Detecting ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with prototypes of the Fluorescence detector Array of Single-pixel Telescopes (FAST) in both hemispheres

Shunsuke Sakurai; Justin Albury; Jose Bellido; Fraser Bradfield; Ladislav Chytka; John Farmer; Toshihiro Fujii; Petr Hamal; Pavel Horvath; Miroslav Hrabovsky; Vlastimil Jilek; Jakub Kmec; Jiri Kvita; Max Malacari; Dusan Mandat; Massimo Mastrodicasa; John N. Matthews; Stanislav Michal; Hiromu Nagasawa; Hiroki Namba; Libor Nozka; Miroslav Palatka; Miroslav Pech; Paolo Privitera; Francesco Salamida; Petr Schovanek; Radomir Smida; Daniel Stanik; Zuzana Svozilikova; Akimichi Taketa; Kenta Terauch; Stan B. Thomas; Petr Travnicek; Martin Vacula

doi:10.22323/1.444.0302

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arXiv · 2308.11988

Detecting ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with prototypes of the Fluorescence detector Array of Single-pixel Telescopes (FAST) in both hemispheres

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Abstract

Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), whose energy are beyond $10^{18}~\mathrm{eV}$, are the most energetic particles we have ever detected. The latest results seem to indicate a heavier composition at the highest energies, complicating the search for their origins. Due to the limited number of UHECR events, we need to build an instrument with an order of magnitude larger effective-exposure to collect UHECRs in future decades. The Fluorescence detector Array of Single-pixel Telescopes (FAST) is a proposed low-cost, easily deployable UHECR detector suitable for a future ground array. It is essential to validate the telescope design and autonomous observational techniques using prototypes located in both hemispheres. Here we report on the current status of observations, recent performance results of prototypes, and developments towards a future mini-array.

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Shunsuke Sakurai, Justin Albury, Jose Bellido, Fraser Bradfield, Ladislav Chytka, John Farmer, Toshihiro Fujii, Petr Hamal, Pavel Horvath, Miroslav Hrabovsky, Vlastimil Jilek, Jakub Kmec, Jiri Kvita, Max Malacari, Dusan Mandat, Massimo Mastrodicasa, John N. Matthews, Stanislav Michal, Hiromu Nagasawa, Hiroki Namba, Libor Nozka, Miroslav Palatka, Miroslav Pech, Paolo Privitera, Francesco Salamida, Petr Schovanek, Radomir Smida, Daniel Stanik, Zuzana Svozilikova, Akimichi Taketa, Kenta Terauch, Stan B. Thomas, Petr Travnicek, Martin Vacula. 2023-08-23. Detecting ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with prototypes of the Fluorescence detector Array of Single-pixel Telescopes (FAST) in both hemispheres. https://doi.org/10.22323/1.444.0302

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