Cherenkov telescope prototype

Abstract

This report presents a prototype Cherenkov telescope, the observation method of Cherenkov light from extensive air showers (EAS) generated by cosmic rays (CRs) above 1016 eV and preliminary observations. The interest in Cherenkov light differential detectors of EAS is caused by the possibility to measure the depth of the cascade maximum, Xmax, and/or the shower age via angular and temporal distributions of the Cherenkov signal. In particular, it was shown, using EAS model simulations, that the pulse width measured at the periphery of the shower, r > 300 m, at sea level is pronouncedly connected with Xmax. The Cherenkov detector is a wide-angle telescope working in coincidence with scintillation detectors, integral and differential Cherenkov detectors at the Yakutsk complex EAS.