51. Measurement of the water-Cherenkov detector response to inclined muons using an RPC hodoscopePedro Assis, Andrej Filipčič, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Ahmed Saleh, Samo Stanič, Marta Trini, Darko Veberič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, 2015, objavljeni znanstveni prispevek na konferenci Opis: The Pierre Auger Observatory operates a hybrid detector
composed of a Fluorescence Detector and a Surface Detector
array. Water-Cherenkov detectors (WCD) are the building blocks
of the array and as such play a key role in the detection of
secondary particles at the ground. A good knowledge of the
detector response is of paramount importance to lower
systematic uncertainties and thus to increase the capability
of the experiment in determining the muon content of the
extensive air showers with a higher precision.
In this work we report on a detailed study of the detector
response to single muons as a function of their trajectories
in the WCD. A dedicated Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC)
hodoscope was built and installed around one of the detectors.
The hodoscope is formed by two stand-alone low gas flux
segmented RPC detectors with the test water-Cherenkov detector
placed in between. The segmentation of the RPC detectors is of
the order of 10 cm. The hodoscope is used to trigger and
select single muon events in different geometries. The signal
recorded in the water-Cherenkov detector and performance
estimators were studied as a function of the trajectories of
the muons and compared with a dedicated simulation.
An agreement at the percent level was found, showing that the
simulation correctly describes the tank response.
Ključne besede: Pierre Auger Observatory, Water-Cherenkov detectors, detector calibration, inclined cosmic ray muons, Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) hodoscope
Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.03.2016; Ogledov: 4744; Prenosov: 198
 Celotno besedilo (1,27 MB) |
52. Studies in the atmospheric monitoring at the Pierre Auger Observatory using the upgraded Central Laser FacilityCarlos Medina-Hernandez, Andrej Filipčič, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Ahmed Saleh, Samo Stanič, Marta Trini, Darko Veberič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, 2015, objavljeni znanstveni prispevek na konferenci Opis: The Fluorescence Detector (FD) at the Pierre Auger Observatory
measures the intensity of the scattered light from laser tracks
generated by the Central Laser Facility (CLF) and the eXtreme
Laser Facility (XLF) to monitor and estimate the vertical
aerosol optical depth (τ(z,t)). This measurement is needed to
obtain unbiased and reliable FD measurements of the arrival
direction and energy of the primary cosmic ray, and the depth
of the maximum shower development. The CLF was upgraded
substantially in 2013 with the addition of a solid state laser,
new generation GPS, a robotic beam calibration system, better
thermal and dust isolation, and improved software. The upgrade
also included a back-scatter Raman LIDAR to measure τ(z,t).
The new features and applications of the upgraded instrument
are described. These include the laser energy calibration
and the atmospheric monitoring measurements. The first τ(z,t)
results and comparisons after the upgrade are presented using different methods. The first method compares the FD hourly
response to the scattered light from the CLF (or XLF) against
a reference hourly profile measured during a clear night where
zero aerosol contents are assumed. The second method simulates
FD responses with different atmospheric parameters and selects the parameters that provide the best fit to the actual FD
response. A third method uses the new Raman LIDAR receiver
in-situ to measure the back-scatter light from the CLF laser.
The results show a good data agreement for the first and second
methods using FD stations located at the same distance from the
facilities. Preliminary results of τ(z,t) using the Raman LIDAR
are presented as well.
Ključne besede: Pierre Auger Observatory, extensive air showers, the Fluorescence Detector, atmospheric monitoring, vertical aerosol optical depth, the Central Laser Facility, the eXtreme Laser Facility
Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.03.2016; Ogledov: 4912; Prenosov: 182
Celotno besedilo (3,96 MB) |
53. Solar Cycle Modulation of Cosmic Rays Observed with the Low Energy Modes of the Pierre Auger ObservatoryJimmy Masías-Meza, Andrej Filipčič, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Ahmed Saleh, Samo Stanič, Marta Trini, Darko Veberič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, 2015, objavljeni znanstveni prispevek na konferenci Opis: The low energy modes of the surface detector array of the
Pierre Auger Observatory record variations in the flux of low
energy secondary particles with extreme detail. These two modes
consist of recording (1) the rate of signals for energies
between ∼15 MeV and ∼100 MeV (the Scaler mode) and (2) the
calibration charge histograms of the individual pulses detected
by each water-Cherenkov station, covering different energy
channels up to ∼1 GeV (the Histogram mode). Previous work has
studied the flux of galactic cosmic rays on short and
intermediate time scales (i.e. from minutes to weeks) using
these low energy modes. In this work, after including a long-
term correction to the response of the detectors, we present
the first long-term analysis of the flux of cosmic rays using
scalers and two energy bands of the calibration histograms.
We show its sensitivity to the solar cycle variation and its
relation to the solar modulation of cosmic rays for an 8-year
period.
Ključne besede: Pierre Auger Observatory, Surface Detector, secondary cosmic rays, scaler mode, charge histogram mode, solar cycle modulation
Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.03.2016; Ogledov: 4880; Prenosov: 203
Celotno besedilo (533,18 KB) |
54. Azimuthal asymmetry in the risetime of the Surface Detector signals of the Pierre Auger ObservatoryIgnacio Minaya, Andrej Filipčič, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Ahmed Saleh, Samo Stanič, Marta Trini, Darko Veberič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, 2015, objavljeni znanstveni prispevek na konferenci Opis: The azimuthal asymmetry in the risetime of signals in Auger
surface detector stations is a source of information on shower
development. The azimuthal asymmetry is due to a combination of
the longitudinal evolution of the shower and geometrical
effects related to the angles of incidence of the particles
into the detectors. The magnitude of the effect depends upon
the zenith angle and state of development of the shower and
thus provides a novel observable sensitive to the mass
composition of cosmic rays above 3 × 10[sup]18 eV. By comparing
measurements with predictions from shower simulations, we find
for both of our adopted models of hadronic physics (QGSJetII-
04 and Epos-LHC) an indication that the mean cosmic-ray mass
increases with energy, as has been inferred from other studies.
However the absolute values derived for the mass are dependent
on the shower model and on the range of distance from the
shower core selected. Thus the method has uncovered further
deficiencies in our understanding of shower modelling that must
be resolved before the mass composition can be inferred from
(sec θ)max.
Ključne besede: Pierre Auger Observatory, Surface Detector, risetime of detector signal, azimuthal asymmetry, extensive air showers
Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.03.2016; Ogledov: 4718; Prenosov: 196
Celotno besedilo (243,04 KB) |
