|
|||||
|
|
Detection of atmospheric Cherenkov radiation using solar heliostat mirrors |
|
| Authors: | A Ong R D Bhattacharya C E Covault D D Dixon D T Gregorich D S Hanna S Oser J Qu bert D A Smith O T Tü mer and A D Zych |
| Institution: | a The Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago Chicago, IL 60637 USA b Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, The University of California Riverside, CA 92521 USA c IPAC, California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 91125 USA d Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University LA Los Angeles, CA 90032 USA e Department of Physics, McGill University Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2T8 Canada f C.E.N. de Bordeaux-Gradignan, Le Haut Vigneau 33175 Gradignan France |
| Abstract: | There is considerable interest world-wide in developing large area atmospheric Cherenkov detectors for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. This interest stems, in large part, from the fact that the gamma-ray energy region between 20 and 250 GeV is unexplored by any experiment. Atmospheric Cherenkov detectors offer a possible way to explore this region, but large photon collection areas are needed to achieve low energy thresholds. We are developing an experiment using the heliostat mirrors of a solar power plant as the primary collecting element. As part of this development, we built a detector using four heliostat mirrors, a secondary Fresnel lens, and a fast photon detection system. In November 1994, we used this detector to record atmospheric Cherenkov radiation produced by cosmic ray particles showering in the atmosphere. The detected rate of cosmic ray events was consistent with an energy threshold near 1 TeV. The data presented here represent the first detection of atmospheric Cherenkov radiation using solar heliostats viewed from a central tower. |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ | |