High-energy cosmic-ray research via the detection of Cherenkov radiation from extensive air showers was begun in the Tunka valley (50 km to the west from the southern extremity of Lake Baikal) in the ...early 1990s. A series of large arrays combined into the TAIGA (Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic-ray physics and Gamma Astronomy) astrophysical facility and designed to study gamma rays and charged cosmic rays have been created in the elapsed time. Descriptions of the facility arrays and the main results obtained while investigating high-energy cosmic rays are presented. Plans for a further development of the astrophysical facility are discussed.
The more correct recalculation from the measured Cherenkov light fluxes at distances of 200 (Q200) and 100 (Q100) m from the Extensive Air Shower (EAS) core to the energy of the primary particle has ...been developed using the results of M-C simulation by the CORSIKA code, assuming a light primary composition of cosmic rays. Using the new conversion expressions, a differential energy spectrum was obtained according to the data of the Tunka-133 array for 7 years of operation and the TAIGA-HiSCORE array for 2 years of operation.
An analysis is performed of the spectrum of gamma rays from the Crab Nebula in the 4–100 TeV range of energies, obtained using data from two Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes that are part of the ...TAIGA complex. A way of selecting and restoring the energy of gamma rays is described that includes a procedure for restoring the energy spectrum.
A wide-angle Cerenkov array TAIGA-HiSCORE (FOV
0.6 sr), was originally created as a part of TAIGA installation for high-energy gamma-ray astronomy and cosmic ray physics. Array now consist on nearly ...100 optical stations on the area of 1 km
. Due to high accuracy and stability (
1 ns) of time synchronization of the optical stations the accuracy of EAS arrival direction reconstruction is reached 0.1
. It was proven that the array can also be used to search for nanosecond events of the optical range. The report discusses the method of searching for optical transients using the HiSCORE array and demonstrates its performance on a real example of detecting signals from an artificial Earth satellite. The search for this short flares in the HiSCORE data of the winter season 2018–2019 is carried out. One candidate for double repeater has been detected, but the estimated probability of random simulation of such a transient by background EAS events is not less than 10
, which does not allow us to say that the detected candidate corresponds to a real astrophysical transient. An upper bound on the frequency of optical spikes with flux density of more than
and a duration of more than 5 ns is established as
events/sr/h.
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.
TAIGA array addresses gamma-ray astronomy at energies from a few TeV to several PeV as well as cosmic ray physics from 100 TeV to several EeV. A 1 km2 TAIGA setup will consist of 120 wide-angle ...detectors of the Cherenkov timing array TAIGA-HiSCORE and three imaging air Cherenkov telescopes with the field of view diameter of 9.6°. In this paper, first experimental results of the first operation stage are presented: signal detection from two gamma-ray sources, the Crab Nebula and Markarian 421, by the first IACT in stand-alone mode. The detected signal is shown to be in agreement with the Monte Carlo expectation. In future, gamma-ray signal will be detected by a larger number of TAIGA telescopes as well as the TAIGA-HiSCORE array, that is, in combined operation mode.
TAIGA (Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic ray physics and Gamma Astronomy) Astrophysical complex is being developed for studies of gamma rays and charged cosmic rays in the energy range of 10
–10
...eV. The complex is located in the Tunka Valley, about 50 km from Lake Baikal. In this report we present the experiment status and plans for study of high-energy cosmic-ray physics as well as main results reached by wide-angle TAIGA-HiSCORE and Tunka-133 Cherenkov arrays of the Astrophysical complex. Plans to study cosmic rays by means of other arrays of the complex, namely scintillation array Tunka-Grande and new TAIGA-muons array and system of IACT telescopes, are discussed too.
The Tunka-133 Cherenkov complex for recording extensive air showers (EAS) collected data over seven winters from 2009 to 2017. The differential energy spectra of all particles was acquired in the 6 × ...10
15
–3 × 10
18
eV range of energies over 2175 h. The TAIGA-HiSCORE complex is continually being expanded and upgraded. Data acquired by 30 first-line stations over 35 days during the period 2017–2018 is analyzed in this work. As at the Tunka-133 setup, the primary particle energies above 10
15
eV are measured using the density of the Cherenkov light flux at a distance of 200 m from a shower’s axis. Data on lower energies are collected by determining the energy of the light flux near a shower’s axis. This results in a spectrum of 2 × 10
14
–10
17
eV. The combined spectrum for the two systems covers a range of 2 × 10
14
–2 × 10
18
eV.
The TAIGA hybrid gamma-ray observatory is currently being developed in the Tunka Valley, 50 km from Lake Baikal, to study gamma radiation and charged cosmic ray fluxes in the 10
13
–10
18
eV range. ...The first results are presented for detecting gamma rays from the Crab Nebula in 44 h of observation, and from the blazar Markarian 421 in 62 h of observation with a significance of around 5–6 σ by one of the TAIGA IACT telescopes.
A study is made of the astroclimatic conditions for performing nighttime astrophysical observations on the territory of the Greater Altai region. Nighttime data from both the VIIRS radiometer of the ...Suomi NPP satellite platform and the AIRS hyperspectrometer of the Aqua satellite are used. Topographic and astroclimatic criteria show that the Chuya steppe region (Altai Republic, Russia) and the plateau of Lake Khubsugul (Aimak Khuvsgel, Mongolia) are best suited for the deployment a full-scale gamma astronomy experiment. Infrastructure considerations make the territory in the western part of the Chuya steppe preferable.
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