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Detection of UV Radiation from Extensive Air Showers: Prospects for Cherenkov Gamma-Ray Astronomy

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Abstract

Cherenkov emission of extensive air showers (EAS) from cosmic gamma rays and cosmic-ray protons has been modelled. Spectral density of such emission in the 240–700 nm band has been determined for 3 GeV–10 TeV primaries of both sorts. It has been shown that the ratio of EAS Cherenkov emission fluxes in the optical and ultraviolet (UV) bands substantially depends on the sort of the primary, so the ratio can be employed to select gamma-ray events from the background produced by cosmic rays. Detection of EAS Cherenkov emission with specialized silicon photomultipliers sensitive in the UV band would allow one to substantially extend the duty cycle of a Cherenkov gamma-ray telescope, as it would be possible to observe the showers during moonlit nights. The UV-sensitive silicon photomultipliers developed at the Ioffe Institute would allow to detect gamma-ray-induced EAS at the Cherenkov gamma-ray observatory ALEGRO over a threshold of about 40 GeV at 5 km above sea level and about 80 GeV at 2 km above sea level.

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Notes

  1. Henceforth, the term “EAS electrons” refers to secondary electrons and positrons of EASs. The deficiency of positrons due to annihilation (see, for example, [20, 21]) is disregarded in this study.

  2. Since most of this range corresponds to the standard V range (but also embraces the UVA range), in which the SiPMs widely used at present (e.g., Hamamatsu S10362-33 [29]) possess a noticeable sensitivity.

  3. With an error near 6% for primary particles with energy less than 1 TeV at a 5-km-observation altitude and with an error less than 4% for primary particles with energy lower than 3 TeV at an observation altitude of 2 km.

  4. This range embraces most of the MUV range.

  5. It should be noted that the inclusion of EAS Cherenkov radiation with a wavelength up to 700 nm is important because modern optical photodetectors that are planned to be used at new-generation Cherenkov gamma telescopes exhibit a high sensitivity at such wavelengths.

  6. This formula was apparently used inaccurately: the exponent in the energy dependence of the probability density is wrong.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

E. E. Kh., P.N.A., and A.M.K. are grateful to the Russian Foundation for Basic Research for support (project no. 16-29-13009-ofi-m).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ioffe Institute, , 194021, St. Petersburg, Russia

    E. E. Kholupenko, A. M. Bykov, G. I. Vasiliev, A. M. Krassilchtchikov, P. N. Aruev, V. V. Zabrodskii & A. V. Nikolaev

  2. Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, D04 C932 , Dublin, Ireland

    F. A. Aharonyan

  3. Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, 169117, Heidelberg, Germany

    F. A. Aharonyan

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  1. E. E. Kholupenko
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  2. A. M. Bykov
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  3. F. A. Aharonyan
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  4. G. I. Vasiliev
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  8. A. V. Nikolaev
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Correspondence to E. E. Kholupenko.

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Translated by N. Wadhwa

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Kholupenko, E.E., Bykov, A.M., Aharonyan, F.A. et al. Detection of UV Radiation from Extensive Air Showers: Prospects for Cherenkov Gamma-Ray Astronomy. Tech. Phys. 63, 1603–1614 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063784218110154

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