Atmospheric ”Super Test Beam” for the Pierre Auger Observatory

L.WIENCKE, FOR THE PIERRE AUGER COLLABORATION, ( ..., M. I. MICHELETTI,... )

Beijing

Conferencia; 32nd International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC); 2011

We present results from 200 hours of operation of an atmospheric super test beam system developed for the Pierre Auger Observatory. The approximate optical equivalence is that of a 100 EeV air shower. This new system combines a Raman backscatter LIDAR receiver with a calibrated pulsed UV laser system to generate a test beam in which the number of photons in the beam can be determined at ground level and as a function of height in the atmosphere where high energy air showers develop. The data have been recorded simultaneously by the Raman receiver and by a single mirror optical cosmic ray detector that tested the new system by measuring the side-scattered laser light across a horizontal distance of 39 km. The new test beam instrument will be moved from the R&D location in southeast Colorado to the Pierre Auger Observatory location in Argentina to effect a major upgrade of the central laser facility near the middle of the array.