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

0399800 - FZÚ 2014 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Abreu, P. - Aglietta, M. - Ahlers, M. - Boháčová, Martina - Chudoba, Jiří - Ebr, Jan - Mandát, Dušan - Nečesal, Petr - Nožka, Libor - Palatka, Miroslav - Pech, Miroslav - Prouza, Michael - Řídký, Jan - Schovancová, Jaroslava - Schovánek, Petr - Tománková, L. - Trávníček, Petr - Vícha, Jakub … Total 506 authors
Techniques for measuring aerosol attenuation using the Central Laser Facility at the Pierre Auger Observatory.
Journal of Instrumentation. Roč. 8, APR (2013), s. 1-29. ISSN 1748-0221. E-ISSN 1748-0221
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) MEB111003; GA AV ČR KJB100100904; GA MŠMT(CZ) LA08016; GA MŠMT LC527; GA MŠMT(CZ) 1M06002
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100502; CEZ:AV0Z10100522
Keywords : data analysis * large detector systems for particle and astroparticle physics * detector alignment and calibration methods (lasers, sources)
Subject RIV: BF - Elementary Particles and High Energy Physics
Impact factor: 1.526, year: 2013
http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-0221/8/04/P04009/pdf/1748-0221_8_04_P04009.pdf

The Pierre Auger Observatory in Malargue, Argentina, is designed to study the properties of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with energies above 10(18) 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.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0226997