The KASCADE-Grande experiment

Abstract

KASCADE-Grande is the enlargement of the KASCADE extensive air shower detector, realized to expand the cosmic ray studies from the previous 10 14–10 17 eV primary energy range to 10 18 eV. This is performed by extending the area covered by the KASCADE electromagnetic array from 200×200 to 700×700 m 2 by means of 37 scintillator detector stations of 10 m 2 area each. This new array is named Grande and provides measurements of the all-charged particle component of extensive air showers ( N ch ), while the original KASCADE array particularly provides information on the muon content ( N μ ) . Additional dense compact detector set-ups being sensitive to energetic hadrons and muons are used for data consistency checks and calibration purposes. The performance of the Grande array and its integration into the entire experimental complex is discussed. It is demonstrated that the overall observable resolutions are adequate to meet the physical requirements of the measurements, i.e. primary energy spectrum and elemental composition studies in the primary cosmic ray energy range of 10 16–10 18 eV.