Performance of the first prototype of the HAWC Gamma Ray Observatory

The HAWC gamma ray observatory, to be constructed at Sierra Negra, Puebla in Mexico, is a large array of water Cherenkov detectors sited at an elevation of 4100 m, which has been optimized for gamma/hadron discrimination of the primary cosmic rays in the TeV energy range. It is based on the Milagro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2009-12
Main Authors: Sandoval, Andres, Alfaro, Ruben, Belmont, Ernesto, Grabski, Varlen, Renteria, Alejandro, Vasques, Alejandro R, Vazquez, Omar, Gonzalez, M Magdalena, Carramiñana, Alberto, Alvarez, Cesar, the HAWC collaboration
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arrays
Cerenkov counters
Cosmic ray showers
Cosmic rays
Elevation
Gamma Ray Observatory
Gamma rays
Observatories
Photomultiplier tubes
Primary cosmic rays
Water tanks
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Summary:The HAWC gamma ray observatory, to be constructed at Sierra Negra, Puebla in Mexico, is a large array of water Cherenkov detectors sited at an elevation of 4100 m, which has been optimized for gamma/hadron discrimination of the primary cosmic rays in the TeV energy range. It is based on the Milagro experience, but the design has been changed from a water pond to individual water tanks. In order to validate the design with large water tanks a prototype array has been constructed near the HAWC site with 3 of the largest commercial rotomolded plastic tanks available in Mexico. They have been instrumented with 20 cm hemispherical photomultiplier tubes and read out with 2 Gsample/s flash ADCs. The performance of a single tank has been measured as well as the response of the array to cosmic ray showers. In this paper we present the first measurements of the performance of the HAWC prototype array.
ISSN:2331-8422