Calibration of the Logarithmic-Periodic Dipole Antenna (LPDA) Radio Stations at the Pierre Auger Observatory using an Octocopter

Abstract

An in-situ calibration of a logarithmic periodic dipole antenna with a frequency coverage of 30 MHz to 80 MHz is performed. Such antennas are part of a radio station system used for detection of cosmic ray induced air showers at the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the so-called Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA). The directional and frequency characteristics of the broadband antenna are investigated using a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) carrying a small transmitting antenna. The antenna sensitivity is described by the vector effective length relating the measured voltage with the electric-field components perpendicular to the incoming signal direction. The horizontal and meridional components are determined with an overall uncertainty of 7.4^{+0.9}_{-0.3} % and 10.3^{+2.8}_{-1.7} % respectively. The measurement is used to correct a simulated response of the frequency and directional response of the antenna. In addition, the influence of the ground conductivity and permittivity on the antenna response is simulated. Both have a negligible influence given the ground conditions measured at the detector site. The overall uncertainties of the vector effective length components result in an uncertainty of 8.8^{+2.1}_{-1.3} % in the square root of the energy fluence for incoming signal directions with zenith angles smaller than 60°.

Published version. Updated online abstract only. Manuscript is unchanged with respect to v2. 39 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables

References in corpus (8)

• Radio detection of Cosmic-Ray Air Showers and High-Energy Neutrinos
• Antennas for the Detection of Radio Emission Pulses from Cosmic-Ray induced Air Showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Radioelectric Field Features of Extensive Air Showers Observed with CODALEMA
• Reconstruction of the energy and depth of maximum of cosmic-ray air-showers from LOPES radio measurements
• Polarized radio emission from extensive air showers measured with LOFAR
• The radio emission pattern of air showers as measured with LOFAR - a tool for the reconstruction of the energy and the shower maximum
• First Experimental Characterization of Microwave Emission from Cosmic Ray Air Showers
• The Rapid Atmospheric Monitoring System of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Cited by in corpus (14)

• Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays: The Intersection of the Cosmic and Energy Frontiers
• Observation of inclined EeV air showers with the radio detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Determination of the absolute energy scale of extensive air showers via radio emission: systematic uncertainty of underlying first-principle calculations
• Calibration of the LOFAR low-band antennas using the Galaxy and a model of the signal chain
• Reconstructing the neutrino energy for in-ice radio detectors
• Autonomous radiodetection of air showers with the TREND50 antenna array
• Final results of the LOPES radio interferometer for cosmic-ray air showers
• Radio detection of cosmic rays with the Auger Engineering Radio Array
• Influence of a planar boundary on the electric field emitted by a particle shower
• Uncertainties of the 30-408 MHz Galactic emission as a calibration source for radio detectors in astroparticle physics
• Radio Detection of ultra-high-energy Cosmic-Ray Air Showers
• Radio Detection of Cosmic Rays -- Achievements and Future Potential
• A novel method for the absolute energy calibration of large-scale cosmic-ray detectors using radio emission of extensive air showers
• Air Shower Detection by Arrays of Radio Antennas (ISVHECRI 2018)