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Bibliographical reference
Astroparticle Physics, Volume 111, p. 54-71.
Advertised on:
9
2019
Journal
Citations
22
Refereed citations
15
Description
The JEM-EUSO (Joint Experiment Missions for the Extreme Universe Space
Observatory) program aims at developing Ultra-Violet (UV) fluorescence
telescopes for efficient detections of Extensive Air Showers (EASs)
induced by Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) from satellite orbit.
In order to demonstrate key technologies for JEM-EUSO, we constructed
the EUSO-Balloon instrument that consists of a ∼1 m2
refractive telescope with two Fresnel lenses and an array of multi-anode
photo-multiplier tubes at the focus. Distinguishing it from the former
balloon-borne experiments, EUSO-Balloon has the capabilities of single
photon counting with a gate time of 2.3 μs and of imaging with a
total of 2304 pixels. As a pathfinder mission, the instrument was
launched for an 8 h stratospheric flight on a moonless night in August
2014 over Timmins, Canada. In this work, we analyze the count rates over
∼2.5 h intervals. The measurements are of diffuse light, e.g. of
airglow emission, back-scattered from the Earth's atmosphere as well as
artificial light sources. Count rates from such diffuse light are a
background for EAS detections in future missions and relevant factor for
the analysis of EAS events. We also obtain the geographical distribution
of the count rates over a ∼780 km2 area along the balloon
trajectory. In developed areas, light sources such as the airport,
mines, and factories are clearly identified. This demonstrates the
correct location of signals that will be required for the EAS analysis
in future missions. Although a precise determination of count rates is
relevant for the existing instruments, the absolute intensity of diffuse
light is deduced for the limited conditions by assuming spectra models
and considering simulations of the instrument response. Based on the
study of diffuse light by EUSO-Balloon, we also discuss the implications
for coming pathfinders and future space-based UHECR observation
missions.
Related projects
Minor Bodies of the Solar System
This project studies the physical and compositional properties of the so-called minor bodies of the Solar System, that includes asteroids, icy objects, and comets. Of special interest are the trans-neptunian objects (TNOs), including those considered the most distant objects detected so far (Extreme-TNOs or ETNOs); the comets and the comet-asteroid
Julia de
León Cruz