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| 2. |
- Mulrey, K., et al.
(författare)
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Calibration of the LOFAR low-band antennas using the Galaxy and a model of the signal chain
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astroparticle physics. - : Elsevier. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 111, s. 1-11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is used to make precise measurements of radio emission from extensive air showers, yielding information about the primary cosmic ray. Interpreting the measured data requires an absolute and frequency-dependent calibration of the LOFAR system response. This is particularly important for spectral analyses, because the shape of the detected signal holds information about the shower development. We revisit the calibration of the LOFAR antennas in the range of 30-80 MHz. Using the Galactic emission and a detailed model of the LOFAR signal chain, we find an improved calibration that provides an absolute energy scale and allows for the study of frequency dependent features in measured signals. With the new calibration, systematic uncertainties of 13% are reached, and comparisons of the spectral shape of calibrated data with simulations show promising agreement. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 3. |
- Bonardi, A., et al.
(författare)
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Study of the LOFAR radio self-trigger and single-station acquisition mode
- 2018
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Ingår i: 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2017, 10-20 July 2017. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The LOw Frequency ARay (LOFAR) observatory is a multipurpose radio antenna array aimed to detect radio signals in the frequency range 10-240 MHz. Radio antennas are clustered into over 50 stations, and are spread along Central and Northern Europe. The LOFAR core, where the density of stations is highest, is instrumented with the LOfar Radboud air shower Array (LORA), covering an area of about 300 m diameter centered at the LOFAR core position. Since 2011 the LOFAR core has been used for detecting radio-signals associated to cosmic-ray air showers in the energy range 1016 - 1018 eV. Data acquisition is triggered by the LORA scintillator array, which provides energy, arrival direction, and core position estimates of the detected air shower too. Thus only the core of the LOFAR array is currently used for cosmic-ray detection. In order to extend the energy range of the detected cosmic rays, it is necessary to expand the effective collecting area to the whole LOFAR array. On this purpose, a detailed study about the LOFAR potentialities of working in self-trigger mode, i.e. with the cosmic-ray data acquisition trigger provided by the radio-antenna only, is presented here. A new method based on the intensity and the frequency spectrum for determining the air shower position to be implemented on LOFAR remote stations is presented too. © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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| 4. |
- Buitink, S., et al.
(författare)
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Cosmic ray mass composition with LOFAR
- 2018
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Ingår i: 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference — ICRC2017. 10–20 July, 2017. Bexco, Busan, Korea. - Trieste, Italy : Sissa Medialab Srl.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The LOFAR radio telescope measures the radio emission from extensive air showers with unprecedented precision. In the dense core individual air showers are detected by hundreds of dipole antennas. By fitting the complex radiation pattern to Monte Carlo radio simulation codes we obtain measurements of the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum X max with a precision of < 20 g/cm 2 . This quantity is sensitive to the mass composition of cosmic rays. We discuss the first mass composition results of LOFAR and the improvements that are currently being made to enhance the accuracy of future analysis. Firstly, a more realistic treatment of the atmosphere will decrease the systematic uncertainties due to the atmosphere. Secondly, a series of upgrades to the LOFAR system will lead to increased effective area, duty cycle, and the possibility to extend the composition analysis down to the energy of 10 16.5 eV. © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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| 5. |
- Corstanje, A., et al.
(författare)
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The effect of the atmospheric refractive index on the radio signal of extensive air showers using Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS)
- 2018
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Ingår i: 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2017, 10-20 July 2017, Bexco, Busan, Korea. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- One of the major systematic uncertainties in the measurement of Xmax from radio emission of EAS arises from variations of the refractive index in the atmosphere. The refractive index n varies with temperature, humidity and pressure, and the variations can be on the order of 10% for (n-1) at a given altitude. The effect of a varying refractive index on Xmax measurements is evaluated using CoREAS: a microscopic simulation of the radio emission from the individual particles in the cascade simulated with CORSIKA. We discuss the resulting offsets in Xmax for different frequency regimes, and compare them to a simple physical model. Under typical circumstances, the offsets in Xmax range from 4-11 g/cm2 for the 30-80 MHz frequency band. Therefore, for precise measurements it is required to include atmospheric data at the time and place of observation of the air shower into the simulations. The aim is to implement this in the next version of CoREAS/CORSIKA using the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS), a global atmospheric model based on meteorological measurements and numerical weather predictions. This can then be used to re-evaluate the air shower measurements of the LOFAR radio telescope. © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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| 6. |
- Hare, B. M., et al.
(författare)
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LOFAR Lightning Imaging : Mapping Lightning With Nanosecond Precision
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-897X .- 2169-8996. ; 123:5, s. 2861-2876
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lightning mapping technology has proven instrumental in understanding lightning. In this work we present a pipeline that can use lightning observed by the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) radio telescope to construct a 3-D map of the flash. We show that LOFAR has unparalleled precision, on the order of meters, even for lightning flashes that are over 20km outside the area enclosed by LOFAR antennas (approximate to 3,200km(2)), and can potentially locate over 10,000 sources per lightning flash. We also show that LOFAR is the first lightning mapping system that is sensitive to the spatial structure of the electrical current during individual lightning leader steps.
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| 7. |
- Horandel, Jorg R., et al.
(författare)
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The mass composition of cosmic rays measured with LOFAR
- 2017
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Ingår i: RICAP16, 6TH ROMA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS. - : EDP Sciences.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-energy cosmic rays, impinging on the atmosphere of the Earth initiate cascades of secondary particles, the extensive air showers. The electrons and positrons in the air shower emit electromagnetic radiation. This emission is detected with the LOFAR radio telescope in the frequency range from 30 to 240 MHz. The data are used to determine the properties of the incoming cosmic rays. The radio technique is now routinely used to measure the arrival direction, the energy, and the particle type (atomic mass) of cosmic rays in the energy range from 10(17) to 10(18) eV. This energy region is of particular astrophysical interest, since in this regime a transition from a Galactic to an extra-galactic origin of cosmic rays is expected. For illustration, the LOFAR results are used to set constraints on models to describe the origin of high-energy cosmic rays.
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| 8. |
- Mulrey, K., et al.
(författare)
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Expansion of the LOFAR radboud air shower array
- 2018
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Ingår i: Proceedings of Science. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The LOFAR Radboud Air Shower Array (LORA) consists of 20 plastic scintillators and is situated at the core of the LOFAR radio telescope. LORA detects particles from extensive air showers and triggers the read-out of the LOFAR antennas. The dense LOFAR antenna spacing allows for detailed sampling of the radio emission generated in extensive air showers, which yields high precision reconstruction of cosmic ray properties and information about the shower development. We discuss the proposed expansion of LORA, including the addition of scintillator units and the implementation of triggering algorithms that will probe more details of the radio emission and detect lower energy showers without introducing a composition bias, which is important for studying the origin of cosmic rays.
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| 9. |
- Mulrey, K., et al.
(författare)
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Updated Calibration of the LOFAR Low-Band Antennas
- 2019
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Ingår i: 8th International Conference on Acoustic and Radio EeV Neutrino Detection Activities (ARENA 2018). - : EDP Sciences. - 9782759890804 ; , s. 1-3
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) telescope measures radio emission from air showers. In order to interpret the data, an absolute, frequency dependent calibration is required. Due to a growing need for a better understanding of the measured frequency spectrum, we revisit the calibration of the LOFAR antennas in the range of 30-80 MHz. Using the galactic radio emission and a detailed model of the LOFAR signal chain, we find a calibration that provides an absolute energy scale and allows us to study frequency dependent features in measured air shower signals.
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| 10. |
- Nimmo, K., et al.
(författare)
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A burst storm from the repeating FRB 20200120E in an M81 globular cluster
- 2023
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 520:2, s. 2281-2305
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source FRB 20200120E is exceptional because of its proximity and association with a globular cluster. Here we report 60 bursts detected with the Effelsberg telescope at 1.4 GHz. We observe large variations in the burst rate, and report the first FRB 20200120E 'burst storm', where the source suddenly became active and 53 bursts (fluence ≥0.04 Jy ms) occurred within only 40 min. We find no strict periodicity in the burst arrival times, nor any evidence for periodicity in the source's activity between observations. The burst storm shows a steep energy distribution (power-law index α = 2.39 ± 0.12) and a bimodal wait-time distribution, with log-normal means of 0.94+0.07−0.06 s and 23.61+3.06−2.71 s. We attribute these wait-time distribution peaks to a characteristic event time-scale and pseudo-Poisson burst rate, respectively. The secondary wait-time peak at ∼1 s is ∼50 × longer than the ∼24 ms time-scale seen for both FRB 20121102A and FRB 20201124A - potentially indicating a larger emission region, or slower burst propagation. FRB 20200120E shows order-of-magnitude lower burst durations and luminosities compared with FRB 20121102A and FRB 20201124A. Lastly, in contrast to FRB 20121102A, which has observed dispersion measure (DM) variations of ΔDM > 1 pc cm−3 on month-to-year time-scales, we determine that FRB 20200120E's DM has remained stable (ΔDM < 0.15 pc cm−3) over >10 months. Overall, the observational characteristics of FRB 20200120E deviate quantitatively from other active repeaters, but it is unclear whether it is qualitatively a different type of source.
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