Muon counting using silicon photomultipliers in the AMIGA detector of the Pierre Auger observatory

The Pierre Auger Collaboration

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/12/03/P03002

Muon counting using silicon photomultipliers in the AMIGA detector of the Pierre Auger observatory

The Pierre Auger Collaboration

Physics

Universität Siegen
Instituto Superior Tecnico
Sezione di Torino
INAF-IAPS
Fermilab
Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies
University of São Paulo
CNEA-UNCuyo-CONICET
Ohio State University
CONICET
Universidad Tecnológica Nacional
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
Sezione di Napoli
INFN
Lehman College
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
University of Bucharest
Universidad Industrial de Santander
Observatorio Pierre Auger and Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica
UNSAM
University Politehnica of Bucharest
'Horia Hulubei' National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
University of Adelaide
UJF-Grenoble 1/CNRS-INSU
Università di Torino and Sezione INFN
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Université Paris 11
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Sezione di Lecce
Universita del Salento
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN
Colorado State University
RWTH Aachen University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

AMIGA (Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array) is an upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory designed to extend its energy range of detection and to directly measure the muon content of the cosmic ray primary particle showers. The array will be formed by an infill of surface water-Cherenkov detectors associated with buried scintillation counters employed for muon counting. Each counter is composed of three scintillation modules, with a 10 m² detection area per module. In this paper, a new generation of detectors, replacing the current multi-pixel photomultiplier tube (PMT) with silicon photo sensors (aka. SiPMs), is proposed. The selection of the new device and its front-end electronics is explained. A method to calibrate the counting system that ensures the performance of the detector is detailed. This method has the advantage of being able to be carried out in a remote place such as the one where the detectors are deployed. High efficiency results, i.e. 98 % efficiency for the highest tested overvoltage, combined with a low probability of accidental counting (∼2 %), show a promising performance for this new system.

Original language	British English
Article number	P03002
Journal	Journal of Instrumentation
Volume	12
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/12/03/P03002
State	Published - 3 Mar 2017

Keywords

Front-end electronics for detector readout
Pattern recognition, cluster finding, calibration and fitting methods
Performance of high energy physics detectors
Photon detectors for UV, visible and IR photons (solid-state) (PIN diodes, APDs, Si-PMTs, G-APDs, CCDs, EBCCDs, EMCCDs etc)

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10.1088/1748-0221/12/03/P03002

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@article{80d9969a36a54333a91bebbda414ad42,

title = "Muon counting using silicon photomultipliers in the AMIGA detector of the Pierre Auger observatory",

abstract = "AMIGA (Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array) is an upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory designed to extend its energy range of detection and to directly measure the muon content of the cosmic ray primary particle showers. The array will be formed by an infill of surface water-Cherenkov detectors associated with buried scintillation counters employed for muon counting. Each counter is composed of three scintillation modules, with a 10 m2 detection area per module. In this paper, a new generation of detectors, replacing the current multi-pixel photomultiplier tube (PMT) with silicon photo sensors (aka. SiPMs), is proposed. The selection of the new device and its front-end electronics is explained. A method to calibrate the counting system that ensures the performance of the detector is detailed. This method has the advantage of being able to be carried out in a remote place such as the one where the detectors are deployed. High efficiency results, i.e. 98 \% efficiency for the highest tested overvoltage, combined with a low probability of accidental counting (∼2 \%), show a promising performance for this new system.",

keywords = "Front-end electronics for detector readout, Pattern recognition, cluster finding, calibration and fitting methods, Performance of high energy physics detectors, Photon detectors for UV, visible and IR photons (solid-state) (PIN diodes, APDs, Si-PMTs, G-APDs, CCDs, EBCCDs, EMCCDs etc)",

author = "\{The Pierre Auger Collaboration\} and A. Aab and P. Abreu and M. Aglietta and Ahn, \{E. J.\} and \{Al Samarai\}, I. and Albuquerque, \{I. F.M.\} and I. Allekotte and P. Allison and A. Almela and \{Alvarez Castillo\}, J. and J. Alvarez-Mu{\~n}iz and M. Ambrosio and Anastasi, \{G. A.\} and L. Anchordoqui and B. Andrada and S. Andringa and C. Aramo and F. Arqueros and N. Arsene and H. Asorey and P. Assis and J. Aublin and G. Avila and Badescu, \{A. M.\} and A. Balaceanu and C. Baus and Beatty, \{J. J.\} and Becker, \{K. H.\} and Bellido, \{J. A.\} and C. Berat and Bertaina, \{M. E.\} and X. Bertou and Biermann, \{P. L.\} and P. Billoir and J. Biteau and Blaess, \{S. G.\} and A. Blanco and J. Blazek and C. Bleve and M. Boh{\'a}{\v c}ov{\'a} and D. Boncioli and C. Bonifazi and N. Borodai and Botti, \{A. M.\} and J. Brack and I. Brancus and T. Bretz and A. Bridgeman and Briechle, \{F. L.\} and \{Van Vliet\}, A.",

note = "Funding Information: The successful installation, commissioning, and operation of the Pierre Auger Observatory would not have been possible without the strong commitment and effort from the technical and administrative staff in Malarg{\"u}e. We are very grateful to the following agencies and organizations for financial support: Comisi{\'o}n Nacional de Energ{\'i}a At{\'o}mica, Agencia Nacional de Promoci{\'o}n Cient{\'i}fica y Tecnol{\'o}gica (ANPCyT), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cient{\'i}ficas y T{\'e}cnicas (CONICET), Gobierno de la Provincia de Mendoza, Municipalidad de Malarg{\"u}e, NDM Holdings and Valle Las Le{\~n}as, in gratitude for their continuing cooperation over land access, Argentina; the Australian Research Council; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient{\'i}fico e Tecnol{\'o}gico (CNPq), Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP), Funda{\c c}{\~a}o de Amparo {\`a} Pesquisa do Estado de Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), S{\~a}o Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) Grants No. 2010/07359-6 and No. 1999/05404-3, Minist{\'e}rio de Ci{\^e}ncia e Tecnologia (MCT), Brazil; Grant No. MSMT CR LG15014, LO1305 and LM2015038 and the Czech Science Foundation Grant No. 14-17501S, Czech Republic; Centre de Calcul IN2P3/CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Conseil R{\'e}gional Ile-de-France, D{\'e}partement Physique Nucl{\'e}aire et Corpusculaire (PNC-IN2P3/CNRS), D{\'e}partement Sciences de l'Univers (SDU-INSU/CNRS), Institut Lagrange de Paris (ILP) Grant No. LABEX ANR-10-LABX-63, within the Investissements d'Avenir Programme Grant No. ANR-11-IDEX-0004-02, France; Bundesministerium f{\"u}r Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Finanzministerium Baden-W{\"u}rttemberg, Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics (HAP), Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (HGF), Ministerium f{\"u}r Wissenschaft und Forschung, Nordrhein Westfalen, Ministerium f{\"u}r Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst, Baden-W{\"u}rttemberg, Germany; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN),Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Universit{\'a}e della Ricerca (MIUR), Gran Sasso Center for Astroparticle Physics (CFA), CETEMPS Center of Excellence, Ministero degli Affari Esteri (MAE), Italy; Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog{\'i}a (CONACYT) No. 167733, Mexico; Universidad Nacional Aut{\'o}noma de M{\'e}xico (UNAM), PAPIIT DGAPA-UNAM, Mexico; Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM), Netherlands; National Centre for Research and Development, Grants No. ERA-NET-ASPERA/01/11 and No. ERA-NET-ASPERA/02/11, National Science Centre, Grants No. 2013/08/M/ST9/00322, No. 2013/08/M/ST9/00728 and No. HARMONIA 5 - 2013/10/M/ST9/00062, Poland; Portuguese national funds and FEDER funds within Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade through Funda{\c c}{\~a}o para a Ci{\^e}ncia e a Tecnologia (COM- PETE), Portugal; Romanian Authority for Scientific Research ANCS, CNDI-UEFISCDI partnership projects Grants No. 20/2012 and No.194/2012 and PN 16 42 01 02; Slovenian Research Agency, Slovenia; Comunidad de Madrid, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) funds, Ministerio de Econom{\'i}a y Competitividad, Xunta de Galicia, European Community 7th Framework Program, Grant No. FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF-328826, Spain; Science and Technology Facilities Council, United Kingdom; Department of Energy, Contracts No. DE-AC02-07CH11359, No. DE-FR02-04ER41300, No. DE-FG02-99ER41107 and No. DE-SC0011689, National Science Foundation, Grant No. 0450696, The Grainger Foundation, U.S.A.; NAFOSTED, Vietnam; Marie Curie-IRSES/EPLANET, European Particle Physics Latin American Network, European Union 7th Framework Program, Grant No. PIRSES-2009-GA-246806; and UNESCO. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl.",

year = "2017",

month = mar,

day = "3",

doi = "10.1088/1748-0221/12/03/P03002",

language = "British English",

volume = "12",

journal = "Journal of Instrumentation",

issn = "1748-0221",

publisher = "Institute of Physics",

number = "3",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Muon counting using silicon photomultipliers in the AMIGA detector of the Pierre Auger observatory

AU - The Pierre Auger Collaboration

AU - Aab, A.

AU - Abreu, P.

AU - Aglietta, M.

AU - Ahn, E. J.

AU - Al Samarai, I.

AU - Albuquerque, I. F.M.

AU - Allekotte, I.

AU - Allison, P.

AU - Almela, A.

AU - Alvarez Castillo, J.

AU - Alvarez-Muñiz, J.

AU - Ambrosio, M.

AU - Anastasi, G. A.

AU - Anchordoqui, L.

AU - Andrada, B.

AU - Andringa, S.

AU - Aramo, C.

AU - Arqueros, F.

AU - Arsene, N.

AU - Asorey, H.

AU - Assis, P.

AU - Aublin, J.

AU - Avila, G.

AU - Badescu, A. M.

AU - Balaceanu, A.

AU - Baus, C.

AU - Beatty, J. J.

AU - Becker, K. H.

AU - Bellido, J. A.

AU - Berat, C.

AU - Bertaina, M. E.

AU - Bertou, X.

AU - Biermann, P. L.

AU - Billoir, P.

AU - Biteau, J.

AU - Blaess, S. G.

AU - Blanco, A.

AU - Blazek, J.

AU - Bleve, C.

AU - Boháčová, M.

AU - Boncioli, D.

AU - Bonifazi, C.

AU - Borodai, N.

AU - Botti, A. M.

AU - Brack, J.

AU - Brancus, I.

AU - Bretz, T.

AU - Bridgeman, A.

AU - Briechle, F. L.

AU - Van Vliet, A.

N1 - Funding Information: The successful installation, commissioning, and operation of the Pierre Auger Observatory would not have been possible without the strong commitment and effort from the technical and administrative staff in Malargüe. We are very grateful to the following agencies and organizations for financial support: Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Gobierno de la Provincia de Mendoza, Municipalidad de Malargüe, NDM Holdings and Valle Las Leñas, in gratitude for their continuing cooperation over land access, Argentina; the Australian Research Council; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) Grants No. 2010/07359-6 and No. 1999/05404-3, Ministério de Ciência e Tecnologia (MCT), Brazil; Grant No. MSMT CR LG15014, LO1305 and LM2015038 and the Czech Science Foundation Grant No. 14-17501S, Czech Republic; Centre de Calcul IN2P3/CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Conseil Régional Ile-de-France, Département Physique Nucléaire et Corpusculaire (PNC-IN2P3/CNRS), Département Sciences de l'Univers (SDU-INSU/CNRS), Institut Lagrange de Paris (ILP) Grant No. LABEX ANR-10-LABX-63, within the Investissements d'Avenir Programme Grant No. ANR-11-IDEX-0004-02, France; Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Finanzministerium Baden-Württemberg, Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics (HAP), Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (HGF), Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung, Nordrhein Westfalen, Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN),Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Universitáe della Ricerca (MIUR), Gran Sasso Center for Astroparticle Physics (CFA), CETEMPS Center of Excellence, Ministero degli Affari Esteri (MAE), Italy; Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) No. 167733, Mexico; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), PAPIIT DGAPA-UNAM, Mexico; Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM), Netherlands; National Centre for Research and Development, Grants No. ERA-NET-ASPERA/01/11 and No. ERA-NET-ASPERA/02/11, National Science Centre, Grants No. 2013/08/M/ST9/00322, No. 2013/08/M/ST9/00728 and No. HARMONIA 5 - 2013/10/M/ST9/00062, Poland; Portuguese national funds and FEDER funds within Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (COM- PETE), Portugal; Romanian Authority for Scientific Research ANCS, CNDI-UEFISCDI partnership projects Grants No. 20/2012 and No.194/2012 and PN 16 42 01 02; Slovenian Research Agency, Slovenia; Comunidad de Madrid, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) funds, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Xunta de Galicia, European Community 7th Framework Program, Grant No. FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF-328826, Spain; Science and Technology Facilities Council, United Kingdom; Department of Energy, Contracts No. DE-AC02-07CH11359, No. DE-FR02-04ER41300, No. DE-FG02-99ER41107 and No. DE-SC0011689, National Science Foundation, Grant No. 0450696, The Grainger Foundation, U.S.A.; NAFOSTED, Vietnam; Marie Curie-IRSES/EPLANET, European Particle Physics Latin American Network, European Union 7th Framework Program, Grant No. PIRSES-2009-GA-246806; and UNESCO. Publisher Copyright: © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl.

PY - 2017/3/3

Y1 - 2017/3/3

N2 - AMIGA (Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array) is an upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory designed to extend its energy range of detection and to directly measure the muon content of the cosmic ray primary particle showers. The array will be formed by an infill of surface water-Cherenkov detectors associated with buried scintillation counters employed for muon counting. Each counter is composed of three scintillation modules, with a 10 m2 detection area per module. In this paper, a new generation of detectors, replacing the current multi-pixel photomultiplier tube (PMT) with silicon photo sensors (aka. SiPMs), is proposed. The selection of the new device and its front-end electronics is explained. A method to calibrate the counting system that ensures the performance of the detector is detailed. This method has the advantage of being able to be carried out in a remote place such as the one where the detectors are deployed. High efficiency results, i.e. 98 % efficiency for the highest tested overvoltage, combined with a low probability of accidental counting (∼2 %), show a promising performance for this new system.

AB - AMIGA (Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array) is an upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory designed to extend its energy range of detection and to directly measure the muon content of the cosmic ray primary particle showers. The array will be formed by an infill of surface water-Cherenkov detectors associated with buried scintillation counters employed for muon counting. Each counter is composed of three scintillation modules, with a 10 m2 detection area per module. In this paper, a new generation of detectors, replacing the current multi-pixel photomultiplier tube (PMT) with silicon photo sensors (aka. SiPMs), is proposed. The selection of the new device and its front-end electronics is explained. A method to calibrate the counting system that ensures the performance of the detector is detailed. This method has the advantage of being able to be carried out in a remote place such as the one where the detectors are deployed. High efficiency results, i.e. 98 % efficiency for the highest tested overvoltage, combined with a low probability of accidental counting (∼2 %), show a promising performance for this new system.

KW - Front-end electronics for detector readout

KW - Pattern recognition, cluster finding, calibration and fitting methods

KW - Performance of high energy physics detectors

KW - Photon detectors for UV, visible and IR photons (solid-state) (PIN diodes, APDs, Si-PMTs, G-APDs, CCDs, EBCCDs, EMCCDs etc)

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85017448381

U2 - 10.1088/1748-0221/12/03/P03002

DO - 10.1088/1748-0221/12/03/P03002

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:85017448381

SN - 1748-0221

VL - 12

JO - Journal of Instrumentation

JF - Journal of Instrumentation

IS - 3

M1 - P03002

ER -

Muon counting using silicon photomultipliers in the AMIGA detector of the Pierre Auger observatory

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