Optimising the design of water-Cherenkov detectors for gamma-ray astronomy

优化伽马射线天文学水切伦科夫探测器的设计

• 批准号: 438123869
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Stefan Funk
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics (ECAP)
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2019-12-31 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/438123869?language=en
• 关键词: Optimising; design; water; Cherenkov; detectors

When a high-energy gamma ray enters the atmosphere it initiates the production of a particle cascade commonly known as an extensive air shower. The particles in these air showers can be recorded with arrays of particle detectors. Currently, gamma-ray observatories are surveying successfully the northern hemisphere using this technique (most notably HAWC), but no such facility exists in the south. This type of observatory is characterised by its wide field-of-view and deep high-energy exposure, making it ideal to observe the galactic centre and the large emission regions like the Fermi-Bubbles (both in the southern sky). The objective of this proposal is to optimise the design of a water-Cherenkov detection unit, which is the fundamental building block of a future observatory to be built in South America at a high altitude site. This proposal is a cooperation between the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik in Heidelberg (MPIK) and the Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics (ECAP) at the Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. The outcome of this proposal will be a crucial contribution the final design of the Southern Wide field-of-view Gamma-ray Observatory, but can also be generalised to other applications using water-Cherenkov detectors.

当高能伽马射线进入大气层时，它开始产生粒子级联，通常被称为大范围空气簇射。这些空气簇射中的粒子可以用粒子探测器阵列进行记录。目前，伽马射线观测站正在成功地使用这项技术(最著名的是HAWC)对北半球进行测量，但南部没有这样的设施。这类天文台的特点是视野宽广，高能曝光深度大，是观测银河系中心和费米-气泡等大型发射区(均位于南部天空)的理想选择。这项提议的目标是优化水切伦科夫探测单元的设计，该单元是未来将在南美洲高海拔地点建造的天文台的基本构件。这项建议是海德堡的马克斯·普朗克-科恩西克研究所(MPIK)和位于埃尔兰根-纽伦堡大学的埃尔兰根天体粒子物理中心(ECAP)之间的合作。这一提议的结果将是对南方广视场伽马射线观测站最终设计的关键贡献，但也可以推广到使用水-切伦科夫探测器的其他应用。