HAWC Performance Enhanced by Machine Learning in Gamma-hadron Separation
Abstract Improving gamma-hadron separation is one of the most effective ways to enhance the performance of ground-based gamma-ray observatories. With more than a decade of continuous operation, the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory has contributed significantly to high-energy astrophysics. To further leverage its rich data set, we introduce a machine learning approach for gamma-hadron separation. A multilayer perceptron shows the best performance, surpassing traditional and other machine learning–based methods. This approach shows a notable improvement in the detector’s sensitivity, supported by results from both simulated and real HAWC data. In particular, it achieves a 19% increase in significance for the Crab Nebula, commonly used as a benchmark. These improvements highlight the potential of machine learning to significantly enhance the performance of HAWC and provide a valuable reference for ground-based observatories, such as the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory and the upcoming Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory.
Authors
- A. Nayerhoda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0587-4324)
- Niccolò Di Lalla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7574-1298)
- Rishi Babu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5529-6780)
- Miguel Araya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0595-9267)
- E. Belmont‐Moreno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3207-105X)
- J. A. Morales-Soto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9361-0147)
- Enrique Varela (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0715-7513)
- P. Desiati (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9768-1858)
- S. Yu
- E. Moreno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1114-2640)
- Y. Pérez Araujo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8774-8147)
- P. Miranda-Romagnoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8390-9011)
- T. Capistrán
- E. De la Fuente (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9643-4134)
- U. Cotti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7607-9582)
- I. Herzog (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5169-723X)
- Dezhi Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5447-1786)
- K. Malone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8088-400X)
- S. Casanova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6144-9122)
- M. R. Zapatero Osorio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5664-2852)
- J. Serna-Franco
- L. Nellen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1059-8731)
- Hao Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3030-4270)
- J. A. Goodman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9790-1299)
- O. Tibolla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9074-0584)
- I. J. Watson
- Jorge A. González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3716-4474)
- Y. Son (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7214-8480)
- J. A. Montes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6026-7338)
- I. Torres (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1689-3945)
- E. G. Pérez‐Pérez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5998-4938)
- A. Sandoval (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6079-2722)
- D. Kieda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4785-0101)
- C. Espinoza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7074-1726)
- Nilanjana Ghosh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5051-3814)
- Chang Dong Rho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6524-9769)
- F. Garfias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1122-4168)
- D. Rosa‐González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1327-0838)
- P. Bangale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3886-3739)
- A. L. Longinotti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8825-3624)
- A. Iriarte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5811-5167)
- M. A. DuVernois (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2987-9691)
- A. Carramiñana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8553-3302)
- Amado Andrés (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0238-1364)
- G. Luis-Raya
- J. C. Arteaga-Velázquez
- E. Ponce (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8960-6495)
- J. P. Harding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9844-2648)
- Sergio Hernández Cadena (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2565-8365)
- William H. Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2467-5673)
- R. Alfaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8749-1647)
- R. W. Springer
- C. de León (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8528-9573)
- K. Tollefson
- J. A. García-González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4188-5584)
- J. Martínez-Castro
- J. Linnemann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2696-947X)
- K. Engel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5737-1820)
- Kwok Lung Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8246-4751)
- Davide Depaoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2672-4141)
- H. A. Ayala Solares (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2084-5049)
- T. Ergin
- P. E. Mirón-Enriquez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9231-2287)
- S. Fraija (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8311-6290)
- M. Najafi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2300-5301)
- O. Martı́nez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9052-856X)
- John A. Matthews (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2610-863X)
- X. Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6798-353X)
- M. Roth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4204-5026)
- A. Gonzalez Muñoz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1560-6334)
- R. Torres-Escobedo
- A. Rodriguez Parra
- D. Avila Rojas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4020-4142)
- A. J. Smith
- M. M. González
- R. Diaz Hernandez
- H. León Vargas
- F. Carreón
- P. Hüntemeyer
- L. Villaseñor
- H. Salazar
- J. C. Díaz-Vélez
- N. Omodei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5448-7577)
- C. Álvarez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0815-7953)
- S. Groetsch
- S. Kaufmann
- N. Fraija (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-6453)
- Z. Wang
- H. Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7243-1402)
- A. Bernal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6671-5166)
- Kathryn Leavitt
- E. Anita-Rangel
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Published
- 2025-10-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae0186
- Primary Topic
- Particle Detector Development and Performance
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00