Abstract
The Non-Imaging CHErenkov (NICHE) Array has been deployed at the Telescope Array Middle Drum site, and has been collecting data. We see many coincidences with TALE fluorescence mirror events, establishing hybrid imaging/non-imaging air-Cherenkov observation of cosmic ray air showers. We have verified the TALE Profile-Constrained Geometry Fit of Cherenkov events at the 3° level. We have performed hybrid timing fits between NICHE and TALE and have established that the growth in the FWHM of the NICHE signal with the distance of the shower core depends on the height of the shower maximum.
Highlights
The motivating idea behind the Non-Imaging CHErenkov (NICHE) Array is to use non-imaging light collectors with fine time resolution to sample the air-Cherenkov light pool from cosmic-ray induced air showers
Using the NICHE Array we plan to extend the range of energies observed by TA and TALE to below 1 PeV
The energy range of NICHE will overlap with the lower end of the energy range of TALE in air-Cherenkov observations allowing for hybrid imaging/non-imaging observations of air showers
Summary
The motivating idea behind the Non-Imaging CHErenkov (NICHE) Array is to use non-imaging light collectors with fine time resolution to sample the air-Cherenkov light pool from cosmic-ray induced air showers. A 14 counter array with 100-m spacing has been deployed in the field-of-view of the TALE telescopes at distances from 600–1000 m. One measures the energy and depth of shower max in non-imaging detector arrays by measuring the shape of the Cherenkov Lateral Distribution (CLD), the flux of Cherenkov radiation from the shower as a function of the distance from the shower axis. If the counter is close to the shower axis, only late portions of the shower contribute a significant signal, and all the photons arrive within about a nanosecond. Measuring the Cherenkov Width Lateral Distribution (CWLD) allows one to determine the depth of shower max in a way complementary to the CLD, in that one would like to take measurements far from the shower axis rather than close to it
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