Recent Results from KASCADE-Grande and LOPES
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1 Recent Results from KASCADE-Grande and LOPES K.-H. Kamperta∗, W.D. Apelb, J.C. Arteagac†, T. Aschd, F. Badeab, L. B¨ahrene, K. Bekkb, M. Bertainaf, P.L. Biermanng, J. Bl¨umerbc, H. Bozdogb, I.M. Brancush, M. Br¨uggemanni, P. Buchholzi, S. Buitinke, E. Cantonifj, A. Chiavassaf, F. Cossavellac, K. Daumillerb, V. de Souzac‡, F. Di Pierrof, P. Dollb, M. Enderc, R. Engelb, J. Englerb, H. Falckeek, M. Fingerb, D. Fuhrmanna, H. Gemmeked, P.L. Ghiaj, H.J. Gilsb, R. Glasstettera, C. Grupeni, A. Haungsb, D. Heckb, J.R. H¨orandele, A. Horneffere, T. Huegeb, P.G. Isarb, D. Kangc, D. Kickelbicki, H.O. Klagesb, Y. Kolotaevi, O. Kr¨omerd, J. Kuijperse, S. Lafebree, K. Linkc, P.Luczak l, M. Ludwigc, H.J. Mathesb, H.J. Mayerb, J. Milkeb, M. Melissasc, B. Mitricah, C. Morelloj, G. Navarraf, S. Nehlsb, A. Nigle, J. Oehlschl¨agerb, S. Ostapchenkob§, S. Overi, N. Palmieric, M. Petcuh, T. Pierogb, J. Rautenberga, H. Rebelb, M. Rothb, A. Saftoiuh, H. Schielerb, A. Schmidtd, F. Schr¨oderb, O. Simam, K. Singhe¶, M. St¨umpertc, G. Tomah, G. Trincheroj, H. Ulrichb, W. Walkowiaki, A. Weindlb, J. Wocheleb, M. Wommerb, J. Zabierowskil, J.A. Zensusg KASCADE-Grande and LOPES Collaboration aFachbereich Physik, Universit¨at Wuppertal, 42097 Wuppertal, Germany bInstitut f¨ur Kernphysik, Forschungszentrum, Karlsruhe, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany cInstitut f¨ur Experimentelle Kernphysik, Universit¨at Karlsruhe, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany dInst. Prozessdatenverarb. und Elektronik, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany eDept. of Astrophysics, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands f Dipartimento di Fisica Generale dell’Universit`a,10125 Torino, Italy gMax-Planck-Institut f¨ur Radioastronomie, 53010 Bonn, Germany hNational Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, P.O. Box Mg-6, RO-7690 Bucharest, Romania iFachbereich Physik, Universit¨at Siegen, 57068 Siegen, Germany jIstituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario, INAF, 10133 Torino, Italy kASTRON, 7990 AA Dwingeloo, The Netherlands lSoltan Institute for Nuclear Studies, PL-90950 Lodz, Poland mDepartment of Physics, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania KASCADE-Grande is an extensive air-shower experiment located at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany. Main parts of the experiment are the Grande array spread over an area of 700 × 700 m2, the original KASCADE array covering 200 × 200 m2 with unshielded and shielded detectors, and additional muon tracking devices. This multi-detector system allows to investigate the energy spectrum, composition, and anisotropies of cosmic rays in the energy range up to 1 EeV. LOPES is co-located at the same site to measure radio pulses from extensive air showers in coincidence with KASCADE-Grande. It consists of 30 digital antennas operated in different geometrical configurations. Read out is performed at high bandwidths and rate data processing with the aim to calibrate the emitted signal in the primary energy range of 1016 −1018 eV by making use of reconstructed air-shower observables of KASCADE-Grande. An overview on the performance of both experiments will be given and recent analysis results be reported. 1. Introduction ∗corresponding author, e-mail: kampert@uni- wuppertal.de Even 50 years after its discovery, the origin of †now at: Universidad Michoacana, Morelia, Mexico ‡now at: U.S˜ao Paulo, Inst.de Fisica de S˜ao Carlos, Brasil the ‘knee’ in the cosmic ray energy spectrum (a §now at: University of Trondheim, Norway steepening of the spectrum around 4·1015 eV) re- ¶now at: KVI, University of Groningen, The Netherlands 2 mains to be understood and considerable efforts detailed Monte-Carlo simulation program pack- are being carried out to resolve its mystery [1]. age is developed. The emission mechanism uti- Due to the low fluxes involved, the knee region is lized in the REAS code (see [10] and references only accessible to large ground based experiments therein) is embedded in the scheme of coherent designed to detect extensive air showers (EAS) geo-synchrotron radiation. This paper sketches which are induced by primary cosmic-ray parti- briefly recent results from LOPES, where the em- cles. Whereas this measurement method circum- phasis is placed on investigations of signal char- vents statistical problems, one has to rely on re- acteristics (lateral extension, frequency spectrum, sults of simulations and on the description of high and polarization) and of correlations of the reg- energy hadronic interactions when reconstructing istered radio signals with the properties of the the properties of the primary particles. On the primary cosmic particles (arrival direction and other hand, a thorough analysis of EAS data of- energy) by measuring in coincidence with the fers the opportunity of testing and improving the EAS experiment KASCADE-Grande. validity of these high energy interaction models. The KASCADE-Grande experiment [2,3], lo- 2. The KASCADE-Grande Set-Up cated on site of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Germany), is designed to measure EAS in the The multi-detector experiment KASCADE (lo- energy range between 0.5 PeV and 1 EeV. The in- cated at 49.1◦n, 8.4◦e, 110 m a.s.l.) [4] contin- stallation consists of the original KASCADE [4] ues to take data since 1996. It was extended to experiment and the newly added Grande array, KASCADE-Grande in 2003 by installing a large covering an effective area of 0.5 km2. array of 37 stations consisting of 10 m2 scintil- The major goal of KASCADE-Grande is the lation detectors each, with an average spacing of observation of the ‘iron-knee’ in the cosmic-ray 137 m (see Fig. 1 and table 1). Each station of the spectrum at around 100 PeV, which is expected so-called Grande array comprises 16 scintillators following the KASCADE observations where the housed in individual triangular boxes and read positions of the knees of individual mass groups out by photo-multipliers with a dynamic range suggest a rigidity dependence [5]. adjusted to 1/3 to 30000 charged particles per sta- The capability of KASCADE-Grande will allow tion. The signals are amplified and shaped inside to reconstruct the energy spectra of various mass the Grande stations. After transmission to a cen- groups similar to KASCADE, which in addition tral DAQ station digitization is done in peak sen- will lead to hints to the energy range where the sitive ADCs. The Grande array provides an area transition from cosmic rays of galactic to extra- of 0.5km2 and it operates jointly with the exist- galactic origin occurs. The validity of hadronic ing KASCADE detectors to become KASCADE- interaction models used in CORSIKA [6] Monte Grande. Carlo simulations of ultra-high energy air showers Grande is electronically subdivided in 18 trig- will be also tested with KASCADE-Grande. ger clusters consisting of 7 detector stations each, Investigations of the radio emission in air one of which is indicated by the dashed lines showers are continued at the site of KASCADE- in Fig. 1. Extensive air showers generating a Grande with the LOPES project [7]. It has al- 7-fold coincidence in at least one cluster will ready provided very promising results paving the trigger the joint read-out of all Grande and way for this new detection technique. Its goals KASCADE detector stations. Joint measure- are the investigation of the relation between the ments with the KASCADE muon tracking de- radio emission from extensive air showers with vices require a fast trigger which is provided by the properties of the primary particles and the an additional cluster (Piccolo) located nearby the development of a robust, autonomous, and self- center of KASCADE-Grande. Piccolo consists triggering antenna set-up usable for large scale of 8 × 10 m2 stations equipped with plastic scin- applications of the radio detection technique [8,9]. tillators. Beside these Grande triggered events In addition, within the frame of LOPES a (0.5 Hz) the original KASCADE data acquisition 3 Table 1 Compilation of the KASCADE-Grande and LOPES main detector components. Detector sensitive area Particles [m2] Grande charged 370 Piccolo charged 80 KASCADE array e/γ electrons 490 KASCADE array µ thresh muons (Eµ = 230 MeV) 622 MTD thresh muons (Eµ = 800 MeV) 3×128 Figure 1. Layout of the KASCADE-Grande and MWPCs/LSTs LOPES experiment: The KASCADE array, the thresh muons (Eµ = 2.4 GeV) 3×129 distribution of the 37 stations of the Grande ar- LOPES 30 short dipole antennas ray, the small Piccolo cluster for fast trigger pur- STAR LOPES LPDA antennas poses, and the muon tracking (MTD) and cen- radio emission > 5 · 105 tral detector (CD) are shown. The outer 12 clusters of the KASCADE array consists of µ- and e/γ-detectors, the inner 4 clusters of e/γ- detectors, only. The antennas of LOPES-30 and logarithmic-dipole-antennas (LPDA) which are LOPESSTAR are indicated by the red and blue optimized for an application at the Pierre-Auger- triangles, respectively. Observatory and for developing a self-trigger sys- tem (LOPESSTAR [9]). All the antennas operate − is continued with a trigger rate of ≈ 4 Hz. While in the frequency range of 40 80MHz. The read- the Grande detectors are sensitive to charged par- out window for each LOPES-30 antenna is 0.8 ms ticles, the KASCADE array detectors measure wide, centered around the trigger received from the electromagnetic component and the muonic KASCADE. The sampling rate is 80 MHz. components separately. The muon detectors en- The LOPES-30 data processing includes sev- able to reconstruct the lateral distributions of eral steps [12]. First, the relative instrumental muons on an event-by-event basis also for Grande delays are corrected using a known TV transmit- triggered events. Further muon detector systems ter visible in the data. Next, the digital filter- at a Muon Tracking Detector and at the Central ing, gain corrections, and corrections of the trig- Detector of KASCADE (MTD and CD, respec- ger delays based on the known shower direction tively; see Fig.