Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Assis, P.
• Bakalová, A.
• Barres de Almeida, U.
• Brogueira, P.
• Conceição, R.
• De Angelis, A.
• Gibilisco, L.
• González, B. S.
• Guillén, A.
• La Mura, G.
• Mendes, L. M. D.
• Mendes, L. F.
• Pimenta, M.
• Shellard, R. C.
• Tomé, B.
• Vícha, J.

Titel

The Mercedes water Cherenkov detector

Ist Teil von

• The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields, 2022-10, Vol.82 (10), p.1-8, Article 899

Ort / Verlag

Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Quelle

Free E-Journal (出版社公開部分のみ）

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The concept of a small, single-layer water Cherenkov detector, with three photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), placed at its bottom in a 120 ∘ star configuration ( Mercedes Water Cherenkov Detector) is presented. The PMTs are placed near the lateral walls of the stations with an adjustable inclination and may be installed inside or outside the water volume. To illustrate the technical viability of this concept and obtain a first-order estimation of its cost, an engineering design was elaborated. The sensitivity of these stations to low energy Extensive Air Shower (EAS) electrons, photons and muons is discussed, both in compact and sparse array configurations. It is shown that the analysis of the intensity and time patterns of the PMT signals, using machine learning techniques, enables the tagging of muons, achieving an excellent gamma/hadron discrimination for TeV showers. This concept minimises the station production and maintenance costs, allowing for a highly flexible and fast installation. Mercedes Water Cherenkov Detectors (WCDs) are thus well-suited for use in high-altitude large gamma-ray observatories covering an extended energy range from the low energies, closing the gap between satellite and ground-based measurements, to very high energy regions, beyond the PeV scale.