The Tunka-Grande scintillation facility is part of the TAIGA (Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic rays and Gamma Astronomy) astrophysical complex located in the Tunka Valley (Republic of Buryatia, ...Russia) 50 km from Lake Baikal. The purpose of the experiment is to study the energy spectrum and mass composition of primary cosmic rays (PCRs), as well as search for diffuse gamma radiation in the energy range of
eV. This paper presents a description of the installation and the main scientific results obtained during the first 5 years of its operation.
We present an improved method for the precise reconstruction of cosmic-ray air showers above 1017 eV with sparse radio arrays. The method is based on the comparison of measured pulses to predictions ...for radio pulse shapes by CoREAS simulations. We applied our method to the data of Tunka-Rex, a 1 km2 radio array in Siberia operating in the frequency band of 30–80 MHz. Tunka-Rex is triggered by the air-Cherenkov detector Tunka-133 and by scintillators (Tunka-Grande). The instrument collects air-shower data since 2012. The present paper describes an updated data analysis of Tunka-Rex and details of the new method applied. After quality cuts, when Tunka-Rex reaches its full efficiency, the energy resolution of about 10% given by the new method has reached the limit of systematic uncertainties due to the calibration uncertainty and shower-to-shower fluctuations. At the same time the shower maximum reconstruction has improved compared to the previous method based on the slope of the lateral distribution and reaches a precision of better than 35 g/cm2. We also define conditions of the measurements at which the shower maximum resolution of Tunka-Rex reaches a value of 25 g/cm2 and becomes competitive to optical detectors. To check and validate our reconstruction and efficiency cuts we compare individual events to the reconstruction of Tunka-133. Furthermore, we compare the mean of the shower maximum as a function of primary energy to the measurements of other experiments.
The Tunka-Grande array is part of an experimental complex located in the Tunka Valley (Republic of Buryatia, Russia) about 50 km from Lake Baikal. This complex also contains the Tunka-133 and ...Tunka-Rex arrays. The aim of this complex is to study the primary cosmic ray energy spectrum and mass composition in the energy range of 10
16
–10
18
eV, and to search for diffuse gamma rays in the energy range of 5 × 10
16
–5 × 10
17
eV. The design of the Tunka-Grande array and the procedure for reconstructing the parameters of extensive air showers (EASes) are described, and preliminary results are presented from the search for diffuse gamma rays with energies of more than 5 × 10
16
eV.
The Tunka-HISCORE wide-angle Cherenkov array, one part of the planned TAIGA integrated gamma observatory intended for investigations in the field of high-energy (>30 TeV) gamma-ray astronomy and ...cosmic-ray physics, is deployed in the Tunka Valley (Buryat Republic). The first results from operating a prototype array composed of nine stations spread over an area of ∼0.1 square kilometers during the winter of 2013–2014 are presented. Data processing techniques are described, along with data on the accuracy of reconstructing the position of a shower’s axis, energy, and angle of arrival. The differential spectrum of all cosmic-ray particles in a shower in the energy range of 2 × 10
14
to 2 × 10
16
eV is presented and compared to the available data.
We reconstructed the energy and the position of the shower maximum of air showers with energies E ∼> 100 PeV applying a method using radio measurements performed with Tunka-Rex. An event-to-event ...comparison to air-Cherenkov measurements of the same air showers with the Tunka-133 photomultiplier array confirms that the radio reconstruction works reliably. The Tunka-Rex reconstruction methods and absolute scales have been tuned on CoREAS simulations and yield energy and X{sub max} values consistent with the Tunka-133 measurements. The results of two independent measurement seasons agree within statistical uncertainties, which gives additional confidence in the radio reconstruction. The energy precision of Tunka-Rex is comparable to the Tunka-133 precision of 15%, and exhibits a 20% uncertainty on the absolute scale dominated by the amplitude calibration of the antennas. For X{sub max}, this is the first direct experimental correlation of radio measurements with a different, established method. At the moment, the X{sub max} resolution of Tunka-Rex is approximately 40 g/cm{sup 2}. This resolution can probably be improved by deploying additional antennas and by further development of the reconstruction methods, since the present analysis does not yet reveal any principle limitations.
—
The paper is devoted to the modeling and analysis of data detected by the TAIGA-IACT installation in the stereo mode. Five Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACT) with a viewing angle of ...9.6° are expected to be included in the installation. Today there are three telescopes spaced far apart (from 320 to 500 m) in the installation. The effective area of the installation is as large as 0.6 km
2
; therefore, it is possible to conduct statistically significant measurements of weak γ-ray sources in the energy range above 10 TeV over a reasonable observation time (300–400 h). The Monte Carlo procedure for simulating the hadrons and γ-rays detected by the telescopes is described as is the procedure for reconstructing the parameters of extensive air showers, such as the arrival direction of an event, the axis position, the depth of the maximum of shower development (
X
max
), and the primary-particle energy. In order to solve the problem of γ-hadron separation, the criteria for selecting γ-rays detected in the stereo mode have been optimized and the effective area of the installation has been calculated.
Status and First Results of TAIGA Tluczykont, M.; Astapov, I. I.; Awad, A. K. ...
Physics of atomic nuclei,
11/2021, Letnik:
84, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The Tunka Advanced Instrument for Gamma-ray and cosmic ray Astrophysics (TAIGA) is a hybrid experiment for the measurement of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) with good spectral resolution in the TeV to ...PeV energy range. In this domain, the long-sought Pevatrons can be detected. Currently the TAIGA detector complex combines a two wide angle shower front Cherenkov light sampling timing arrays (HiSCORE and Tunka-133), two 4 m class, 10
aperture Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) and 240 m
surface and underground charged particle detector stations. Our goal is to introduce a new hybrid reconstruction technique, combining the good angular and shower core resolution of HiSCORE with the gamma-hadron separation power of imaging air Cherenkov telescopes. This approach allows to maximize the effective area and simultaneously to reach a good gamma-hadron separation at low energies (few teraelectronvolts). At higher energies, muon detectors are planned to enhance gamma-hadron separation. During the commissioning phase of the first and second IACT, several sources were observed. First detections of known sources with the first telescope show the functionality of the TAIGA IACTs. Here, the status of the TAIGA experiment will be presented, along with first results from the current configuration.
Main Results from the TUNKA-GRANDE Experiment Monkhoev, R. D.; Astapov, I. I.; Bezyazeekov, P. A. ...
Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Physics,
07/2023, Letnik:
87, Številka:
7
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The Tunka-Grande scintillation array is described. Scientific results obtained over the first five years of its operation are presented. Prospects for studying cosmic rays in the 10
16
–10
18
eV ...range of energies are discussed.
The Cherenkov light array for the registration of extensive air showers (EAS) Tunka-133 collected data during 5 winter seasons from 2009 to 2014. The differential energy spectrum of all particles and ...the dependence of the average maximum depth on the energy in the range of 6 ⋅ 1015–1018 eV measured for 1540 hours of observation are presented.
Over the past few years, the TAIGA (Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic ray physics and Gamma-ray Astronomy) observatory has been being deployed in the Tunka Valley, Republic of Buryatia. It is ...designed for studying gamma rays of energy above 30 TeV and performing searches for sources of galactic cosmic rays with energies in the vicinity of 1 PeV, which is an energy region around the classic knee in the cosmic-ray energy spectrum. The first phase of the observatory will be situated at a distance of about 50 km from Lake Baikal at the site of the Tunka-133 array. The TAIGA gamma observatory will include a network of 500 wide-angle (0.6 sr) Cherenkov detectors (TAIGA-HiSCORE array) and up to 16 atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (ACT) designed for analyzing the EAS images (imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, or IACT) and positioned within an area of 5 km
2
. The observatory will also include muon detectors of total area 2000 m
2
distributed over an area of 1 km
2
. Within the next three years, it is planned to enhance the area of the TAIGA-HiSCORE array by a factor of four—from 0.25 km
2
to 1 km
2
; to supplement the existing IACT with two new ones; and to deploy new muon detectors with a total coverage of 200 m
2
. The structure of the new observatory is described along with the data analysis techniques used. The most interesting physical results are presented, and the research program for the future is discussed.
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