EAS Observation Conditions in the SPHERE-2 Balloon Experiment

The SPHERE project studies primary cosmic rays by detection of the Cherenkov light of extensive air showers reflected from the snow covered surface of the earth. Measurements with the aerial-based detector SPHERE-2 were performed in 2011–2013. The detector was lifted by a balloon to altitudes of up to 900 m above the snow covered surface of Lake Baikal, Russia. The results of the experiment are summarized now in a series of papers that opens with this article. An overview of the SPHERE-2 detector telemetry monitoring systems is presented along with the analysis of the measurements conditions including atmosphere profile. The analysis of the detector state and environment atmosphere conditions monitoring provided various cross-checks of detector calibration, positioning, and performance.

The Complex of Experimental Facilities for the Cosmic Ray Investigation at the Tien Shan Mountain Station

The study describes the experimental complex of the station located in the Tien Shan mountains at an elevation of 3340 m above sea level. The complex consists of detectors of different types scattered across the station area, such as scintillation particles detectors, Cherenkov detectors, radio emission detectors for the measurement of the electron component of extensive air showers (EAS) created by the (1–1000) PeV cosmic ray particles, an ionization calorimeter and neutron detectors for the study of the nuclear-active component of EAS cores, and the underground particle detectors for the detection of cosmic ray muons. The data acquisition system allows the simultaneous recording of parameters from various stand-alone detectors registering an EAS, and storage of the acquired data in the database. As an illustration of research capability, the results of the EAS study are presented here which were obtained during the last few years at the different experimental set-ups constituting the Tien Shan complex.

Monte Carlo simulation of the cosmic muon charge ratio

The muonic component of air showers is sensitive to the mass and energy of the primary cosmic ray and is the most abundant component of charged particles arriving at the surface, and able to penetrate deep underground. The muon charge ratio, defined as the number of positive over negatively charged muons, is a very interesting quantity for the study of hadronic interactions at high energies and the nature of cosmic ray primaries. Furthermore, Earth's atmosphere is the development medium of cosmic air showers before they arrive at the ground. Therefore, variations in the density of the atmosphere between seasons must be studied. It is also very important to account for the zenith angular dependence of atmospheric muons, in particular for showers penetrating the atmosphere at high zenith angles. We present a study of the muon charge ratio using Monte Carlo simulations of two cosmic primaries, proton, and iron, of 100 TeV and 1 PeV energies, and with a zenith angle of 0° to 60°. The dependence on the direction of extensive air showers EAS and their radial distance appears to be very pronounced. In addition, the muon density is discussed assuming the Central European Atmosphere in June and December.

Radio interferometry applied to the observation of cosmic-ray induced extensive air showers

We developed a radio interferometric technique for the observation of extensive air showers initiated by cosmic particles. In this proof-of-principle study we show that properties of extensive air showers can be derived with high accuracy in a straightforward manner. When time synchronisation below $$\sim $$ ∼ 1 ns between different receivers can be achieved, direction reconstruction resolution of $$< 0.2^\circ $$ < 0 . 2 ∘ and resolution on the depth of shower maximum of $$<10$$ < 10 g/cm$$^2$$ 2 are obtained over the full parameter range studied, with even higher accuracy for inclined incoming directions. In addition, by applying the developed method to dense arrays of radio antennas, the energy threshold for the radio detection of extensive air showers can be significantly lowered. The proposed method can be incorporated in operational and future cosmic particle observatories and with its high accuracy it has the potential to play a crucial role in unravelling the composition of the ultra-high-energy cosmic-particle flux.

Search for Multi-Coincidence Cosmic Ray Events over Large Distances with the EEE MRPC Telescopes

The existence of independent, yet time correlated, Extensive Air Showers (EAS) has been discussed over the past years, with emphasis on possible physical mechanisms that could justify their observation. The detector network of the Extreme Energy Events (EEE) Collaboration, with its approximately 60 cosmic ray telescopes deployed over the Italian territory, has the potential to search for such events, employing different analysis strategies. In this paper, we have analyzed a set of EEE data, corresponding to an approximately five month observation period, searching for multi-coincidence events among several far telescopes, within a time window of 1 ms. Events with up to 12 coincident telescopes have been observed. Results were compared to expectations from a random distribution of events and discussed with reference to the relativistic dust grain hypothesis.

Effective exploitation of a geyser bubble-chamber equipment as a background-free fast neutron detector

The MOSCAB equipment, a geyser-concept bubble-chamber originally thought for the search of dark matter in the form of WIMPs, is employed for the detection of fast neutrons. Once the background-free operating conditions are determined such that the detector is sensitive only to neutrons, which occurs when the neutron energy threshold required for nucleation is higher than approximately 2.5 MeV, the detector response to fast neutrons is investigated using a $${^{241}}$$ 241 AmBe neutron source. Sets of detection efficiency functions are then produced via Monte Carlo simulations and post-processing, their validation being performed experimentally and discussed. Finally, the use of the detector to measure the fast neutron activity of very weak n-sources in low neutron background environments, as well as to monitor the cosmic ray variations through the neutron component of the Extensive Air Showers, is considered.