Cosmic-ray detection with LOFAR 2.0

The LOFAR radio telescope has been used to measure radio emission from cosmic-ray air showers in the $10^{16.5}-10^{18}$ eV range for over a decade. LOFAR’s uniquely dense array of hundreds of antennas measuring from 30-80 MHz is ideal for probing the radio footprint in detail. To date, LOFAR data have been used to gain an understanding of radio emission mechanisms and reconstruct cosmic ray energy, arrival direction, and depth of shower maximum. LOFAR is currently undergoing an upgrade (LOFAR 2.0) which will enable continuous observation and a tenfold increase in data rate. Moreover, in LOFAR 2.0 we will be able to observe in the 120-240 MHz band simultaneously with the 30-80 MHz band. In the last years, we also doubled the size of the particle detector array used to trigger radio data readout, going from 20 to 40 detectors. These upgrades will allow us to probe air shower development in greater detail and measure over a wider energy range. In order to best utilize the new influx of data, we have revamped our data reduction pipeline using the NuRadioReco framework. In this contribution, we present an overview of the LOFAR 2.0 cosmic-ray observation program.

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Publication Details

Published
2025-09-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.22323/1.501.0340
Primary Topic
Particle Detector Development and Performance
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Cosmic-ray detection with LOFAR 2.0

T. Huege, Chris Sterpka, Saurabh Sharma, O. Schölten et al.
Particle Detector Development and Performance
article

Cosmic-ray detection with LOFAR 2.0

T. Huege, Chris Sterpka, Saurabh Sharma, O. Schölten, M. Desmet, P. Laub, B. M. Hare, Gia Trinh, Sjoerd Bouma, Leo van Dongen, A. Corstanje, K. Terveer, S. Buitink, A. Nelles, Keito Watanabe, Katharine Mulrey, Paulina Ťureková, Joerg Höerandel, Sander ter Veen, Vital De Henau
article en

Abstract

The LOFAR radio telescope has been used to measure radio emission from cosmic-ray air showers in the $10^{16.5}-10^{18}$ eV range for over a decade. LOFAR’s uniquely dense array of hundreds of antennas measuring from 30-80 MHz is ideal for probing the radio footprint in detail. To date, LOFAR data have been used to gain an understanding of radio emission mechanisms and reconstruct cosmic ray energy, arrival direction, and depth of shower maximum. LOFAR is currently undergoing an upgrade (LOFAR 2.0) which will enable continuous observation and a tenfold increase in data rate. Moreover, in LOFAR 2.0 we will be able to observe in the 120-240 MHz band simultaneously with the 30-80 MHz band. In the last years, we also doubled the size of the particle detector array used to trigger radio data readout, going from 20 to 40 detectors. These upgrades will allow us to probe air shower development in greater detail and measure over a wider energy range. In order to best utilize the new influx of data, we have revamped our data reduction pipeline using the NuRadioReco framework. In this contribution, we present an overview of the LOFAR 2.0 cosmic-ray observation program.

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Openalex Percentile: Top 89%
Particle Detector Development and Performance
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