Layered water Cherenkov detector for the study of ultra high energy cosmic rays

Abstract

We present a new design for the water Cherenkov detectors that are in use in various cosmic ray observatories. This novel design can provide a significant improvement in the independent measurement of the muonic and electromagnetic component of extensive air showers. From such multi-component data an event by event classification of the primary cosmic ray mass becomes possible. According to popular hadronic interaction models, such as EPOS-LHC or QGSJetII-04, the discriminating power between iron and hydrogen primaries reaches Fisher values of $\sim$ 2 or above for energies in excess of $10^{19}$ eV with a detector array layout similar to that of the Pierre Auger Observatory.

17 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods A

References in corpus (4)

• The Cosmic Ray Energy Spectrum Observed with the Surface Detector of the Telescope Array Experiment
• Calibration of the Surface Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory
• The Optimum Distance at which to Determine the Size of a Giant Air Shower
• The Pierre Auger Observatory I: The Cosmic Ray Energy Spectrum and Related Measurements

Cited by in corpus (9)

• AugerPrime: the Pierre Auger Observatory Upgrade
• Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays: The Intersection of the Cosmic and Energy Frontiers
• GCOS -- The Global Cosmic Ray Observatory
• A Double Layered Water Cherenkov Detector Array for Gamma-Ray Astronomy
• Science with the Global Cosmic-ray Observatory (GCOS)
• $P_{\gamma h}^{\alpha }$: a new variable for $\gamma /\mathrm{h}$ discrimination in large gamma-ray ground arrays
• Azimuthal fluctuations and number of muons at the ground in muon-depleted proton air showers at PeV energies
• Towards Searching for Photons with Energies beyond the PeV Range from Galactic PeVatrons
• The Scintillator Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory