The Influence of the Sun and Moon on the Observation of Very High Energy Gamma-ray Sources Using EAS Arrays

With great advance of ground-based extensive air shower arrays,such as LHAASO and HAWC,many very high energy(VHE)gamma-ray sources have been discovered and are being monitored regardless of the day and the night.Hence,the Sun and Moon would have some impacts on the observation of gamma-ray sources,which have not been taken into account in previous analysis.In this paper,the influence of the Sun and Moon on the observation of very high energy gamma-ray sources when they are near the line of sight of the Sun or Moon is estimated.The tracks of all the known VHE sources are scanned and several VHE sources are found to be very close to the line of sight of the Sun or Moon during some period.The absorption of very high energy gamma rays by sunlight is estimated with detailed method and some useful conclusions are achieved.The main influence is the block of the Sun and Moon on gamma rays and the shadow on the cosmic ray background.The influence is investigated considering the detector angular resolution and some strategies on data analysis are proposed to avoid the underestimation of the gamma-ray emission.

Research on the knee region of cosmic ray by using a novel type of electron-neutron detector array

By accurately measuring composition and energy spectrum of cosmic ray,the origin problem of so called“knee”region(energy>one PeV)can be solved.However,up to the present,the results of the spectrum in the knee region obtained by several previous experiments have shown obvious differences,so they cannot give effective evidence for judging the theoretical models on the origin of the knee.Recently,the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO)has reported several major breakthroughs and important results in astro-particle physics field.Relying on its advantages of wide-sky survey,high altitude location and large area detector arrays,the research content of LHAASO experiment mainly includes ultra high-energy gamma-ray astronomy,measurement of cosmic ray spectra in the knee region,searching for dark matter and new phenomena of particle physics at higher energy.The electron and thermal neutron detector(EN-Detector)is a new scintillator detector which applies thermal neutron detection technology to measure cosmic ray extensive air shower(EAS).This technology is an extension of LHAASO.The EN-Detector Array(ENDA)can highly efficiently measure thermal neutrons generated by secondary hadrons so called“skeleton”of EAS.In this paper,we perform the optimization of ENDA configuration,and obtain expectations on the ENDA results,including thermal neutron distribution,trigger efficiency and capability of cosmic ray composition separation.The obtained real data results are consistent with those by the Monte Carlo simulation.

Muon energy reconstruction in the high-energy neutrino observations

The reconstruction of muon energies is crucial for the data analysis of neutrino experiments using large water Cherenkov detectors,but the resolution for muon energy reconstruction using traditional methods is poor.Here,we propose a revised approach to remove noisy optical modules along the track produced by the propagation of muons through water.The number of photons on the optical modules is first corrected by the attenuation properties of light in water.Then the difference in time between the observed optical modules and the expected ones is determined based on the geometry of the triggered optical modules.Finally,the standard of correction is measured by the ratio of photon number before and after correction.Optical modules selection conditions were optimized according to these parameters,with most noisy optical modules successfully removed,improving the resolution of muon energy reconstruction.

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.

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.

Chapter 4 Cosmic-Ray Physics

In the first part of this Chapter the present state of knowledge from the observations of cosmic rays between 10^(13) and 10^(20) eV is summarized.This is not intended to be a complete review,but rather a broad overview of the relevant processes involving cosmic rays,including the astrophysical environments in which they take place.This overview mainly concerns experimental results and phenomenological aspects of their interpretation,therefore experiments’description is not given but references to the vast bibliography are provided in the text.Some attempt is made to address the most popular explanations offered by theoretical models.The second part is devoted to the description of the LHAASO performance and of its capability to provide a response to several open questions,still unanswered,concerning cosmic rays above 10^(13) eV,highlighting which major steps forward in this field could be taken from LHAASO observations.

由超拍电子伏特加速器产生的超高能伽马射线气泡

We report the detection of aγ-ray bubble spanning at least 100deg2 in ultra-high energy(UHE)up to a few PeV in the direction of the star-forming region Cygnus X,implying the presence super PeVatron(s)accelerating protons to at least 10 PeV.A log-parabola form with the photon indexΓ(E)=(2.71±0.02)+(0.11±0.02)×log10(E/10 TeV)is found fitting the gamma-ray energy spectrum of the bubble well.UHE sources,“hot spots”correlated with very massive molecular clouds,and a quasi-spherical amorphousγ-ray emitter with a sharp central brightening are observed in the bubble.In the core of~0.5°,spatially associating with a region containing massive OB association(Cygnus OB2)and a microquasar(Cygnus X-3),as well as previously reported multi-TeV sources,an enhanced concentration of UHEγ-rays is observed with 2 photons at energies above 1 PeV.The general feature of the bubble,the morphology,and the energy spectrum,are reasonably reproduced by the assumption of a particle accelerator in the core,continuously injecting protons into the ambient medium.

Generating Baikal-GVD high energy cascade-like neutrino events with a GEANT4-based simulation toolkit

Using the GEANT4 and Cosmic Ray Monte Carlo(CRMC)software packages,we developed a new simulation toolkit for astrophysical neutrino telescopes.By configuring the Baikal-GVD detector and comparing the vertex position and direction of incident particles,as well as the channel-by-channel signals,to the events detected by Baikal-GVD,we successfully generated 13 high-energy cascade neutrino events with the toolkit.Our analysis revealed a systematic offset between the reconstructed shower position and the true interaction position,with a distance close to the scale of the shower maximum of−0.54±1.29 m.We achieved a good linear relationship between the photoelectron number of neutrino events obtained by simulation and the real data measured by Baikal-GVD.The simulation toolkit could serve as a reliable basis for studying the performance of astrophysical neutrino telescopes.

Evidence for particle acceleration approaching PeV energies in the W51 complex

Theγ-ray emission from the W51 complex is widely acknowledged to be attributed to the interaction between the cosmic rays(CRs)accelerated by the shock of supernova remnant(SNR)W51C and the dense molecular clouds in the adjacent star-forming region,W51B.However,the maximum acceleration capability of W51C for CRs remains elusive.Based on observations conducted with the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO),we report a significant detection ofγrays emanating from the W51 complex,with energies from 2 to 200 TeV.The LHAASO measurements,for the first time,extend theγ-ray emission from the W51 complex beyond 100 TeV and reveal a significant spectrum bending at tens of TeV.By combining the"π^(0)-decay bump"featured data from Fermi-LAT,the broadbandγ-ray spectrum of the W51 region can be well-characterized by a simple pp-collision model.The observed spectral bending feature suggests an exponential cutoff at~400 TeV or a power-law break at~200 TeV in the CR proton spectrum,most likely providing the first evidence of SNRs serving as CR accelerators approaching the PeV regime.Additionally,two young star clusters within W51B could also be theoretically viable to produce the most energeticγrays observed by LHAASO.Our findings strongly support the presence of extreme CR accelerators within the W51 complex and provide new insights into the origin of Galactic CRs.

Strong constraints on Lorentz violation using new γ-ray observations around PeV

The tiny modification of dispersion relation induced by Lorentz violation(LV)is an essential topic in quantum gravity(QG)theories,which can be magnified into significant effects when dealing with astrophysical observations at high energies and long propagation distances.LV would lead to photon decay at high energies;therefore,observations of high-energy photons could constrain LV or even QG theories.The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO)is the most sensitive gamma-array instrument currently operating above 100 TeV.Recently,LHAASO reported the detection of 12 sources above 100 TeV with maximum photon energy exceeding 1 PeV.According to these observations,the most stringent restriction is achieved in this study,i.e.,limiting the LV energy scale to 1.7×10^(33) eV,which is over 139,000 times that of the Planck energy,and achieving an improvement of approximately 1.9 orders of magnitude over previous limits.

Prospects for a multi-TeV gamma-ray sky survey with the LHAASO water Cherenkov detector array

The Water Cherenkov Detector Array(WCDA) is a major component of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Array Observatory(LHAASO), a new generation cosmic-ray experiment with unprecedented sensitivity, currently under construction. WCDA is aimed at the study of TeV γ-rays. In order to evaluate the prospects of searching for TeV γ-ray sources with WCDA, we present a projection of the one-year sensitivity of WCDA to TeV γ-ray sources from TeVCat using an all-sky approach. Out of 128 TeVCat sources observable by WCDA up to a zenith angle of 45°, we estimate that 42 would be detectable in one year of observations at a median energy of 1 TeV. Most of them are Galactic sources, and the extragalactic sources are Active Galactic Nuclei(AGN).

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.

Measurement of water quality in LHAASO-WCDA

Introduction The water Cherenkov detector array(WCDA)is an important detector in the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO),which is tasked with continuously surveying VHE gamma-rays sky.The WCDA covers an area of 78,000 m2 and contains 350,000 tons of purified water.The water quality and its stability are critical for its performance and long-term operation.Method Light is exponentially attenuated when propagating in water.Water attenuation length can be obtained by comparing light intensities at different optical path lengths,which is the basic principle of direct measurements.Here,a cylindrical device was designed to continuously monitor and measure water quality in the LHAASO-WCDA.Conclusion The systematic error of the cylindrical device was about 4.1%,indicating it is capable of measuring the water attenuation length in WCDA.Furthermore,suspended particle number and turbidity were confirmed as significantly related to the measured attenuation length.

A compensation circuit for the gain temperature drift of silicon photomultiplier tube

Background Silicon photomultiplier tube(SiPM)has been widely applied in high energy physics experiments.The wide field of view Cherenkov telescope array of Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO)consists of 12 arrays of SiPMs.Each of the array includes 32*32 pixels.Large Array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes(LACT),the next generation of particle astrophysics experiment,will also adopt SiPM arrays.Purpose LACT will located at a high altitude,leading to a significant operating temperature variation of the SiPM.Since the gain of SiPM is temperature-sensitive,in order to keep it stable,compensation for the gain is necessary by adjusting the bias voltage of SiPM.Methods The compensation circuit provides the bias voltage of SiPM by using a high-voltage output Digital-to-Analog Converter and several high-voltage output amplifiers.To reduce the temperature drift of the gain,the compensation circuit adjust the bias voltage of SiPM according to the operating temperature.Results The compensation circuit supplies SiPM with an adjustable bias voltage from 0 to 80 V,and the adjustment step is 1.22 mV.When the output voltage of the compensation circuit is 64 V,the voltage ripple is 2.59 mV,and the temperature drift is 0.17 mV/℃.In the temperature range from−20 to 30℃,the compensation circuit reduces the gain temperature drift of SiPM to within 2%.

Chapter 1 LHAASO Instruments and Detector technology

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO)(Fig.1)is located at Mt.Haizi(4410 m a.s.l.,600 g/cm^(2),29°21'27.56"N,100°08'19.66"E)in Daocheng,Sichuan province,P.R.China.LHAASO consists of 1.3 km^(2) array(KM2A)of electromagnetic particle detectors(ED)and muon detectors(MD),a water Cherenkov detector array(WCDA)with a total active area of 78,000 m^(2),18 wide field-of-view air Cherenkov telescopes(WFCTA)and a newly proposed electron-neutron detector array(ENDA)covering 10,000 m^(2).Each detector is synchronized with all the other through a clock synchronization network based on the White Rabbit protocol.The observatory includes an IT center which comprises the data acquisition system and trigger system,the data analysis facility.In this Chapter,all the above-mentioned components of LHAASO as well as infrastructure are described.

Construction and application of LHAASO data processing platform

Purpose The LHAASO project collects trillions of cosmic ray events every year,generating about 10 PB of raw data annually,which brings big challenges for data processing platform.Method The LHAASO data processing platform is built to handle such a large amount of data,which is composed of some subsystems such as data transfer,data storage,high throughput computing and metadata management.Results and conclusions The platform was under construction since 2018 and has been working well since 2021.In this paper,the details of the design,implementation and performance of the data processing platform are presented.

Performance of LHAASO-WCDA and observation of the Crab Nebula as a standard candle

The first Water Cherenkov detector of the LHAASO experiment(WCDA-1)has been operating since April 2019.The data for the first year have been analyzed to test its performance by observing the Crab Nebula as a standard candle.The WCDA-1 achieves a sensitivity of 65 mCU per year,with a statistical threshold of 5 cr.To accomplish this,a 97.7%cosmic-ray background rejection rate around 1 TeV and 99.8%around 6 TeV with an ap proximate photon acceptance of 50%is achieved after applying an algorithm to separate gamma-induced showers.The angular resolution is measured using the Crab Nebula as a point source to be approximately 0.45°at 1 TeV and better than 0.2°above 6 TeV,with a pointing accuracy better than 0.05°.These values all match the design specifications.The energy resolution is found to be 33%for gamma rays around 6 TeV.The spectral energy distribution of the Crab Nebula in the range from 500 GeV to 15.8 TeV is measured and found to be in agreement with the results from other TeV gamma ray observatories.

Observation of the Crab Nebula with LHAASO-KM2A−a performance study

A sub-array of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO),KM2A is mainly designed to observe a large fraction of the northern sky to hunt for γ-ray sources at energies above 10 TeV.Even though the detector construction is still underway,half of the KM2A array has been operating stably since the end of 2019.In this paper,we present the KM2A data analysis pipeline and the first observation of the Crab Nebula,a standard candle in very high energy γ-ray astronomy.We detect γ-ray signals from the Crab Nebula in both energy ranges of 10-100 TeV and>100 TeV with high significance,by analyzing the KM2A data of 136 live days between December 2019 and May 2020.With the observations,we test the detector performance,including angular resolution,pointing accuracy and cosmic-ray background rejection power.The energy spectrum of the Crab Nebula in the energy range 10-250 TeV fits well with a single power-law function dN/dE=(1.13±0.05stat±0.08sys)×10^(-14).(E/20 TeV)-309±0.06stat±0.02syscm^(-2) s^(-1) TeV^(-1).It is consistent with previous measurements by other experiments.This opens a new window of γ-ray astronomy above 0.1 PeV through which new ultrahigh-energy γ-ray phenomena,such as cosmic PeVatrons,might be discovered.

Testing and analysis of the plastic scintillator units for LHAASO-ED

Background A total of 5195 electromagnetic particle detectors(EDs)are used in the 1-square-kilometer extensive air shower array(KM2A),which is a subarray of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO).Purpose As the detection sensitive medium of the EDs,more than 20,000 plastic scintillator units(BC-408),produced by Saint-Gobain,are used in LHAASO.It is important to monitor the light output of the scintillator units among the units.Method To improve the efficiency,a sampling inspection scheme(misjudgment rate of less than 5%)was designed,and a batch test system was developed.Ten units of scintillator units can be measured at a time.The test system selects the single muon events of cosmic rays to measure the light output values of the plastic scintillator units.Results The measurement has an uncertainty of less than 2%.By pretest calibration,the difference between different channels can be eliminated.The calibration was implemented approximately every 3 months,and the test system had been running stably for 28 months.By measuring the ratio of the signals of selected far and near probe events,the changes in the quality of different batches of plastic scintillator units can be demonstrated.Conclusions The test system realized accurate measurement of the light output,and all batches satisfied the requirements of the experiment.

Geometrical reconstruction of fluorescence events observed by the LHAASO experiment

The LHAASO-WFCTA experiment,which aims to observe cosmic rays in the sub-EeV range using the fluorescence technique,uses a new generation of high-performance telescopes.To ensure that the experiment has ex-cellent detection capability associated with the measurement of the energy spectrum,the primary composition of cosmic rays,and so on,an accurate geometrical reconstruction of air-shower events is fundamental.This paper de-scribes the development and testing of geometrical reconstruction for stereo viewed events using the WFCTA(Wide Field of view Cherenkov/Fluorescence Telescope Array)detectors.Two approaches,which take full advantage ofthe WFCTA detectors.are investigated.One is the stereo-angular method,which uses the pointing of triggered SiPMs in the shower trajectory,and the other is the stereo-timing method,which uses the triggering time of the fired SiPMs.The results show that both methods have good geometrical resolution:the resolution of the stereo-timing method is slightly better than the stereo-angular method because the resolution of the latter is slightly limited by the shower track length.