First results from the TUS orbital detector in the extensive air shower mode

Abstract

TUS (Tracking Ultraviolet Set-up), the first orbital detector of extreme energy cosmic rays (EECRs), those with energies above 50 EeV, was launched into orbit on April 28, 2016, as a part of the Lomonosov satellite scientific payload. The main aim of the mission is to test a technique of registering fluorescent and Cherenkov radiation of extensive air showers generated by EECRs in the atmosphere with a space telescope. We present preliminary results of its operation in a mode dedicated to registering extensive air showers in the period from August 16, 2016, to November 4, 2016. No EECRs have been conclusively identified in the data yet, but the diversity of ultraviolet emission in the atmosphere was found to be unexpectedly rich. We discuss typical examples of data obtained with TUS and their possible origin. The data is important for obtaining more accurate estimates of the nocturnal ultraviolet glow of the atmosphere, necessary for successful development of more advanced orbital EECR detectors including those of the KLYPVE (K-EUSO) and JEM-EUSO missions.

arXiv comment18 pages; v2: references fixed; v3: minor changes to address referee's comments

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Cited by in corpus (8)

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• An extensive-air-shower-like event registered with the TUS orbital detector
• Kinematics reconstruction of the EAS-like events registered by the TUS detector
• Application of neural networks to classification of data of the TUS orbital telescope
• Prospects of detecting a large-scale anisotropy of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays from a nearby source with the K-EUSO orbital telescope
• Neural Network Based Approach to Recognition of Meteor Tracks in the Mini-EUSO Telescope Data
• Prospects of observing gamma-ray bursts with orbital detectors of ultra-high energy cosmic rays
• The RUBIK satellite payload concept: a 3D-segmented plastic scintillation-based particle tracking detector