Published 2015
0 views Journal article Open Access Open Access

The Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory

Creators

  • 1. Folkwang University of the Arts
  • 2. Instituto Superior Técnico
  • 3. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
  • 4. University of Turin
  • 5. United States Department of Energy
  • 6. Centre national de la recherche scientifique
  • 7. University of São Paulo
  • 8. National Scientific and Technical Research Council
  • 9. New York University
  • 10. Ohio State University
  • 11. National Autonomous University of Mexico
  • 12. University of Santiago de Compostela
  • 13. University of Hamburg
  • 14. University of Naples Federico II
  • 15. Radboud University Nijmegen
  • 16. City University of New York
  • 17. Complutense University of Madrid
  • 18. University of California, Los Angeles
  • 19. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
  • 20. University of Bucharest
  • 21. University of Adelaide
  • 22. University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • 23. Max Planck Society
  • 24. University of Salento
  • 25. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
  • 26. Rio de Janeiro State University
  • 27. Polish Academy of Sciences
  • 28. University of Rome Tor Vergata
  • 29. Colorado State University
  • 30. University of Granada
  • 31. Instituto Politécnico Nacional
  • 32. University of Milan
  • 33. University of Catania
  • 34. Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
  • 35. State University of Campinas
  • 36. University of Leeds
  • 37. Pennsylvania State University
  • 38. Case Western Reserve University
  • 39. University of Chicago
  • 40. University of Buenos Aires
  • 41. Federal Fluminense University
  • 42. University of Groningen
  • 43. University of Alcalá
  • 44. Michigan Technological University
  • 45. National University of La Plata
  • 46. RWTH Aachen University
  • 47. University of Amsterdam
  • 48. University of Nova Gorica
  • 49. Jožef Stefan Institute
  • 50. University of Hawaii
  • 51. National University of Rosario
  • 52. Palacký University, Olomouc
  • 53. Colorado School of Mines
  • 54. University of New Mexico
  • 55. Universidade Federal do ABC
  • 56. Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
  • 57. Louisiana State University System
  • 58. Louisiana State University
  • 59. Universidade Federal de Pelotas
  • 60. Charles University in Prague
  • 61. Northeastern University
  • 62. Federal University of Bahia
  • 63. University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  • 64. INAF
  • 65. Université libre de Bruxelles

Description

The Pierre Auger Observatory, located on a vast, high plain in western Argentina, is the world's largest cosmic ray observatory. The objectives of the Observatory are to probe the origin and characteristics of cosmic rays above $10^{17}$ eV and to study the interactions of these, the most energetic particles observed in nature. The Auger design features an array of 1660 water-Cherenkov particle detector stations spread over 3000 km$^2$ overlooked by 24 air fluorescence telescopes. In addition, three high elevation fluorescence telescopes overlook a 23.5 km$^2$, 61 detector infill array. The Observatory has been in successful operation since completion in 2008 and has recorded data from an exposure exceeding 40,000 km$^2$ sr yr. This paper describes the design and performance of the detectors, related subsystems and infrastructure that make up the Auger Observatory.
Enabled by The Lens

Open Access

Licence Attribution (CC BY-NC-ND)
Publisher Website Access full text