Hardware-level calibration of the Chitaga Water Cherenkov Detector in the GUANE array for space weather study

Abstract

Currently Water Cherenkov Detectors (WCDs) play an important role for space weather and cosmic rays studies. Around the world several observatories are trying to study extremely high energy particles, which actual terrestrial accelerators are unable to do. The GUANE array is located in the Universidad Industrial de Santander (Bucaramanga-Colombia), and it takes part in the Latin American Giant Observatory (LAGO), which is mainly oriented in basic research on three branches of Astroparticle Physics: the Extreme Universe, Space Weather phenomena, [1], and the Atmospheric Radiation at ground level. To pursue these aims scientists need confidence in the data provided by WCDs, in this case, it depends on carrying out a strict calibration process to characterize temporal and energy response. In this paper, a new hardware-level WCD calibration methodology and the measurement of the 07.09.2017 Forbush decrease for its validation is presented.