Abstract
The GRAPES-3 is a dense extensive air shower array operating with ~400 scintillator detectors and a 560 m2 large tracking muon detector (Eμ > 1 GeV), at Ooty in India. The muon detector has been used to observe acceleration of muons during thunderstorm conditions. The muon multiplicity distribution of the EAS is used to probe the composition of primary cosmic rays below 1 PeV, with an overlap with direct measurements. More recently we have explored the possibility of using the angular distribution of >1 GeV muons to identify the best from among several low- and high-energy hadronic interaction models. We have major expansion plans to enhance the sensitivity of the GRAPES-3 experiment in all of the areas listed above.
Highlights
IntroductionThe GRAPES-3 (Gamma Ray Astronomy at PeV EnergieS-phase 3) is a high density extensive air shower (EAS) array designed for precision study of acceleration of charged particles in nature using a number of phenomena as detailed below
The GRAPES-3 is a dense extensive air shower array operating with ∼400 scintillator detectors and a 560 m2 large tracking muon detector (Eμ >1 GeV), at Ooty in India
The muon multiplicity distribution of the extensive air shower (EAS) is used to probe the composition of primary cosmic rays below 1 PeV, with an overlap with direct measurements
Summary
The GRAPES-3 (Gamma Ray Astronomy at PeV EnergieS-phase 3) is a high density extensive air shower (EAS) array designed for precision study of acceleration of charged particles in nature using a number of phenomena as detailed below. The muon detector has provided new information on solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and Forbush decrease (Fd) events [4, 5] besides serving as a sensitive probe of the interplanetary magnetic field and the turbulence caused in it due to the propagation of the CMEs [6] It will be enormously helpful if the nature of hadronic interactions could be ascertained independent of the composition. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations using CORSIKA [9] were done to obtain muon angular distribution for GRAPES-3 experiment for all possible combinations of, three low- and three high-energy hadronic interaction models. Mospheric radon decay products to be routinely detected during every episode of rain in Ooty
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