The exposure of the hybrid detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

PIERRE AUGER COLL., J. ABRAHAM; MARIA TERESA DOVA ET AL

ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2011 p. 368 - 381

0927-6505

The Pierre Auger Observatory is a detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. It consists of a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level and a fluo- rescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The “hybrid” detection mode combines the information from the two sub- systems. We describe the determination of the hybrid exposure for events observed by the fluorescence telescopes in coincidence with at least one water-Cherenkov de- tector of the surface array. A detailed knowledge of the time dependence of the detection operations is crucial for an accurate evaluation of the exposure. We dis- cuss the relevance of monitoring data collected during operations, such as the status of the fluorescence detector, background light and atmospheric conditions, that are used in both simulation and reconstruction.