scholarly journals Atmospheric monitoring using the Cherenkov Transparency Coefficient for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

2019 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 02010
Author(s):  
Stanislav Stefanik ◽  
Dalibor Nosek

The future ground-based gamma-ray observatory, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will require reliable monitoring of the atmosphere which is an inherent part of the detector. We discuss here the implementation of the extended method of the Cherenkov Transparency Coeffcient for the atmospheric calibration for the CTA. The method estimates the atmospheric transmission of Cherenkov light, relying on the measurement of the rates of cosmic ray-induced air showers that trigger different pairs of telescopes. We examine the performance of our approach utilizing Monte Carlo simulations assuming various atmospheric conditions and CTA observation configurations.

2019 ◽  
Vol 209 ◽  
pp. 01021
Author(s):  
María Isabel Bernardos ◽  
María Benito ◽  
Fabio Iocco ◽  
Salvatore Mangano ◽  
Olga Sergijenko ◽  
...  

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a spiral galaxy, satellite of the Milky way with a high star formation activity. It represents a unique laboratory for studying an extended and spatially resolved star-forming galaxy through gamma-ray observatories. Therefore, the LMC survey is one of the key science projects for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory. In this document we present the work performed over the last year by the CTA working group dedicated to the LMC, in order to offer a first characterization of the LMC at TeV energies. We have performed detectability forecasts based on the expected CTA performance for all sources in the region of interest of the LMC with known emission at GeV energies and above. Based on previous observations made by Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. we have characterized all point sources, extended sources and diffuse emission produced by cosmic-ray propagation, extrapolating their spectra to CTA energies. Finally, we have characterized the signal expected by different annihilation mechanisms of dark matter (DM) particles within the LMC, computing the detection sensitivity curve for this target in the cross-section-to-mass plane.


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (20) ◽  
pp. 3953-3964
Author(s):  
A. GERANIOS ◽  
D. KOUTSOKOSTA ◽  
O. MALANDRAKI ◽  
H. ROSAKI-MAVROULI

Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) (E ≥ 5 × 1019 eV ) are detected through Extensive Air Showers that are created when a primary cosmic ray particle interacts with the atmosphere of the Earth. The energy of the primary particle can be estimated experimentally based on simulations. In this paper, we attempt to estimate the energy of UHECR gamma ray photons by applying a Monte Carlo simulation code and we compare the results with the ones derived in our previous papers for hadron initiated showers. The scenario of simulations is adapted to the P. Auger Observatory site.


2019 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 05041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa Arrabito ◽  
Konrad Bernlöhr ◽  
Johan Bregeon ◽  
Gernot Maier ◽  
Philippe Langlois ◽  
...  

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), currently under construction, is the next-generation instrument in the field of very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. The first data are expected by the end of 2018, while the scientific operations will start in 2022 for a duration of about 30 years. In order to characterize the instrument response to the Cherenkov light emitted when cosmic ray showers develop in the atmosphere, detailed Monte Carlo simulations will be regularly performed in parallel to CTA operation. The estimated CPU time associated to these simulations is very high, of the order of 200 millions HS06 hours per year. Reducing the CPU time devoted to simulations would allow either to reduce infrastructure cost or to better cover the large phase space. In this paper, we focus on the main computing step (70% of the whole CPU time) implemented in the CORSIKA program, and specifically on the mod-ule responsible for the propagation of Cherenkov photons in the atmosphere. We present our preliminary studies about different options of code optimization, with a particular focus on vectorization facilities (SIMD instructions). Our proposals take care, as automatically as possible, of the hardware portability constraints introduced by the grid computing environment that hosts these simulations. Performance evaluation in terms of running-time and accuracy is provided.


2019 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 03052
Author(s):  
Luisa Arrabito ◽  
Konrad Bernlöhr ◽  
Johan Bregeon ◽  
Paolo Cumani ◽  
Tarek Hassan ◽  
...  

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next-generation instrument in the field of very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. It will be composed of two arrays of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes, located at La Palma (Spain) and Paranal (Chile). The construction of CTA has just started with the installation of the first telescope on site at La Palma and the first data expected by the end of 2018. The scientific operations should begin in 2022 for a duration of about 30 years. The overall amount of data produced during these operations is around 27 PB per year. The associated computing power for data processing and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations is of the order of hundreds of millions of CPU HS06 hours per year. In order to cope with these high computing requirements, we have developed a production system prototype based on the DIRAC framework, that we have intensively exploited during the past 6 years to handle massive MC simulations on the grid for the CTA design and prototyping phases. CTA workflows are composed of several inter-dependent steps, which we used to handle separately within our production system. In order to fully automatize the whole workflows execution, we have partially revised the production system by further enhancing the data-driven behavior and by extending the use of meta-data to link together the different steps of a workflow. In this contribution we present the application of the production system to the last years MC campaigns as well as the recent production system evolution, intended to obtain a fully data-driven and automatized workflow execution for efficient processing of real telescope data.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Armstrong ◽  
Heide Constantini ◽  
Cameron Rulten ◽  
Victor Stamatescu ◽  
Andreas Zech

2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (1) ◽  
pp. 337-346
Author(s):  
E Mestre ◽  
E de Oña Wilhelmi ◽  
D Khangulyan ◽  
R Zanin ◽  
F Acero ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Since 2009, several rapid and bright flares have been observed at high energies (>100 MeV) from the direction of the Crab nebula. Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain this phenomenon, but the origin is still unclear. The detection of counterparts at higher energies with the next generation of Cherenkov telescopes will be determinant to constrain the underlying emission mechanisms. We aim at studying the capability of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to explore the physics behind the flares, by performing simulations of the Crab nebula spectral energy distribution, both in flaring and steady state, for different parameters related to the physical conditions in the nebula. In particular, we explore the data recorded by Fermi during two particular flares that occurred in 2011 and 2013. The expected GeV and TeV gamma-ray emission is derived using different radiation models. The resulting emission is convoluted with the CTA response and tested for detection, obtaining an exclusion region for the space of parameters that rule the different flare emission models. Our simulations show different scenarios that may be favourable for achieving the detection of the flares in Crab with CTA, in different regimes of energy. In particular, we find that observations with low sub-100 GeV energy threshold telescopes could provide the most model-constraining results.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (03) ◽  
pp. 299-317
Author(s):  
E. STRAZZERI ◽  
O. CATALANO ◽  
B. SBARUFATTI

In the context of detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) showers from space the details of fluorescence light production and transmission in the atmosphere are given. An analytical model of the fluorescence yield, in dependence on nitrogen molecular parameters and the atmospheric conditions, is presented. Seasonal and geographical variations of the total fluorescence photon yield between 300 nm and 400 nm in air excited by 0.85 MeV electrons are shown as a function of the altitude, using different atmospheric models. In the frame of a satellite-based UHECR experiment the fluorescence yield has been corrected by the overall atmospheric transmission which takes into account, in the simplest approximation, the wavelength-dependent scattering and absorption of the fluorescence light from air molecules, from stratospheric ozone, and from aerosol. The effect of the atmospheric attenuation on the fluorescence yield is shown as a function of the altitude of the emission point of light.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Dournaux ◽  
A. Abchiche ◽  
D. Allan ◽  
J. P. Amans ◽  
T. P. Armstrong ◽  
...  

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