Speaker
Description
The GRAPES-3 (Gamma Ray Astronomy at PeV EnergieS phase-3) is a globally recognized experiment that detects cosmic rays with energies in the range from 10$^{13}$ eV to 10$^{16}$ eV. It has an excellent core-reconstruction resolution, approximately 0.5 meters at 1 PeV. We are designing a radio antenna array with 60-70 antennas, envisaged to function along with the array of scintillator detectors, to detect cosmic rays over the PeV energy range. Short radio frequency pulses with lengths of nanoseconds are emitted from cosmic-ray induced air showers which can be detected for cosmic-ray energies of typically 100 PeV and above. Below 100 PeV, the strength of the induced signal starts falling beneath the overwhelming background noise and the detection becomes gradually more challenging. We aim to address these technical challenges with sophisticated beam-forming techniques to lower the radio detection threshold. We are working on a radio upgrade to the GRAPES-3 experiment with the implementation of the beam-forming approach. The existing scintillator-detector array will provide external triggering to the radio detection framework. With the beam-forming approach, we endeavor to lower the radio detection threshold to as low as possible. Using CoREAS simulations, we have demonstrated detection of 10 PeV air-shower events at 4σ detection threshold. We have been using the near-field beam-forming framework to optimize the design of our antenna array. A hierarchical array geometry has elucidated interesting results so far. The advent of the radio-detection facility at the GRAPES-3, may enhance its upper detection threshold significantly.
| Collaboration(s) | GRAPES-3 |
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