Cherenkov Light Yield Research Articles

Performance and systematic uncertainties of CTA-North in conditions of reduced atmospheric transmission

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next-generation stereoscopic system of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs). In IACTs, the atmosphere is used as a calorimeter to measure the energy of extensive air showers induced by cosmic gamma rays, which brings along a series of constraints on the precision to which energy can be reconstructed. The presence of clouds during observations can severely affect Cherenkov light yield, contributing to the systematic uncertainty in energy scale calibration. To minimize these systematic uncertainties, a calibration of telescopes is of great importance. For this purpose, the influence of cloud transmission and altitude on CTA-N performance degradation was investigated using detailed Monte Carlo simulations for the case where no action is taken to correct for the effects of clouds. Variations of instrument response functions in the presence of clouds are presented. In the presence of clouds with low transmission (≤ 80%) the energy resolution is aggravated by 30% at energies below 1 TeV, and by 10% at higher energies. For higher transmissions, the energy resolution is worse by less than 10% in the whole energy range. The angular resolution varies up to 10% depending both on the transmission and altitude of the cloud. The sensitivity of the array is most severely reduced at lower energies, even by 60% at 40 GeV, depending on the clouds' properties. A simple semi-analytical model of sensitivity degradation has been introduced to summarize the influence of clouds on sensitivity and provide useful scaling relations.

Zenith angle dependence of the cosmic ray rate as measured with imaging air-Cherenkov telescopes

The rate of extensive air-showers observed with imaging air-Cherenkov telescopes is zenith angle dependent. This effect originates from the increasing geometrical distance of the observed shower to the telescope with increasing zenith distance. This paper investigates how this alters the observed image and how this affects the trigger rate as a function of zenith angle. The discussed effects include the change of Cherenkov light yield, of absorption in the atmosphere, of photon density at the aperture and of the image size at the focal plane of the telescope. Based on a simple model for the atmosphere and well-known first principles on the development of extensive air-showers, the zenith angle dependence is expressed analytically. The assumption that most light is emitted from the shower core and mathematical approximations allow to derive an analytical expression describing the zenith angle dependence well with only three free parameters which are directly linked with the underlying physics. This suggests further investigations about how these fit parameters are linked to the properties of the atmosphere and the instrument. Using data published by the First G-APD Cherenkov Telescope, a good match of the fit functions with the data is obtained. For the trigger rate of cosmic rays, the obtained parameters are consistent with the naive expectation.

Measuring the Cherenkov light yield from cosmic ray muon bundles in the water detector

Abstract An experiment on the measurements of the Cherenkov light yield from inclined cosmic ray muon bundles in water is being conducted at the Experimental complex NEVOD (MEPhI). The total number of Cherenkov photons is nearly proportional to the muon energy deposit (including secondary particles produced by muons and cascades from them) within the detector volume. Since at muon energies above a hundred GeV the energy loss is almost linearly related to the energy of muons, the average energy loss of the bundles carries information about the mean muon energy in such events. The complex includes the Cherenkov water calorimeter NEVOD with a volume of 2000 m3 and the coordinate-tracking detector DECOR with a total area of 70 m2. DECOR data are used to determine the local muon densities in the bundle events and their arrival directions, while the energy deposits are evaluated from the Cherenkov calorimeter response. The detection of the bundles in a wide range of muon multiplicities and zenith angles gives the opportunity to explore the energy range of primary cosmic ray particles from about 10 PeV to 1000 PeV and even higher in frame of a single experiment. Experimental results on the dependence of the muon bundle energy deposit on the zenith angle and the local muon density are presented and compared with expectations based on simulation of the EAS muon component by means of the CORSIKA code.

CTA Atmospheric Calibration

The main contribution to the systematic uncertainties of Atmospheric Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) currently stems from the uncertainty in the determination of atmospheric properties for a given moment of observation. This technique uses the atmosphere as a calorimeter of gamma-ray induced atmospheric air showers and measures the amount of Cherenkov light collected by large mirrors and focused towards a pixellized camera. Atmospheric conditions affect the measured Cherenkov light yield in several ways: the air-shower development itself, the variation of the Cherenkov angle with altitude and the loss of photons due to scattering and absorption of Cherenkov light. Although IACTs use to be located at astronomical sites, characterized by extremely clear atmospheric conditions, the local atmosphere should be continuously monitored, in terms of molecular density profiles, aerosol extinction profiles, and clouds. Moreover, a general understanding of the site and particularly aerosol climatology is desirable for a robust interpretation of the sensing instruments’ data. Here, the strategy of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) on atmospheric monitoring is presented, designed to ensure that the related systematic uncertainties are brought down by at least a factor of two with respect to current installations. Additionally, a more intelligent scheduling scheme is aimed at, where source observations are selected using dedicated auxiliary atmospheric monitoring instruments and taking into account the feasibility of a later analysis according to the underlying scientific case. This plan should reduce data loss during offline data selection and enhance the effective duty cycle of the CTA.

Cherenkov radiation fluence estimates in tissue for molecular imaging and therapy applications

Cherenkov radiation has recently emerged as an interesting phenomenon for a number of applications in the biomedical sciences. Its unique properties, including broadband emission spectrum, spectral weight in the ultraviolet and blue wavebands, and local generation of light within a given tissue, have made it an attractive new source of light within tissue for molecular imaging and phototherapy applications. While several studies have investigated the total Cherenkov light yield from radionuclides in units of [photons/decay], further consideration of the light propagation in tissue is necessary to fully consider the utility of this signal in vivo. Therefore, to help further guide the development of this novel field, quantitative estimates of the light fluence rate of Cherenkov radiation from both radionuclides and radiotherapy beams in a biological tissue are presented for the first time. Using Monte Carlo simulations, these values were found to be on the order of 0.01–1 nW cm−2 per MBq g−1 for radionuclides, and 1–100 μW cm−2 per Gy s−1 for external radiotherapy beams, dependent on the given waveband, optical properties, and radiation source. For phototherapy applications, the total light fluence was found to be on the order of nJ cm−2 for radionuclides, and mJ cm−2 for radiotherapy beams. The results indicate that diagnostic potential is reasonable for Cherenkov excitation of molecular probes, but phototherapy may remain elusive at such exceedingly low fluence values. The results of this study are publicly available for distribution online at www.dartmouth.edu/optmed/.

Energy reconstruction methods in the IceCube neutrino telescope

Accurate measurement of neutrino energies is essential to many of the scientific goals of large-volume neutrino telescopes. The fundamental observable in such detectors is the Cherenkov light produced by the transit through a medium of charged particles created in neutrino interactions. The amount of light emitted is proportional to the deposited energy, which is approximately equal to the neutrino energy for νe and νμ charged-current interactions and can be used to set a lower bound on neutrino energies and to measure neutrino spectra statistically in other channels. Here we describe methods and performance of reconstructing charged-particle energies and topologies from the observed Cherenkov light yield, including techniques to measure the energies of uncontained muon tracks, achieving average uncertainties in electromagnetic-equivalent deposited energy of ∼ 15% above 10 TeV.

Calculation of the Cherenkov light yield from electromagnetic cascades in ice with Geant4

In this work we investigate and parameterize the amount and angular distribution of Cherenkov photons which are generated by electro-magnetic cascades in water or ice. We simulate electromagnetic cascades with Geant4 for primary electrons, positrons and photons with energies ranging from 1GeV to 10TeV. We parameterize the total Cherenkov-light yield as a function of energy, the longitudinal evolution of the Cherenkov emission along the cascade-axis and the angular distribution of photons. Furthermore, we investigate the fluctuations of the total light yield, the fluctuations in azimuth and changes of the emission with increasing age of the cascade.

Calculation of the Cherenkov light yield from low energetic secondary particles accompanying high-energy muons in ice and water with Geant4 simulations

In this work we investigate and parameterize the amount and angular distribution of Cherenkov photons, which are generated by low-energy secondary particles (typically ≲500MeV), which accompany a muon track in water or ice. These secondary particles originate from small energy loss processes. We investigate the contributions of the different energy loss processes as a function of the muon energy and the maximum transferred energy. For the calculation of the angular distribution we have developed a generic transformation method, which allows us to derive the angular distribution of Cherenkov photons for an arbitrary distribution of track directions and their velocities.

Design and construction of a Cherenkov imager for charge measurement of nuclear cosmic rays

A proximity focusing Cherenkov imager called CHERCAM, has been built for the charge measurement of nuclear cosmic rays with the CREAM instrument. It consists of a silica aerogel radiator plane across from a detector plane equipped with 1,600 1`` diameter photomultipliers. The two planes are separated by a ring expansion gap. The Cherenkov light yield is proportional to the charge squared of the incident particle. The expected relative light collection accuracy is in the few percents range. It leads to an expected single element separation over the range of nuclear charge Z of main interest 1 ⩽ Z≲26. CHERCAM is designed to fly with the CREAM balloon experiment. The design of the instrument and the implemented technical solutions allowing its safe operation in high altitude conditions (radiations, low pressure, cold) are presented.

A comparison of BGO and BSO crystals used in the dual-readout mode

We report on a systematic study of the properties of two high- Z scintillating crystals, bismuth germanate (BGO) and bismuth silicate (BSO), in view of the possible application of such crystals in dual-readout calorimeters. Whereas the light attenuation characteristics of both crystals are about the same, BSO offers a considerably higher Cherenkov light yield, and with a given UV filter the separation between the Cherenkov and scintillation signals is substantially better in this crystal.

Study of a silica aerogel for a Cherenkov radiator

Highly transparent silica aerogel has been developed for a Cherenkov radiator in a RICH detector to be installed into the Belle forward end-cap apparatus. We have improved the aerogel optical properties for a wide range of refractive indices around 1.03–1.07. The parameters that control a synthesis process in the aerogel production were successfully optimized, and the obtained transmission length for this index range was almost doubled. A prototype was constructed using newly produced aerogel samples in order to carry out a test beam experiment, and a remarkable increase in the Cherenkov light yield was confirmed. The uniformity of refractive index in an aerogel block was examined using an X-ray tomography device and the deviation was found to be sufficiently small. Furthermore, the production of a monolithic aerogel consisting of two layers with different refractive indices is also described.

Measurement of air and nitrogen fluorescence light yields induced by electron beam for UHECR experiments

Most of the Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) experiments and projects (HiRes, AUGER, TA, EUSO, TUS, etc.) use air fluorescence to detect and measure extensive air showers (EAS). The precise knowledge of the Fluorescence Light Yield (FLY) is of paramount importance for the reconstruction of UHECR. The MACFLY—Measurement of Air Cherenkov and Fluorescence Light Yield—experiment has been designed to perform such FLY measurements. In this paper we will present the results of FLY in the 290–440 nm wavelength range for dry air and pure nitrogen, both excited by electrons with energy of 1.5 MeV, 20 GeV and 50 GeV. The experiment uses a 90Sr radioactive source for low energy measurement and a CERN SPS e − beam for high energy. We find that the FLY is proportional to the deposited energy ( E d) in the gas and we show that the air fluorescence properties remain constant independently of the electron energy. At the reference point: atmospheric dry air at 1013 hPa and 23 °C, the ratio FLY/ E d = 17.6 photon/MeV with a systematic error of 13.2%.

Reanalysis of the high energy cutoff of the 1997 Mkn 501 TeV energy spectrum

Data taken with the HEGRA system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes during the 1997 flares of Markarian 501 (Mkn 501) are reanalyzed using an algorithm providing improved energy resolution. A resolution of 10% to 12% is obtained by accounting for the variation of the Cherenkov light yield with the height of the shower maximum in the atmosphere. The improved energy resolution is particularly relevant for the study of the high-energy cutoff in the spectrum, which might be caused by interactions with the intergalactic infrared background radiation. The reanalysis presented here confirms the results obtained in the previous analysis, but hints a steeper slope of the spectrum in the region around 20 TeV.