Ultimate precision in cosmic-ray radio detection — the SKA

Tim Huege , Justin D. Bray , Stijn Buitink , David Butler , Richard Dallier (1, 2) , Ron D. Ekers , Torsten Ensslin , Heino Falcke , Andreas Haungs , Clancy W. James , Lilian Martin (1, 2) , Pragati Mitra , Katharine Mulrey , Anna Nelles , Benoît Revenu (1) , Olaf Scholten , Frank G. Schröder , Steven Tingay , Tobias Winchen , Anne Zilles

1 SUBATECH - Laboratoire de physique subatomique et des technologies associées
2 USN - Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay

As of 2023, the low-frequency part of the Square Kilometre Array will go online in Australia. It will constitute the largest and most powerful low-frequency radio-astronomical observatory to date, and will facilitate a rich science programme in astronomy and astrophysics. With modest engineering changes, it will also be able to measure cosmic rays via the radio emission from extensive air showers. The extreme antenna density and the homogeneous coverage provided by more than 60,000 antennas within an area of one km2 will push radio detection of cosmic rays in the energy range around 1017 eV to ultimate precision, with superior capabilities in the reconstruction of arrival direction, energy, and an expected depth-of-shower-maximum resolution of < 10 g/cm2.

Mots clés: showers: atmosphere; cosmic radiation; observatory; radio wave; engineering; resolution; density; on-line; air

Domaines: Instrumentations et Détecteurs [physics.ins-det]; Physique des Hautes Energies - Expérience [hep-ex]

Tim Huege, Justin D. Bray, Stijn Buitink, David Butler, Richard Dallier, et al.. Ultimate precision in cosmic-ray radio detection — the SKA. 7th international workshop on Acoustic and Radio EeV Neutrino Detection Activities, Jun 2016, Groningen, Netherlands. pp.02003, ⟨10.1051/epjconf/201713502003⟩. ⟨hal-01584598⟩