The Fly's Eye detector: Present and future

doi:10.1016/0168-9002(88)91107-2

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

Volume 264, Issue 1, 1 February 1988, Pages 87-92

https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-9002(88)91107-2 Get rights and content

Abstract

The operation and recent results of the Fly's Eye cosmic ray observatory are described. This detector observes ⩾ 10¹⁷ eV cosmic ray extensive air showers via air fluorescence. Results on the cosmic ray spectrum, composition and the ultrahigh energy neutrino flux, are presented. Plans for a next generation high resolution eye are described.

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Cited by (15)

The energy spectrum of cosmic rays measured by the Telescope Array using 10 years of fluorescence detector data
2023, Astroparticle Physics
The Telescope Array (TA) Cosmic Ray Observatory is the largest cosmic ray detector in the northern hemisphere. TA was built to study ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), cosmic rays with energies above $1 0^{18} eV$ . TA is a hybrid detector, employing two distinct detection methods: a surface detector array and a set of fluorescence telescopes. We will present a measurement of the cosmic ray energy spectrum for energies above $1 0^{17.5} eV$ using only the fluorescence telescopes. A novel weather classification scheme using machine learning was used to select data parts with good weather to ensure the quality of the fluorescence data. The data from the Black Rock Mesa (BRM) and Long Ridge (LR) fluorescence telescope sites were analyzed separately in monocular mode, with the calculated fluxes combined into a single spectrum. The 10-year monocular combined cosmic ray energy spectrum is observed to be in excellent agreement with previous measurements from the northern hemisphere. We present fits of the combined spectrum to a series of broken power law models. The thrice-broken power law was observed to be the best fit considering the Poisson deviance per degrees of freedom. The three breaks suggest an additional feature of the spectrum between the previously observed Ankle feature at $1 0^{18.7} eV$ and the GZK suppression at $1 0^{19.8} eV$ .
Time asymmetries in extensive air showers: A novel method to identify UHECR species
2009, Astroparticle Physics
Azimuthal asymmetries in signals of non-vertical showers have been observed in ground arrays of water Cherenkov detectors, like Haverah Park and the Pierre Auger Observatory. The asymmetry in time distributions of arriving particles offers a new possibility for the determination of the mass composition. The dependence of this asymmetry on atmospheric depth shows a clear maximum at a position that is correlated with the primary species. In this work a novel method to determine mass composition based on these features of the ground signals is presented and a Monte Carlo study of its sensitivity is carried out.
Air fluorescence relevant for cosmic-ray detection-Summary of the 5th fluorescence workshop, El Escorial 2007
2008, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
High-energy cosmic rays with energies exceeding $10^{17} eV$ are frequently observed by measurements of the fluorescence light induced by air showers. A major contribution to the systematic uncertainties of the absolute energy scale of such experiments is the insufficient knowledge of the fluorescence light yield of electrons in air. The aim of the 5th Fluorescence Workshop was to bring together experimental and theoretical expertise to discuss the latest progress on the investigations of the fluorescence light yield. The results of the workshop will be reviewed as well as the present status of knowledge in this field. Emphasis is given to the fluorescence light yield important for air shower observations and its dependence on atmospheric parameters, like pressure, temperature, and humidity. The effects of the latest results on the light observed from air showers will be discussed.
Longitudinal development of extensive air showers: Hybrid code SENECA and full Monte Carlo
2005, Astroparticle Physics
Citation Excerpt :
Their origin, nature and possible acceleration mechanisms are still a mystery. In the last decades many experiments such as Volcano Ranch [1,2], Haverah Park [3], Yakutsk [4], Fly’s Eye [5,6], HiRes [7] and AGASA [8,9] have contributed for the study of UHECR’s, setting up the existence of such high energy particles. Shortly, the Pierre Auger Observatory will begin to explore them in unprecedented detail [10,11].
New experiments, exploring the ultra-high energy tail of the cosmic ray spectrum with unprecedented detail, are exerting a severe pressure on extensive air shower modelling. Detailed fast codes are in need in order to extract and understand the richness of information now available. Some hybrid simulation codes have been proposed recently to this effect (e.g., the combination of the traditional Monte Carlo scheme and system of cascade equations or pre-simulated air showers). In this context, we explore the potential of SENECA, an efficient hybrid tri-dimensional simulation code, as a valid practical alternative to full Monte Carlo simulations of extensive air showers generated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We extensively compare hybrid method with the traditional, but time consuming, full Monte Carlo code CORSIKA which is the de facto standard in the field. The hybrid scheme of the SENECA code is based on the simulation of each particle with the traditional Monte Carlo method at two steps of the shower development: the first step predicts the large fluctuations in the very first particle interactions at high energies while the second step provides a well detailed lateral distribution simulation of the final stages of the air shower. Both Monte Carlo simulation steps are connected by a cascade equation system which reproduces correctly the hadronic and electromagnetic longitudinal profile. We study the influence of this approach on the main longitudinal characteristics of proton, iron nucleus and gamma induced air showers and compare the predictions of the well known CORSIKA code using the QGSJET hadronic interaction model.
High energy physics in the atmosphere: Phenomenology of cosmic ray air showers
2004, Annals of Physics
Citation Excerpt :
More recent experiments using surface detection techniques include Haverah Park in England (53°58′N, 1°38′W) [24], Yakutsk in Russia (62°N, 130 °E) [25], the Sydney University Giant Airshower Recorder (SUGAR) in Australia (30°32′S, 149°43′E) [26], and the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA), about 100 km west of Tokyo (38°47′N, 138°30′E) [27,28]. The fluorescence method has been used by the Fly’s Eye experiment [29,30], as well as its up-scoped descendant High Resolution Fly’s Eye experiment (HiRes) [31], operating at the Dugway proving ground in the Utah desert (40 °N, 112 °W). Over the next few years, the best observations of the extreme end of the cosmic ray spectrum will be made by the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) [32], which is currently operational in Malargüe, Argentina (35°12′S, 69°12′W) and is in the process of growing to its final size of 3000 km2.
The properties of cosmic rays with energies above 10⁶ GeV have to be deduced from the spacetime structure and particle content of the air showers which they initiate. In this review we summarize the phenomenology of these giant air showers. We describe the hadronic interaction models used to extrapolate results from collider data to ultra high energies, and discuss the prospects for insights into forward physics at the LHC. We also describe the main electromagnetic processes that govern the longitudinal shower evolution, as well as the lateral spread of particles. Armed with these two principal shower ingredients and motivation from the underlying physics, we provide an overview of some of the different methods proposed to distinguish primary species. The properties of neutrino interactions and the potential of forthcoming experiments to isolate deeply penetrating showers from baryonic cascades are also discussed. We finally venture into a terra incognita endowed with TeV-scale gravity and explore anomalous neutrino-induced showers.
Cosmic ray signatures of multi-W processes
1994, Astroparticle Physics
We explore the discovery potential of cosmic ray physics experiments for Standard Model processes involving the nonperturbative production of $⪆ 〈FO3〉(α_{w}^{−1}) ⋍ 30$ weak gauge bosons. We demonstrate an experimental insensitivity to proton-induced processes and emphasize the importance of neutrino-induced processes. The Fly's Eye currently constrains the largest region of parameter space characterizing multi-W phenomena if a cosmic neutrino flux exists at levels suggested by recent models of active galactic nuclei. MACRO (DUMAND) can constrain or observe additional regions by searching for 1–100 (1–10) characteristic near-vertical (near-horizontal) spatially compact energetic muon bundles per year.

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Section IV. Very high energy cosmic raysThe Fly's Eye detector: Present and future

Abstract

Nucl. Instr. and Meth.

Nucl. Phys.

Phys. Lett.

Proposal to Complement the Fly's Eye with Subsurface Muon Detector

A Proposal for a Large Surface Array at Fly's Eye II

Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. J.

Section IV. Very high energy cosmic rays
The Fly's Eye detector: Present and future