observation time are also described in this report.
We review all existing air-fluorescence measurements of the elongation rate of extensive air showers (slope of mean EAS shower maximum (Xmax) vs log of shower energy E) above 1017 eV. We find remarkable agreement for all current and historic experiments over a 30 year period for the energy range from 1017 to 3x1018 eV. The mean elongation rate in this energy interval is near 80 gm/cm2/decade Above this energy, experiments in the Northern hemisphere are in good agreement with an average elongation rate of 48 +/- 10 gm/cm2/decade while Southern hemisphere experiments have a flatter elongation ra…
In this work, we present a method for absolute measurement of air fluorescence yield based on high resolution optical emission spectroscopy. The absolute measurement of the air fluorescence yield is feasible using the Cherenkov light, emitted by an electron beam simultaneously with the fluorescence light, as a "standard candle". The separation of these two radiations can be accomplished exploiting the "dark" spectral regions of the emission band systems of the molecular spectrum of nitrogen. In these "dark" regions the net Cherenkov light can be recorded experimentally and be compared with the…
Improved statistics and mass-composition-sensitive observation are required to clarify the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). Inevitably in the future, the UHECR observatories will have to be expanded due to the small flux; however, the upgrade will be expensive with the detectors currently in use. Hence, we are developing a new fluorescence detector for UHECR observation. The proposed fluorescence detector, called cosmic ray air fluorescence Fresnel-lens telescope (CRAFFT), has an extremely simple structure and can observe the longitudinal development of an air shower. Furtherm…
First Detection of Extensive Air Showers Using a Small-Aperture Fluorescence Telescope
D.V. Skobelstyn Institue of Nuclear Physics, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University（莫斯科国立大学D.V.斯科别尔钦核物理研究所）；Faculty of Physics of M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University（莫斯科国立大学物理系）；Cosmic Ray Department, Yerevan Physics Institute（埃里温物理研究所宇宙射线部）
A small contribution of molecular Bremsstrahlung radiation to the air-fluorescence yield in the UV range is estimated based on an approach previously developed in the framework of the radio-detection of showers in the gigahertz frequency range. First, this approach is shown to provide an estimate of the main contribution of the fluorescence yield due to the de-excitation of the C $^3Π_{\mathrm{u}}$ electronic level of nitrogen molecules to the B $^3Π_{\mathrm{g}}$ one amounting to $Y_{[337]}=(6.05\pm 1.50)~$ MeV$^{-1}$ at 800 hPa pressure and 293 K temperature conditions, which compares well t…
Developed as NASA Astrophysics Probe-class mission, the Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) is designed to identify the sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and to observe cosmic neutrinos. POEMMA consists of two spacecraft flying in a loose formation at 525 km altitude, 28.5$^\circ$ inclination orbits. Each spacecraft hosts a Schmidt telescope with a large collecting area and wide Field-of-View (FoV). A novel focal plane is employed that is optimized to observe both the UV fluorescence signal from extensive air showers (EASs) and the optical Cherenkov signals f…
The JEM-EUSO mission aims to explore the origin of the extreme energy cosmic rays (EECRs) through the observation of air-shower fluorescence light from space. The superwide-field telescope looks down from the International Space Station onto the night sky to detect UV photons (fluorescence and Cherenkov photons) emitted from air showers. Such a space detector offers the remarkable opportunity to observe a huge volume of atmosphere at once and will achieve an unprecedented statistics within a few years of operation. Several test experiments are currently in operation: e.g., one to observe the f…
Atmospheric multiple scattering of fluorescence light from extensive air showers and effect of the aerosol size on the reconstruction of energy and depth of maximum
Cherenkov telescopes are also sensitive to the atmospheric fluorescence produced by the extensive air showers. However this contribution is neglected by the reconstruction algorithms of imaging air Cherenkov telescopes IACTs and wide-angle Cherenkov detectors WACDs. In this paper we evaluate the fluorescence contamination in the Cherenkov signals from MC simulations in both kinds of Cherenkov telescopes and for some typical observational situations. Results for an observation level of 2200 m a.s.l. are shown. In addition, the feasibility and capabilities of IACTs working as fluorescence telesc…
This proceeding gives a summary of the current status and open questions of the radio technique for cosmic-ray air showers, assuming that the reader is already familiar with the principles. It includes recent results of selected experiments not present at this conference, e.g., LOPES and TREND. Current radio arrays like AERA or Tunka-Rex have demonstrated that areas of several km^2 can be instrumented for reasonable costs with antenna spacings of the order of 200 m. For the energy of the primary particle such sparse antenna arrays can already compete in absolute accuracy with other precise tec…
Tau neutrinos with energies in the PeV-EeV range produce up-going extensive air showers (UEAS) if they interact underground close enough to the surface of the Earth. This work studies detectability of the UEAS with a system of fluorescence telescopes overlooking dark, low reflectivity, area on the ground up to the distances 20-30 km from mountain top(s). Such system could provide sensitivity sufficient for accumulation of the astrophysical neutrino signal statistics at the rate ten(s) events per year in the energy range beyond 10 PeV, thus allowing to extend the energy frontier of neutrino ast…
EUSO-TA is a ground-based florescence detector built to validate the design of an ultra-high energy cosmic ray fluorescence detector to be operated in space. EUSO-TA detected the first air shower events with the technology developed within the JEM-EUSO program. It operates at the Telescope Array (TA) site in Utah, USA. With the external trigger provided by the Black Rock Mesa fluorescence detectors of Telescope Array (TA-FDs), EUSO-TA observed nine ultra-high energy cosmic ray events and several laser events from the Central Laser Facility of Telescope Array and portable lasers like the JEM-EU…
This Letter of Intent (LoI) describes the outline and plan for the Neutrino Telescope Array (NTA) project. High-energy neutrinos provide unique and indisputable evidence for hadronic acceleration. Recently, IceCube has reported astronomical neutrino candidates in excess of expectation from atmospheric secondaries, but is limited by the water Cherenkov detection method. A next generation high-energy neutrino telescope should be capable of establishing indisputable evidence for cosmic high-energy neutrinos. It should not only have orders-of-magnitude larger sensitivity, but also enough pointing …
The last 20 years have seen the development of new techniques in Astroparticle Physics providing access to the highest end of the electromagnetic spectrum. It has been shown that some sources emit photons up to energies close to 100 TeV. Yet the fluxes of these photons are incredibly low and new detection techniques are needed to go higher in energy. A new technique that would use the new generation of Cherenkov Telescopes, i.e., the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), is proposed to push further the energy frontier. It is based on the detection of the fluorescence radiation emitted in extensive …
Possibility of Using a Satellite-Based Detector for Recording Cherenkov Light from Ultrahigh-Energy Extensive Air Showers Penetrating into the Ocean Water
The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA), at the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina, measures the radio emission of extensive air showers in the 30-80 MHz frequency range. AERA consists of more than 150 antenna stations distributed over 17 km$^2$. Together with the Auger surface detector, the fluorescence detector and the under-ground muon detector (AMIGA), AERA is able to measure cosmic rays with energies above 10$^{17}$ eV in a hybrid detection mode. AERA is optimized for the detection of air showers up to 60$^{\circ}$ zenith angle, however, using the reconstruction of horizontal air show…
An established technique for the measurement of ultra-high-energy-cosmic-rays is the detection of the fluorescence light induced in the atmosphere of the Earth, by means of telescopes equipped with photomultiplier tubes. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) promise an increase in the photon detection efficiency which outperforms conventional photomultiplier tubes. In combination with their compact package, a moderate bias voltage of several ten volt and single photon resolution, the use of SiPMs can improve the energy and spatial resolution of air fluorescence measurements, and lead to a gain in i…
It is generally assumed that fluorescence radiation does not play a significant role in the performance of Cherenkov telescopes. However, this assumption is required to be verified using detailed Monte Carlo simulations. In order to do this, we have implemented the production and tracking of fluorescence radiation inside the CORSIKA code, and simulated gamma-ray induced showers in the very high energy range. The most accurate fluorescence-yield data available so far was used for this purpose. The distribution of both light components on the ground has been studied as a function of various para…
Analysis of Fluorescence Telescope Data Using Machine Learning Methods
D.V. Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991 Russia（D.V. Skobeltsyn核物理研究所，莫斯科国立大学，莫斯科）；Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991 Russia（计算数学与 cybernetics 学院，莫斯科国立大学，莫斯科）
Telescopes, designed with semi-conductor based photo sensors, have the potential to detect Cherenkov or fluorescence light emitted by cosmic-rays in the atmosphere. Such telescopes promise a high duty cycle and efficiency in remote harsh environments. Given the relatively low costs and robustness of these instruments, this technology could prove interesting especially if deployed in large numbers with existing and future extended cosmic-ray and gamma ray detectors, including the Pierre Auger observatory, HAWC, IceCube and CTA. They may have the potential to enhance the sensitivity of these ins…
The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) aims to detect extensive air showers caused by the interactions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with the Earth's atmosphere, providing complementary information to the Auger surface, fluorescence and muon detectors. AERA, currently consisting of 124 radio stations, comprises an area of about 6 km$^{2}$. The main objective for exploiting a radio detector is to measure the fundamental air-shower parameters, such as the direction, energy and composition. We have developed reconstruction strategies and algorithms to precisely measure the air-shower paramet…
This paper investigates the potential to detect tau neutrinos in the energy range of 1-1000 PeV searching for very inclined showers with imaging Cherenkov telescopes. A neutrino induced tau lepton escaping from the Earth may decay and initiate an air shower which can be detected by a fluorescence or Cherenkov telescope. We present here a study of the detection potential of Earth-skimming neutrinos taking into account neutrino interactions in the Earth crust, local matter distributions at various detector sites, the development of tau-induced showers in air and the detection of Cherenkov photon…
We present a detailed statistical treatment of the energy calibration of hybrid air-shower detectors, which combine a surface detector array and a fluorescence detector, to obtain an unbiased estimate of the calibration curve. The special features of calibration data from air showers prevent unbiased results, if a standard least-squares fit is applied to the problem. We develop a general maximum-likelihood approach, based on the detailed statistical model, to solve the problem. Our approach was developed for the Pierre Auger Observatory, but the applied principles are general and can be transf…
