Telescope Array Project: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:08, 18 January 2023

Revision as of 13:59, 22 November 2023

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==Overview==

[[File:TelescopeArray.svg|thumb|left|An illustration of Telescope Array. Three fluorescence telescopes observe the ultraviolet light given off by an air shower, while an array of surface detectors register the particles as they strike the ground.]]

The Telescope Array observatory is a hybrid detector system consisting of both an array of 507 scintillation surface detectors (SD) which measure the distribution of charged particles at the Earth's surface, and three fluorescence stations which observe the night sky above the SD array.<ref name="AbuZayyad2012">T. AbuZayyad et al., "[http://www.telescopearray.org/media/TA_papers/1-s2.0-S0168900212005931-main.pdf The surface detector array of the Telescope Array experiment]" Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: (2012) vol. 689</ref> Each fluorescence station is also accompanied by a LIDAR system for atmospheric monitoring.<ref name="chikawaICRC">M. Chikawa et al., Proceedings of 29th [[International Cosmic Ray Conference|ICRC]] (2005) 137</ref> The SD array is much like that of the [[AGASA]] group, but covers an area that is nine times larger. The hybrid setup of the Telescope Array project allows for simultaneous observation of both the longitudinal development and the lateral distribution of the air showers. When a cosmic ray passes through the earthEarth's atmosphere and triggers an [[Air shower (physics)|air shower]], the fluorescence telescopes measure the scintillation light generated as the shower passes through the gas of the atmosphere, while the array of scintillator surface detectors samples the footprint of the shower when it reaches the Earth's surface.

At the center of the ground array is the Central Laser Facility which is used for atmospheric monitoring and calibrations.