Calibration and Performance of the Surface Scintillator Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory has led to significant advances in our understanding of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. These new insights have driven a major upgrade of the Observatory, known as AugerPrime, through which the experiment has entered its Phase II, a new period of data collection. A key part of the upgrade is adding surface scintillator detectors (SSD) on top of the existing water-Cherenkov detectors (WCD). The main goal is to leverage their different responses to the electromagnetic and muonic shower components, enhancing the reconstruction of the primary cosmic-ray mass. In this contribution, we present the methods that involve analyzing peak and charge distributions of atmospheric muons for accurate calibration during extensive air-shower event reconstruction, along with the development of a rate-based algorithm for independent calibration. We also show the performance of the SSDs with Phase-II data, including PMT reliability and stability of key parameters, such as gain and signal-to-noise ratio.

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ArXiv.org
Published
2025-07-12
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Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
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article

Calibration and Performance of the Surface Scintillator Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

ArXiv.org
Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
article

Calibration and Performance of the Surface Scintillator Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

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Abstract

The Pierre Auger Observatory has led to significant advances in our understanding of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. These new insights have driven a major upgrade of the Observatory, known as AugerPrime, through which the experiment has entered its Phase II, a new period of data collection. A key part of the upgrade is adding surface scintillator detectors (SSD) on top of the existing water-Cherenkov detectors (WCD). The main goal is to leverage their different responses to the electromagnetic and muonic shower components, enhancing the reconstruction of the primary cosmic-ray mass. In this contribution, we present the methods that involve analyzing peak and charge distributions of atmospheric muons for accurate calibration during extensive air-shower event reconstruction, along with the development of a rate-based algorithm for independent calibration. We also show the performance of the SSDs with Phase-II data, including PMT reliability and stability of key parameters, such as gain and signal-to-noise ratio.

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Calibration and Performance of the Surface Scintillator Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory · ArXiv.org (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS