Optimization of performance of the KM2A full array using the Crab Nebula

The full array of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO)has been in operation since July 2021.For its kilometer-square array(KM2A),we optimized the selection criteria for very high and ultrahigh energyγ-rays using data collected from August 2021 to August 2022,resulting in an improvement in significance of the detection in the Crab Nebula of approximately 15%,compared with that of previous cuts.With the implementation of these new selection criteria,the angular resolution was also significantly improved by approximately 10%at tens of TeV.Other aspects of the full KM2A array performance,such as the pointing error,were also calibrated using the Crab Nebula.The resulting energy spectrum of the Crab Nebula in the energy range of 10-1000 TeV are well fitted by a log-parabola model,which is consistent with the previous results from LHAASO and other experiments.

LHAASO-KM2A detector simulation using Geant4

KM2A is one of the main sub-arrays of LHAASO,working on gamma ray astronomy and cosmic ray physics at energies above 10 TeV.Detector simulation is the important foundation for estimating detector performance and data analysis.It is a big challenge to simulate the KM2A detector in the framework of Geant4 due to the need to track numerous photons from a large number of detector units(>6000)with large altitude difference(30)and huge coverage(1.3).In this paper,the design of the KM2A simulation code G4KM2A based on Geant4 is introduced.The process of G4KM2A is optimized mainly in memory consumption to avoid memory overflow.Some simplifications are used to significantly speed up the execution of G4KM2A.The running time is reduced by at least 30 times compared to full detector simulation.The particle distributions and the core/angle resolution comparison between simulation and experimental data of the full KM2A array are also presented,which show good agreement.

Flux variations of cosmic ray air showers detected by LHAASO-KM2A during a thunderstorm on June 10,2021

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO)has three sub-arrays,KM2A,WCDA,and WFCTA.The flux variations of cosmic ray air showers were studied by analyzing the KM2A data during a thunderstorm on June 10,2021.The number of shower events that meet the trigger conditions increases significantly in atmospheric electric fields,with a maximum fractional increase of 20%.The variations in trigger rates(increases or decreases)were found to be strongly dependent on the primary zenith angle.The flux of secondary particles increased significantly,following a trend similar to that of shower events.To better understand the observed behavior,Monte Carlo simulations were performed with CORSIKA and G4KM2A(a code based on GEANT4).We found that the experimental data(in saturated negative fields)were in good agreement with the simulations,assuming the presence of a uniform electric field of-700 V/cm with a thickness of 1500 m in the atmosphere above the observation level.Due to the acceleration/deceleration by the atmospheric electric field,the number of secondary particles with energy above the detector threshold was modified,resulting in the changes in shower detection rate.

Reconstruction of Cherenkov image bymultiple telescopes of LHAASO-WFCTA

Introduction One of main scientific goals of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO)is to accurately measure the energy spectra of different cosmic ray compositions around the‘knee’region.The Wide Field-of-View(FoV)Cherenkov Telescope Array(WFCTA),which is one of the main detectors of LHAASO and has 18 telescopes,is built to achieve this goal.Multiple telescopes are put together and point to connected directions for a larger FoV.Method Telescopes are deployed spatially as close as possible,but due to their own size,the distance between two adjacent telescopes is about 10 m.Therefore,the Cherenkov lateral distribution and the parallax between the two telescopes should be considered in the event building process for images crossing over the boundaries of FoVs of the telescopes.An event building method for Cherenkov images measured by multiple telescopes of WFCTA is developed.The performance of the shower measurements using the combined images is evaluated by comparing with showers that are fully contained by a virtual telescope in simulation.Results and conclusion It is proved that the developed event building process can help to increase the FoV of WFCTA by 30%while maintaining the same reconstruction quality,compared to the separate telescope reconstruction method.