Techniques for measuring aerosol attenuation using the Central Laser Facility at the Pierre Auger Observatory

Authors

P. Abreu, Instituto Superior TécnicoFollow
M. Aglietta, Università degli Studi di TorinoFollow
M. Ahlers, University of Wisconsin-MadisonFollow
E. J. Ahn, Fermi National Accelerator LaboratoryFollow
I. F.M. Albuquerque, Universidade de São PauloFollow
I. Allekotte, Centro Atomico BarilocheFollow
J. Allen, New York UniversityFollow
P. Allison, The Ohio State UniversityFollow
A. Almela, Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica Argentina
J. Alvarez Castillo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoFollow
J. Alvarez-Muñiz, Universidad de Santiago de CompostelaFollow
A. R. Batista, Universidade Estadual de Campinas
M. Ambrosio, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico IIFollow
A. Aminaei, Radboud UniversiteitFollow
L. Anchordoqui, University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeFollow
S. Andringa, Instituto Superior TécnicoFollow
T. Antičić, Institute Ruder Boskovic
C. Aramo, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
F. Arqueros, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
H. Asorey, Centro Atomico Bariloche
P. Assis, Instituto Superior Técnico
J. Aublin, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies
M. Ave, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
M. Avenier, Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie de Grenoble
G. Avila, Pierre Auger Observatory
A. M. Badescu, University Politehnica of Bucharest
K. B. Barber, The University of Adelaide
A. F. Barbosa, Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas
R. Bardenet, Laboratoire de l'Accélérateur Linéaire
B. Baughman, The Ohio State University
J. Bäuml, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Campus Nord
C. Baus, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Campus Süd
J. J. Beatty, The Ohio State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2013

Abstract

The Pierre Auger Observatory in Malargüe, Argentina, is designed to study the properties of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with energies above 1018 eV. It is a hybrid facility that employs a Fluorescence Detector to perform nearly calorimetric measurements of Extensive Air Shower energies. To obtain reliable calorimetric information from the FD, the atmospheric conditions at the observatory need to be continuously monitored during data acquisition. In particular, light attenuation due to aerosols is an important atmospheric correction. The aerosol concentration is highly variable, so that the aerosol attenuation needs to be evaluated hourly. We use light from the Central Laser Facility, located near the center of the observatory site, having an optical signature comparable to that of the highest energy showers detected by the FD. This paper presents two procedures developed to retrieve the aerosol attenuation of fluorescence light from CLF laser shots. Cross checks between the two methods demonstrate that results from both analyses are compatible, and that the uncertainties are well understood. The measurements of the aerosol attenuation provided by the two procedures are currently used at the Pierre Auger Observatory to reconstruct air shower data.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Journal of Instrumentation

Recommended Citation

Abreu, P., Aglietta, M., Ahlers, M., Ahn, E., Albuquerque, I., Allekotte, I., Allen, J., Allison, P., Almela, A., Alvarez Castillo, J., Alvarez-Muñiz, J., Batista, A., Ambrosio, M., Aminaei, A., Anchordoqui, L., Andringa, S., Antičić, T., Aramo, C., Arqueros, F., Asorey, H., Assis, P., Aublin, J., Ave, M., Avenier, M., Avila, G., Badescu, A., Barber, K., Barbosa, A., Bardenet, R., Baughman, B., Bäuml, J., Baus, C., & Beatty, J. (2013). Techniques for measuring aerosol attenuation using the Central Laser Facility at the Pierre Auger Observatory. Journal of Instrumentation, 8 (4) https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/8/04/P04009