Detectability of southern gamma-ray sources beyond 100 TeV with ALPAQUITA, the prototype experiment of ALPACA

Abstract

Andes Large-area PArticle detector for Cosmic-ray physics and Astronomy (ALPACA) is an international experiment that applies southern very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray astronomy to determine the origin of cosmic rays around the knee energy region ($10^{15}\mathrm{eV}-10^{16}\mathrm{eV}$). The experiment consists of an air shower (AS) array with a surface of $83,000{\mathrm{m}}^2$ and an underground water Cherenkov muon detector (MD) array covering $5,400{\mathrm{m}}^2$. The experimental site is at the Mt. Chacaltaya plateau in La Paz, Bolivia, with an altitude of $4,740\mathrm{m}$ corresponding to $572\mathrm{g}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ atmospheric thickness. As the prototype experiment of ALPACA, the ALPAQUITA experiment aims to begin data acquisition in late 2021. The ALPAQUITA array consists of a smaller AS array ($18,450{\mathrm{m}}^2$) and underground MD ($900{\mathrm{m}}^2$), which are now under construction. ALPAQUITA's sensitivity to gamma-ray sources is evaluated with Monte Carlo simulations. The simulation finds that five gamma-ray sources observed by H.E.S.S. and HAWC experiments will be detected by ALPAQUITA beyond 10 TeV and one out of these five - HESS J1702-420A - above 300 TeV in one calendar year observation. The latter finding means that scientific discussions can be made on the emission mechanism of gamma rays beyond 100 TeV from southern sources on the basis of the observational results of this prototype experiment.

This is the manuscript accepted by Experimental Astronomy. For the published article, see https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-021-09796-8

References in corpus (16)

• Detection of the Characteristic Pion-Decay Signature in Supernova Remnants
• Observations of the young supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946 with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• Multiple Galactic Sources with Emission Above 56 TeV Detected by HAWC
• First Detection of sub-PeV Diffuse Gamma Rays from the Galactic Disk: Evidence for Ubiquitous Galactic Cosmic Rays beyond PeV Energies
• HESS VHE Gamma-Ray Sources Without Identified Counterparts
• Non linear particle acceleration at non-relativistic shock waves in the presence of self-generated turbulence
• The observation of the Crab Nebula with LHAASO-KM2A for the performance study
• Absorption of Very High Energy Gamma Rays in the Milky Way
• HAWC observations of the acceleration of very-high-energy cosmic rays in the Cygnus Cocoon
• Potential PeVatron supernova remnant G106.3+2.7 seen in the highest-energy gamma rays
• Northern sky Galactic Cosmic Ray anisotropy between 10-1000 TeV with the Tibet Air Shower Array
• HAWC J2227+610 and its association with G106.3+2.7, a new potential Galactic PeVatron
• Gamma-ray Observation of the Cygnus Region in the 100 TeV Energy Region
• Search for Pulsar Wind Nebula Associations of Unidentified TeV Gamma-Ray Sources
• Evaluation of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field Strength Using the Cosmic-Ray Shadow of the Sun
• Gamma-ray emission revealed at the western edge of SNR G344.7-0.1

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Where are Milky Way's Hadronic PeVatrons?
• Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to spectral signatures of hadronic PeVatrons with application to Galactic Supernova Remnants
• Observation of gamma rays up to 320 TeV from the middle-aged TeV pulsar wind nebula HESS J1849$-$000
• Future developments in ground-based gamma-ray astronomy