M. Patel

The new South Pole air shower experiment – SPASE-2

This paper describes a new coincidence experiment designed to improve understanding of the composition of the primary cosmic-ray beam around the knee of the spectrum. The experiment consists of an air shower array on the surface (SPASE-2), which works in coincidence with an array of air-Cherenkov detectors (VULCAN), and the Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA) deep in the ice. The experiment must cover the energy range from ∼1014 to ∼3×1016 eV to overlap with direct measurements at lower energy and encompass the regions of the knee and beyond in the cosmic ray spectrum.

An experiment to search for ultra high energy γ-ray sources from the south pole

Abstract We describe the construction and performance characteristics of an extensive air shower array which has been established at the geographic South Pole. The experiment has been designed to search for sources for cosmic rays with primary energies above 50 TeV with an angular resolution of about 1°. The array has an enclosed area of 6235 m 2 and is at an altitude of 2835 m (695 g cm −2 ). The unique advantage of the site is the circumpolar nature of all candidate sources, including SN1987A, which lie at a constant zenith angle.

A novel low-cost method of monitoring delays in photomultiplier systems

A pulsed-laser-fibre-optic system which can be used to monitor continuously the time delays in experiments using a large number of fast photomultipliers, is described. It can detect relative changes of 0.2 ns in time delays of up to 1000 ns and has been incorporated in the fast extensive air shower array at Haverah Park and in a similar array established at the South Pole. It is anticipated that such a system will find application in time-of-flight measurements and in other fields in addition to that of the extensive air showers.