The Surface Detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Physics

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

The Pierre Auger Observatory will study ultrahigh energy cosmic rays by measuring extensive air showers with both surface detectors and fluorescence detectors. The surface detectors are deployed on a 1.5-km triangular grid covering 3000 km2 and must operate with minimal maintenance for 20 years. Cylindrical water Cerenkov detectors of 12000 liters have been designed, fabricated, deployed, and operated in a modest engineering array. Refined through this experience, optimized versions of the surface detectors are now under construction and are being deployed to make up the full array of 1600 detectors. Each detector includes a rotationally molded polyethylene water tank that contains ultrapure water and photomultipliers for signal detection. The tank also serves as the main support and protective structure for the electronics, communications system, and solar power system. Among the virtues of the water Cerenkov detector are the ability to be calibrated by cosmic ray muons and a sensitivity to showers at very large zenith angles. Performance of the surface detectors exceeds our expectations. We discuss their design, construction and operation.

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