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 10,202...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.展开更多
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 pro...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.展开更多
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 detecto...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.展开更多
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 det...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.展开更多
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).Purpo...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.展开更多
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 ...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.展开更多
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 Fiel...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.展开更多
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 con...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.展开更多
Purpose The main scientific goal of LHAASO-WCDA is to survey gamma-ray sources with energy from 100 GeV to 30 TeV.To observe high-energy shower events,especially to measure the energy spectrum of cosmic rays from 100 ...Purpose The main scientific goal of LHAASO-WCDA is to survey gamma-ray sources with energy from 100 GeV to 30 TeV.To observe high-energy shower events,especially to measure the energy spectrum of cosmic rays from 100 TeV to 10 PeV,a dynamic range extension system(WCDA++)is designed to use a 1.5-inch PMT with a dynamic range of four orders of magnitude for each cell in WCDA-1.Method The dynamic range is extended by using these PMTs to measure the effective charge density in the core region of air shower events,which is an important parameter for identifying the composition of primary particles.Result and Conclusion The system has been running for more than one year.In this paper,the details of the design and performance of WCDA++are presented.展开更多
基金Supported in China by National Key R&D program of China(2018YFA0404201,2018YFA0404202,2018YFA0404203,2018YFA0404204)NSFC(U2031101,11475141,12147208)in Thailand by RTA6280002 from Thailand Science Research and Innovation。
文摘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.
基金supported in China by the National Key R&D Program of China(2018YFA0404201,2018YFA0404202,2018YFA0404203,and 2018YFA0404204)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(12105294,12022502,12261160362,12205314,U1931201,and U2031105)+1 种基金the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences(2022010)in Thailand by the National Science and Technology Development Agency(NSTDA)and National Research Council of Thailand(NRCT):High-Potential Research Team Grant Program(N42A650868).
文摘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.
基金Supported in China by National Key R&D program of China under the grants(2018YF A0404201.2018YFA0404202.2018YF A0404203)by NSFC(12022502,190527,135011,11761141001.U1931112,11775131,U1931201,11905043,U1931108)by NSFSPC(ZR2019MA014),and in Thailand by RTA6280002 from Thailand Science Research and Innovation。
文摘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.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(11903005,11563004,11475190)。
文摘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.
基金Thiswork is supported byNationalKeyR&Dpro-gram of China under the grant 2018YFA0404201by the National Nat-ural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11805209,12022502)the Chinese Academy of Science,Institute of High Energy Physics.
文摘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.
基金Supported by the following grants:the National Key R&D program of China(2018YFA0404201,2018YFA0404202,2018YFA0404203)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(12022502,11905227,U1931112,11635011,11761141001,Y811A35,11675187,U1831208,U1931111)in Thailand by RTA6280002 from Thailand Science Research and Innovation。
文摘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.
基金supported by the National Key R&D program of China under grants 2018YFA0404201This research work is also supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,with NSFC Grants No.11635011,No.11761141001,No.11905240,No.12105293,No.12105294,No.U2031103,No.U1831208,No.11503021,No.11205126,No.11947404,and No.11675187+2 种基金by IHEP innovation project No.E25451U2by the Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province 2021YFSY0031by the Xiejialin Foundation of IHEP No.E2546IU2,by RTA6280002 from Thailand Science Research and Innovation in Thailand.
文摘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.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation in China(NSFC)(U2031103,U1831208,11805209,11775233)NSFC for Distinguished Young Scholars(12025502)+1 种基金the Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province(2021YFSY0031)the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(113111KYSB20170055)。
文摘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.
基金This research work is also supported by following grants.The National Key R&D program of China under the Grant 2018YFA0404201,2018YFA0404202 and 2018YFA0404203by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC Grants Nos.12022502,No.11905227,No.U1931112,No.11635011,No.11761141001,No.Y811A35,No.11675187,No.U1831208,No.11873005)+1 种基金by the Key R&D Program of SiChuan Province under the Grant 2019ZYZF0001in Thailand by RTA6280002 from Thailand Science Research and Innovation.
文摘Purpose The main scientific goal of LHAASO-WCDA is to survey gamma-ray sources with energy from 100 GeV to 30 TeV.To observe high-energy shower events,especially to measure the energy spectrum of cosmic rays from 100 TeV to 10 PeV,a dynamic range extension system(WCDA++)is designed to use a 1.5-inch PMT with a dynamic range of four orders of magnitude for each cell in WCDA-1.Method The dynamic range is extended by using these PMTs to measure the effective charge density in the core region of air shower events,which is an important parameter for identifying the composition of primary particles.Result and Conclusion The system has been running for more than one year.In this paper,the details of the design and performance of WCDA++are presented.