Self-triggered radio detection and identification of cosmic air showers with the OVRO-LWA

Monroe R, Romero Wolf A, Hallinan G, Nelles A, Eastwood M, Anderson M, D'Addario L, Kocz J, Wang Y, Cody D, Woody D, Schinzel F, Taylor G, Greenhill L, Price D (2019)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2019

Journal

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment Elsevier

Article Number: 163086

DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2019.163086

Abstract

A successful ground array Radio Frequency (RF)-only self-trigger is demonstrated with 256 dual-polarization antennas of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory Long Wavelength Array (OVRO-LWA), yielding 10 high-energy cosmic ray candidates. This RF-only capability is predicated on novel techniques for Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) identification and mitigation with an analysis efficiency of approximately 45% for shower-driven events with a Signal-to-noise ratio ≳ 5 against the galactic background noise power of individual antennas. Radio self-triggering enables more efficient detection of cosmic rays over a wider range of zenith angles than possible via triggers from in-situ particle detectors and the method presented here can be easily adapted to neutrino experiments relying on RF-only detection. This paper discusses the system design, RFI characterization and mitigation techniques, and initial results from 10 cosmic ray candidate events identified within a 40-hour observing window. A design for a future optimized commensal cosmic-ray detector for the OVRO-LWA is presented, as well as recommendations for developing a similar capability for other experiments — these designs either reduce data-rate or increase sensitivity by an order of magnitude for many configurations of radio instruments.

Authors with CRIS profile

Anna Nelles Professur für Experimentelle Astroteilchenphysik, insbesondere Radionachweis von Neutrinos

Involved external institutions

California Institute of Technology (Caltech) US United States (USA) (US) Jet Propulsion Laboratory US United States (USA) (US) Smithsonian Institution US United States (USA) (US) Swinburne University of Technology AU Australia (AU) University of New Mexico (UNM) / Universidad de Nuevo México US United States (USA) (US) National Radio Astronomy Observatory US United States (USA) (US)

How to cite

APA:

Monroe, R., Romero Wolf, A., Hallinan, G., Nelles, A., Eastwood, M., Anderson, M.,... Price, D. (2019). Self-triggered radio detection and identification of cosmic air showers with the OVRO-LWA. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2019.163086

MLA:

Monroe, Ryan, et al. "Self-triggered radio detection and identification of cosmic air showers with the OVRO-LWA." Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment (2019).

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