The Calibration System of the HAWC Gamma-Ray Observatory

The HAWC collaboration has recently completed the construction of a gamma-ray observatory at an altitude of 4100 meters on the slope of the Sierra Negra volcano in the state of Puebla, Mexico. In order to achieve an optimal angular resolution, energy reconstruction, and cosmic-ray background suppres...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2015-08
Main Authors: Ayala Solares, Hugo A, Gerhardt, Michael, Hui, C Michelle, Lauer, Robert J, Ren, Zhixiang, Francisco Salesa Greus, Zhou, Hao, the HAWC Collaboration
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angular resolution
Background radiation
Calibration
Cosmic ray showers
Gamma rays
Luminous intensity
Measuring instruments
Observatories
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The HAWC collaboration has recently completed the construction of a gamma-ray observatory at an altitude of 4100 meters on the slope of the Sierra Negra volcano in the state of Puebla, Mexico. In order to achieve an optimal angular resolution, energy reconstruction, and cosmic-ray background suppression for the air showers observed by HAWC, it is crucial to obtain good timing and charge calibrations of the photosensors in the detector. The HAWC calibration is based on a laser system which is able to deliver short light pulses to all the tanks in the array. The light intensity can range over 7 orders of magnitude, broad enough to cover all the dynamic range of the PMT readout electronics. In this contribution we will present the HAWC calibration system, together with the methods used to calibrate the detector.
ISSN:2331-8422