44 research outputs found
Frequency spectra of cosmic ray air shower radio emission measured with LOPES
Aims. We wish to study the spectral dependence of the radio emission from cosmic-ray air showers around .Methods. We observe short radio pulses in a broad frequency band with the dipole-interferometer LOPES (LOFAR Prototype Station), which is triggered by a particle detector array named Karlsruhe Shower Core and Array Detector (KASCADE). LOFAR is the Low Frequency Array. For this analysis, 23 strong air shower events are selected using parameters from KASCADE. The radio data are digitally beam-formed before the spectra are determined by sub-band filtering and fast Fourier transformation.Results. The resulting electric field spectra fall off to higher frequencies. An average electric field spectrum is fitted with an exponential and , or alternatively, with a power law and a spectral index of . The spectral slope obtained is not consistent within uncertainties and it is slightly steeper than the slope obtained from Monte Carlo simulations based on air showers simulated with CORSIKA (Cosmic Ray Simulations for KASCADE). For the analyzed sample of LOPES events, we do not find any significant dependence of the spectral slope on the electric field amplitude, the azimuth angle, the zenith angle, the curvature radius, nor on the average distance of the antennae from the shower core position. But one of the strongest events was measured during thunderstorm activity in the vicinity of LOPES and shows the longest pulse length measured of and a spectral slope of .Conclusions. We show with two different methods that frequency spectra from air shower radio emission can be reconstructed on event-by-event basis, with only two dozen dipole antennae simultaneously over a broad range of frequencies. According to the obtained spectral slopes, the maximum power is emitted below 40 MHz. Furthermore, the decrease in power to higher frequencies indicates a loss in coherence determined by the shower disc thickness. We conclude that a broader bandwidth, larger collecting area, and longer baselines, as will be provided by LOFAR, are necessary to further investigate the relation of the coherence, pulse length, and spectral slope of cosmic ray air showers
Air Shower Measurements with the LOPES Radio Antenna Array
LOPES is set up at the location of the KASCADE-Grande extensive air shower
experiment in Karlsruhe, Germany and aims to measure and investigate radio
pulses from Extensive Air Showers. Since radio waves suffer very little
attenuation, radio measurements allow the detection of very distant or highly
inclined showers. These waves can be recorded day and night, and provide a
bolometric measure of the leptonic shower component. LOPES is designed as a
digital radio interferometer using high bandwidths and fast data processing and
profits from the reconstructed air shower observables of KASCADE-Grande. The
LOPES antennas are absolutely amplitude calibrated allowing to reconstruct the
electric field strength which can be compared with predictions from detailed
Monte Carlo simulations. We report about the analysis of correlations present
in the radio signals measured by the LOPES 30 antenna array. Additionally,
LOPES operates antennas of a different type (LOPES-STAR) which are optimized
for an application at the Pierre Auger Observatory. Status, recent results of
the data analysis and further perspectives of LOPES and the possible large
scale application of this new detection technique are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, Contribution to the Arena 2008 conference, Rome,
June 200
Frequency spectra of cosmic ray air shower radio emission measured with LOPES
AIMS: We wish to study the spectral dependence of the radio emission from
cosmic-ray air showers around 100 PeV (1017 eV). METHODS: We observe short
radio pulses in a broad frequency band with the dipole-interferometer LOPES
(LOFAR Prototype Station), which is triggered by a particle detector array
named Karlsruhe Shower Core and Array Detector (KASCADE). LOFAR is the Low
Frequency Array. For this analysis, 23 strong air shower events are selected
using parameters from KASCADE. RESULTS: The resulting electric field spectra
fall off to higher frequencies. An average electric field spectrum is fitted
with an exponential, or alternatively, with a power law. The spectral slope
obtained is not consistent within uncertainties and it is slightly steeper than
the slope obtained from Monte Carlo simulations based on air showers simulated
with CORSIKA (Cosmic Ray Simulations for KASCADE). One of the strongest events
was measured during thunderstorm activity in the vicinity of LOPES and shows
the longest pulse length measured of 110 ns and a spectral slope of -3.6.
CONCLUSIONS: We show with two different methods that frequency spectra from air
shower radio emission can be reconstructed on event-by-event basis, with only
two dozen dipole antennae simultaneously over a broad range of frequencies.
According to the obtained spectral slopes, the maximum power is emitted below
40 MHz. Furthermore, the decrease in power to higher frequencies indicates a
loss in coherence determined by the shower disc thickness. We conclude that a
broader bandwidth, larger collecting area, and longer baselines, as will be
provided by LOFAR, are necessary to further investigate the relation of the
coherence, pulse length, and spectral slope of cosmic ray air showers.Comment: 13 pages, 21 figures. Nigl, A. et al. (LOPES Collaboration),
Frequency spectra of cosmic ray air shower radio emission measured with
LOPES, accepted by A&A on 17/06/200
Radio Emission in Atmospheric Air Showers: First Measurements with LOPES-30
When Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays interact with particles in the Earth's
atmosphere, they produce a shower of secondary particles propagating toward the
ground. LOPES-30 is an absolutely calibrated array of 30 dipole antennas
investigating the radio emission from these showers in detail and clarifying if
the technique is useful for largescale applications. LOPES-30 is co-located and
measures in coincidence with the air shower experiment KASCADE-Grande. Status
of LOPES-30 and first measurements are presented.Comment: Proceedings of ARENA 06, June 2006, University of Northumbria, U
Radio emission of highly inclined cosmic ray air showers measured with LOPES
LOPES-10 (the first phase of LOPES, consisting of 10 antennas) detected a
significant number of cosmic ray air showers with a zenith angle larger than
50, and many of these have very high radio field strengths. The most
inclined event that has been detected with LOPES-10 has a zenith angle of
almost 80. This is proof that the new technique is also applicable
for cosmic ray air showers with high inclinations, which in the case that they
are initiated close to the ground, can be a signature of neutrino events.Our
results indicate that arrays of simple radio antennas can be used for the
detection of highly inclined air showers, which might be triggered by
neutrinos. In addition, we found that the radio pulse height (normalized with
the muon number) for highly inclined events increases with the geomagnetic
angle, which confirms the geomagnetic origin of radio emission in cosmic ray
air showers.Comment: A&A accepte
Radio emission of highly inclined cosmic ray air showers measured with LOPES
LOPES (LOFAR Prototype Station) is an array of dipole antennas used for
detection of radio emission from air showers. It is co-located and triggered by
the KASCADE (Karlsruhe Shower Core and Array Detector) experiment, which also
provides informations about air shower properties. Even though neither LOPES
nor KASCADE are completely optimized for the detection of highly inclined
events, a significant number of showers with zenith angle larger than 50
have been detected in the radio domain, and many with very high field
strengths. Investigation of inclined showers can give deeper insight into the
nature of primary particles that initiate showers and also into the possibility
that some of detected showers are triggered by neutrinos. In this paper, we
show the example of such an event and present some of the characteristics of
highly inclined showers detected by LOPES
Radio detection of cosmic ray air showers with LOPES
In the last few years, radio detection of cosmic ray air showers has
experienced a true renaissance, becoming manifest in a number of new
experiments and simulation efforts. In particular, the LOPES project has
successfully implemented modern interferometric methods to measure the radio
emission from extensive air showers. LOPES has confirmed that the emission is
coherent and of geomagnetic origin, as expected by the geosynchrotron
mechanism, and has demonstrated that a large scale application of the radio
technique has great potential to complement current measurements of ultra-high
energy cosmic rays. We describe the current status, most recent results and
open questions regarding radio detection of cosmic rays and give an overview of
ongoing research and development for an application of the radio technique in
the framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: 8 pages; Proceedings of the CRIS2006 conference, Catania, Italy; to
be published in Nuclear Physics B, Proceedings Supplement
Results from the KASCADE, KASCADE-Grande, and LOPES experiments
The origin of high-energy cosmic rays in the energy range from 10^14 to 10^18
eV is explored with the KASCADE and KASCADE-Grande experiments. Radio signals
from air showers are measured with the LOPES experiment. An overview on results
is given.Comment: Talk at The ninth International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle
and Underground Physics, TAUP 2005, Zaragoza, September 10-14, 200
Radio Emission in Atmospheric Air Showers: Results of LOPES-10
LOPES is set up at the location of the KASCADE-Grande extensive air shower
experiment in Karlsruhe, Germany and aims to measure and investigate radio
pulses from Extensive Air Showers. Data taken during half a year of operation
of 10 LOPES antennas (LOPES-10), triggered by showers observed with
KASCADE-Grande have been analyzed. We report about results of correlations
found of the measured radio signals by LOPES-10 with shower parameters.Comment: Proceedings of ARENA 06, June 2006, University of Northumbria, U