Resistive plate chambers for the Pierre Auger array upgrade

LOPES, L.; ASSIS, P.; BLANCO, A.; CERDA, M.A.; CAROLINO, N.; CUNHA, O.; FERREIRA, M.; FONTE, P.; MENDES, L.; PALKA, M.; PEREIRA, A.; PIMENTA, M.; TOMÉ, B.

JOURNAL OF INSTRUMENTATION

IOP PUBLISHING LTD

Año: 2014 vol. 9

1748-0221

In the framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory upgrade, Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) have been proposed as a dedicated detector to better estimate the muonic component of Extensive Air Showers (EAS), further constraining the nature of the cosmic rays and hadronic interactions that take place in Extensive Air Showers development. RPCs are a very interesting option to fulfill the requirements: to cover large areas at low cost; particle counting from one to thousands of particles; few ns time resolution and outdoor standalone operation with very low maintenance. The present work refers to the latest advances and outcomes in order to ensure the capability of RPCs to fulfill the totality of the Auger upgrade requirements.