The Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory

THE AUGER COLLABORATION (... M.I. MICHELETTI ...) (THE LIST IS IN ALPHABETIC ORDER)

NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS IN PHYSICS RESEARCH A - ACCELERATORS, SPECTROMETERS, DETECTORS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPAMENT

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 798 p. 172 - 213

0168-9002

The Pierre Auger Observatory, located on a vast, high plain in western Argentina, is the world´s largestcosmic ray observatory. The objectives of the Observatory are to probe the origin and characteristics ofcosmic rays above 1017 eV and to study the interactions of these, the most energetic particles observed innature. The Auger design features an array of 1660 water Cherenkov particle detector stations spread over3000 km2 overlooked by 24 air fluorescence telescopes. In addition, three high elevation fluorescencetelescopes overlook a 23.5 km2, 61-detector infilled array with 750 m spacing. The Observatory has been insuccessful operation since completion in 2008 and has recorded data from an exposure exceeding40,000 km2 sr yr. This paper describes the design and performance of the detectors, related subsystemsand infrastructure that make up the Observatory