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

当高能伽马射线进入大气层时，它会引发粒子级联的产生，通常被称为大面积的空气阵雨。这些空气阵雨中的粒子可以用粒子探测器阵列记录下来。目前，伽玛射线观测站使用这种技术（最著名的是HAWC）成功地测量了北半球，但在南半球没有这样的设施。这种类型的天文台的特点是其广阔的视野和深度的高能曝光，使其成为观测银河系中心和像费米气泡这样的大发射区域（都在南部天空）的理想选择。该提案的目的是优化水-切伦科夫探测单元的设计，这是未来在南美洲高海拔地区建造天文台的基本组成部分。这个提议是海德堡的马克斯普朗克研究所（MPIK）和位于Universität Erlangen- n<s:1> rnberg的Erlangen天体粒子物理中心（ECAP）之间的合作。这项提议的结果将对南方宽视场伽玛射线天文台的最终设计做出重要贡献，但也可以推广到使用水-切伦科夫探测器的其他应用中。

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.