Absolute Fluorescence Spectrum and Yield Measurements for a wide range of experimental conditions

For the JEM-EUSO CollaborationThe fluorescence yield is a key ingredient in cosmic ray energy determination. It is sensitive to pressure, temperature and humidity. Up to now the fluorescence yield of the brightest line at 337 nm has been measured in an absolute way in one set of conditions, whereas fluorescence yields at the other wavelengths have been relatively measured for different conditions. Thus, absolute calibration for all the lines is unclear. We will do all measurements at once using the same apparatus: all the lines will be measured absolutely and not relatively for all conditions. For that we will use the 3-5 MeV electron beam of the PHIL accelerator (Photon Injector at LAL), shooting in a box filled with air at varying pressures, temperatures and humidity. Delta rays resulting from the beam collisions with Nitrogen are responsible for the light yield. The light detection probability should be independent of its emission point especially at the delta ray stopping point. The idea is to use an integrating sphere, encapsulated in a vessel where pressure, temperature and humidity can be varied. This sphere will have two ports for the beam (in and out), one more port dedicated to a NIST photodiode for calibration and another port feeding optical fibers going to: A) a grating spectrometer equipped with cooled CCD. B) a photomultiplier with BG3 filters to measure directly the integrated yield. Calibrations at the percent level, will give each line spectrum yields with a precision between 2 to 5%. A special issue will be to estimate the leakage due to "high energy" delta rays. Thus, we the air density will be increased, the beam energy will be lowered until the beam stops inside the sphere. Then, the energy loss will be precisely derived from the Bethe-Bloch formula. We will present the set-up

An evaluation of the exposure in nadir observation of the JEM-EUSO mission

We evaluate the exposure during nadir observations with JEM-EUSO, the Extreme Universe Space Observatory,on-board the Japanese Experiment Module of the International Space Station. Designed as a mission to explore the extreme energy Universe from space, JEM-EUSO will monitor the Earth's nighttime atmosphere to record the ultraviolet light from tracks generated by extensive air showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. In the present work, we discuss the particularities of space-based observation and we compute the annual exposure in nadir observation. The results are based on studies of the expected trigger aperture and observational duty cycle, as well as, on the investigations of the effects of clouds and different types of background light. We show that the annual exposure is about one order of magnitude higher than those of the presently operating ground-based observatories.Fil: Adams, J. H.. University of Alabama in Huntsville; Estados UnidosFil: Ahmad, S.. Universite Paris Sud; FranciaFil: Albert, J. N..Fil: Allard, D.. Universite Paris Diderot - Paris 7; FranciaFil: Ambrosio, M.. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; ItaliaFil: Anchordoqui, L.. Medical College Of Wisconsin; Estados UnidosFil: Anzalone, A.. INAF; ItaliaFil: Arai, Y.. High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK); JapónFil: Aramo, C..Fil: Asano, K.. Interactive Research Center of Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology; JapónFil: Ave, M.. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Barrillon, P.. Universite de Paris; FranciaFil: Batsch, T.. National Centre for Nuclear Research; PoloniaFil: Bayer, J.. University of Tubingen; AlemaniaFil: Belenguer, T.. j Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA); EspañaFil: Bellotti, R.. Universita’ degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro and INFN; ItaliaFil: Berlind, A. A.. Vanderbilt University; Estados UnidosFil: Bertaina, M.. Universita di Torino; ItaliaFil: Biermann, P. L.. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT); AlemaniaFil: Biktemerova,. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research; RusiaFil: Blaksley, C.. Universite de la Sorbona Nouvelle; FranciaFil: Blecki, J.. Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK); PoloniaFil: Blin-Bondil, S.. Universite de Paris; FranciaFil: Blumer, J.. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT),; AlemaniaFil: Bobik, P.. Institute of Experimental Physics; EslovaquiaFil: Bogomilov, M.. St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia; BulgariaFil: Bonamente, M.. University of Alabama in Huntsville; Estados UnidosFil: Briz, S.. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid,; EspañaFil: Supanitsky, Alberto Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentin

Science of atmospheric phenomena with JEM-EUSO

The main goal of the JEM-EUSO experiment is the study of Ultra HighEnergy Cosmic Rays (UHECR, 10^19 - 10^21 eV ), but the method which will be used (detection of the secondary light emissions induced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere) allows to study other luminous phenomena. The UHECRs will be detected through the measurement of the emission in the range between 290 and 430 m, where some part of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) emission also appears. This work discusses the possibility of using the JEM-EUSO Telescope to get new scientific results on TLEs. The high time resolution of this instrument allows to observe the evolution of TLEs with great precision just at the moment of their origin. Thepaper consists of four parts: review of the present knowledge on the TLE, presentation of the results of the simulations of the TLE images in the JEM-EUSO telescope, results of the Russian experiment Tatiana-2 and discussion of the possible progress achievable in this field with JEM-EUSO as well as possible cooperation with other space projects devoted to the study of TLE-TARANIS and ASIM. In atmospheric physics, the study of TLEs became one of the main physical subjects of interest after their discovery in 1989. In the years 1992 - 1994 detection was performed fromsatellite, aircraft and space shuttle and recently from the International Space Station. These events have short duration (milliseconds) and small scales (km to tens of km) and appear at altitudes 50 - 100 km. Their nature is still not clear and each new experimental data can be useful for a better understanding of these mysterious phenomena.Fil: Adams, J. H.. University of Alabama in Huntsville; Estados UnidosFil: Ahmad, S.. Ecole Polytechnique; FranciaFil: Albert, J. N.. Univ Paris-Sud; FranciaFil: Allard, D.. Univ Paris Diderot; FranciaFil: Anchordoqui, L.. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Estados UnidosFil: Andreev, V.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Anzalone, A.. INAF - Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Palermo; ItaliaFil: Arai, Y.. High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK); JapónFil: Asano, K.. Tokyo Institute of Technology; JapónFil: Ave Pernas, M.. Universidad de Alcala (UAH); EspañaFil: Barrillon, P.. Univ Paris-Sud; FranciaFil: Batsch, T.. Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics; RusiaFil: Bayer, J.. University of Tubingen; AlemaniaFil: Bechini, R.. Universita’ di Torino; ItaliaFil: Belenguer, T.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial (INTA); EspañaFil: Bellotti, R.. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; ItaliaFil: Belov, K.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Berlind, A. A.. Vanderbilt University; Estados UnidosFil: Bertaina, M.. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; ItaliaFil: Biermann, P. L.. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT); AlemaniaFil: Biktemerova, S.. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research; RusiaFil: Blaksley, C.. Univ Paris Diderot; FranciaFil: Blanc, N.. Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM); SuizaFil: Blecki, J.. Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK; PoloniaFil: Blin-Bondil, S.. Ecole Polytechnique; FranciaFil: Blumer, J.. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT),; AlemaniaFil: Bobik, P.. Institute of Experimental Physics; EslovaquiaFil: Bogomilov, M.. University of Sofia; BulgariaFil: Bonamente, M.. University of Alabama in Huntsville; Estados UnidosFil: Supanitsky, Alberto Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: The JEM-EUSO Collaboration

Observation of ELVES with Mini-EUSO telescope on board the International Space Station

Mini-EUSO is a detector observing the Earth in the ultraviolet band from the International Space Station through a nadir-facing window, transparent to the UV radiation, in the Russian Zvezda module. Mini-EUSO main detector consists in an optical system with two Fresnel lenses and a focal surface composed of an array of 36 Hamamatsu Multi-Anode Photo-Multiplier tubes, for a total of 2304 pixels, with single photon counting sensitivity. The telescope also contains two ancillary cameras, in the near infrared and visible ranges, to complement measurements in these bandwidths. The instrument has a field of view of 44 degrees, a spatial resolution of about 6.3 km on the Earth surface and of about 4.7 km on the ionosphere. The telescope detects UV emissions of cosmic, atmospheric and terrestrial origin on different time scales, from a few s upwards. On the fastest timescale of 2.5 s, Mini EUSO is able to observe atmospheric phenomena as Transient Luminous Events and in particular the ELVES, which take place when an electromagnetic wave generated by intra-cloud lightning interacts with the ionosphere, ionizing it and producing apparently superluminal expanding rings of several 100 km and lasting about 100 s. These highly energetic fast events have been observed to be produced in conjunction also with Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes and therefore a detailed study of their characteristics (speed, radius, energy ...) is of crucial importance for the understanding of these phenomena. In this paper we present the observational capabilities of ELVE detection by Mini-EUSO and specifically the reconstruction and study of ELVE characteristics

EUSO-SPB2 Telescope Optics and Testing

The Extreme Universe Space Observatory - Super Pressure Balloon (EUSO-SPB2) mission will fly two custom telescopes that feature Schmidt optics to measure Cherenkov- and fluorescence emission of extensive air showers from cosmic rays at the PeV and EeV-scale, and search for τ-neutrinos. Both telescopes have 1-meter diameter apertures and UV/UV-visible sensitivity. The Cherenkov telescope uses a bifocal mirror segment alignment, to distinguish between a direct cosmic ray that hits the camera versus the Cherenkov light from outside the telescope. Telescope integration and laboratory calibration will be performed in Colorado. To estimate the point spread function and efficiency of the integrated telescopes, a test beam system that delivers a 1-meter diameter parallel beam of light is being fabricated. End-to-end tests of the fully integrated instruments will be carried out in a field campaign at dark sites in the Utah desert using cosmic rays, stars, and artificial light sources. Laser tracks have long been used to characterize the performance of fluorescence detectors in the field. For EUSO-SPB2 an improvement in the method that includes a correction for aerosol attenuation is anticipated by using a bi-dynamic Lidar configuration in which both the laser and the telescope are steerable. We plan to conduct these field tests in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 to accommodate the scheduled launch of EUSO-SPB2 in 2023 from Wanaka, New Zealand

Expected Performance of the EUSO-SPB2 Fluorescence Telescope

The Extreme Universe Space Observatory Super Pressure Balloon 2 (EUSO-SPB2) is under development, and will prototype instrumentation for future satellite-based missions, including the Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA). EUSO-SPB2 will consist of two telescopes. The first is a Cherenkov telescope (CT) being developed to identify and estimate the background sources for future below-the-limb very high energy (E>10 PeV) astrophysical neutrino observations, as well as above-the-limb cosmic ray induced signals (E>1 PeV). The second is a fluorescence telescope (FT) being developed for detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs). In preparation for the expected launch in 2023, extensive simulations tuned by preliminary laboratory measurements have been performed to understand the FT capabilities. The energy threshold has been estimated at 10$^{18.2}$ eV, and results in a maximum detection rate at 10$^{18.6}$ eV when taking into account the shape of the UHECR spectrum. In addition, onboard software has been developed based on the simulations as well as experience with previous EUSO missions. This includes a level 1 trigger to be run on the computationally limited flight hardware, as well as a deep learning based prioritization algorithm in order to accommodate the balloon’s telemetry budget. These techniques could also be used later for future, space-based missions

Measurement of UV light emission of the nighttime Earth by Mini-EUSO for space-based UHECR observations

The JEM-EUSO (Joint Experiment Missions for Extreme Universe Space Observatory) program aims at the realization of the ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) observation using wide field of view fluorescence detectors in orbit. Ultra-violet (UV) light emission from the atmosphere such as airglow and anthropogenic light on the Earth\u27s surface are the main background for the space-based UHECR observations. The Mini-EUSO mission has been operated on the International Space Station (ISS) since 2019 which is the first space-based experiment for the program. The Mini-EUSO instrument consists of a 25 cm refractive optics and the photo-detector module with the 2304-pixel array of the multi-anode photomultiplier tubes. On the nadir-looking window of the ISS, the instrument is capable of continuously monitoring a ~300 km x 300 km area. In the present work, we report the preliminary result of the measurement of the UV light in the nighttime Earth using the Mini-EUSO data downlinked to the ground. We mapped UV light distribution both locally and globally below the ISS obit. Simulations were also made to characterize the instrument response to diffuse background light. We discuss the impact of such light on space-based UHECR observations and the Mini-EUSO science objectives

EUSO-SPB1 mission and science

The Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon 1 (EUSO-SPB1) was launched in 2017 April from Wanaka, New Zealand. The plan of this mission of opportunity on a NASA super pressure balloon test flight was to circle the southern hemisphere. The primary scientific goal was to make the first observations of ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray extensive air showers (EASs) by looking down on the atmosphere with an ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence telescope from suborbital altitude (33 km). After 12 days and 4 h aloft, the flight was terminated prematurely in the Pacific Ocean. Before the flight, the instrument was tested extensively in the West Desert of Utah, USA, with UV point sources and lasers. The test results indicated that the instrument had sensitivity to EASs of ⪆ 3 EeV. Simulations of the telescope system, telescope on time, and realized flight trajectory predicted an observation of about 1 event assuming clear sky conditions. The effects of high clouds were estimated to reduce this value by approximately a factor of 2. A manual search and a machine-learning-based search did not find any EAS signals in these data. Here we review the EUSO-SPB1 instrument and flight and the EAS search

Simulation studies for the Mini-EUSO detector

Mini-EUSO is a mission of the JEM-EUSO program flying onboard the International Space Station since August 2019. Since the first data acquisition in October 2019, more than 35 sessions have been performed for a total of 52 hours of observations. The detector has been observing Earth at night-time in the UV range and detected a wide variety of transient sources all of which have been modeled through Monte Carlo simulations. Mini-EUSO is also capable of detecting meteors and potentially space debris and we performed simulations for such events to estimate their impact on future missions for cosmic ray science from space. We show here examples of the simulation work done in this framework to analyze the Mini-EUSO data. The expected response of Mini-EUSO with respect to ultra high energy cosmic ray showers has been studied. The efficiency curve of Mini-EUSO as a function of primary energy has been estimated and the energy threshold for Cosmic Rays has been placed to be above 10$^{21}$ eV. We compared the morphology of several transient events detected during the mission with cosmic ray simulations and excluded that they can be due to cosmic ray showers. To validate the energy threshold of the detector, a system of ground based flashers is being used for end-to-end calibration purposes. We therefore implemented a parameterization of such flashers into the JEM-EUSO simulation framework and studied the response of the detector with respect to such sources

Neutrino Target-of-Opportunity Observations with Space-based and Suborbital Optical Cherenkov Detectors

Cosmic-ray accelerators capable of reaching ultra-high energies are expected to also produce very-high energy neutrinos via hadronic interactions within the source or its surrounding environment. Many of the candidate astrophysical source classes are either transient in nature or exhibit flaring activity. Using the Earth as a neutrino converter, suborbital and space-based optical Cherenkov detectors, such as EUSO-SPB2 and POEMMA, will be able to detect upward-moving extensive air showers induced by decay tau-leptons generated from cosmic tau neutrinos with energies ∼10 PeV and above. Both EUSO-SPB2 and POEMMA will be able to quickly repoint, enabling rapid response to astrophysical transient events. we calculate the transient sensitivity and sky coverage for both EUSO-SPB2 and POEMMA, accounting for constraints imposed by the Sun and the Moon on the observation time. We also calculate both detectors\u27 neutrino horizons for a variety of modeled astrophysical neutrino fluences. We find that both EUSO-SPB2 and POEMMA will achieve transient sensitivities at the level of modeled neutrino fluences for nearby sources. We conclude with a discussion of the prospects of each mission detecting at least one transient event for various modeled astrophysical neutrino sources