Measurement of air fluorescence light yield induced by an electromagnetic shower

Abstract

For most of the Ultra-High-Energy-Cosmic-Ray (UHECR) experiments and projects (HiRes, AUGER, TA, JEM-EUSO, TUS,...), the detection technique of Extensive Air Showers is based, at least, on the measurement of the air-fluorescence-induced signal. The knowledge of the Fluorescence-Light Yield (FLY) is of paramount importance for the UHECR energy reconstruction. The MACFLY experiment was designed to perform absolute measurements of the air FLY and to study its properties. Here, we report the result of measurement of dry-air FLY induced by 50 GeV electromagnetic showers as a function of the shower age and as a function of the pressure. The experiment was performed at CERN using a SPS-electron-test-beam line. The result shows the air FLY is proportional to the energy deposited in air (E_d). The ratio FLY/E_d and its pressure dependence remain constant independently of shower age, and more generally, independently of the excitation source used (single-electron track or air shower).

arXiv comment12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astropart. phys

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• Measurement of air and nitrogen fluorescence light yields induced by electron beam for UHECR experiments
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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Air Fluorescence Relevant for Cosmic-Ray Detection - Summary of the 5th Fluorescence Workshop, El Escorial 2007
• Precise measurement of the absolute fluorescence yield of the 337 nm band in atmospheric gases
• An analytical approach to the multiply scattered light in the optical images of the extensive air showers of ultra-high energies