P. Facal San Luis

A Search for Microwave Emission From Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays

We present a search for microwave emission from air showers induced by ultrahigh energy cosmic rays with the microwave detection of air showers experiment. No events were found, ruling out a wide range of power flux and coherence of the putative emission, including those suggested by recent laboratory measurements.

The Air Microwave Yield (AMY) experiment - A laboratory measurement of the microwave emission from extensive air showers

The AMY experiment aims to measure the microwave bremsstrahlung radiation (MBR) emitted by air-showers secondary electrons accelerating in collisions with neutral molecules of the atmosphere. The measurements are performed using a beam of 510 MeV electrons at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of Frascati INFN National Laboratories. The goal of the AMY experiment is to measure in laboratory conditions the yield and the spectrum of the GHz emission in the frequency range between 1 and 20 GHz. The final purpose is to characterise the process to be used in a next generation detectors of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. A description of the experimental setup and the first results are presented.

The AMY experiment to measure GHz radiation for Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray detection

The Air Microwave Yield (AMY) project aims to measure the emission in the GHz regime from test-beam induced air-shower. The experiment is using the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of the Frascati INFN National Laboratories in Italy. The final purpose is to characterize a process to be used in a next generation of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) detectors. We describe the experimental apparatus and the first test performed in November 2011.

Measurements of the GHz emission by a 3 MeV electron beam

The MAYBE (Microwave Air Yield Beam) Experiment is dedicated to the study of the microwave emission from particle beams in light of its possible use for the detection of ultra high energy cosmic rays. Measurements of the microwave emission were performed at the 3 MeV electron beam in the Van de Graaff facility at the Argonne National Laboratory. Results include the measured spectrum between 1 and 15 GHz, the polarization, and the scaling of the emission power with respect to the beam intensity. MAYBE measurements provide further insight on microwave emission as a detection technique for ultra-high energy cosmic rays.

The MIDAS experiment: A prototype for the microwave emission of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays

Recent measurements suggest that extensive air showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) emit signals in the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum caused by the collisions of the free-electrons with the atmospheric neutral molecules in the plasma produced by the passage of the shower. Such emission is isotropic and could allow the detection of air showers with 100% duty cycle and a calorimetric-like energy measurement, a significant improvement over current detection techniques. We have built MIDAS (MIcrowave Detection of Air Showers), a prototype of microwave detector, which consists of a 4.5 m diameter antenna with a cluster of 53 feed-horns in the 4 GHz range. The details of the prototype and first results will be presented.

Precise Measurement of the Absolute Fluorescence Yield

We present preliminary results of the absolute yield of fluorescence emission in atmospheric gases. Measurements were performed at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility with a variety of beam particles and gases. Absolute calibration of the fluorescence yield to 5% level was achieved by comparison with two known light sources—the Cherenkov light emitted by the beam particles, and a calibrated nitrogen laser. The uncertainty of the energy scale of current Ultra‐High Energy Cosmic Rays experiments will be significantly improved by the AIRFLY measurement.