| 1. |
- Adams, J. H., Jr., et al.
(författare)
-
A Review of the EUSO-Balloon Pathfinder for the JEM-EUSO Program
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Space Science Reviews. - : Springer Nature. - 0038-6308 .- 1572-9672. ; 218:1
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- EUSO-Balloon is a pathfinder for JEM-EUSO, the mission concept of a spaceborne observatory which is designed to observe Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR)-induced Extensive Air Showers (EAS) by detecting their UltraViolet (UV) light tracks "from above." On August 25, 2014, EUSO-Balloon was launched from Timmins Stratospheric Balloon Base (Ontario, Canada) by the balloon division of the French Space Agency CNES. After reaching a floating altitude of 38 km, EUSO-Balloon imaged the UV light in the wavelength range similar to 290-500 nm for more than 5 hours using the key technologies of JEM-EUSO. The flight allowed a good understanding of the performance of the detector to be developed, giving insights into possible improvements to be applied to future missions. A detailed measurement of the photoelectron counts in different atmospheric and ground conditions was achieved. By means of the simulation of the instrument response and by assuming atmospheric models, the absolute intensity of diffuse light was estimated. The instrument detected hundreds of laser tracks with similar characteristics to EASs shot by a helicopter flying underneath. These are the first recorded laser tracks measured from a fluorescence detector looking down on the atmosphere. The reconstruction of the direction of the laser tracks was performed. In this work, a review of the main results obtained by EUSO-Balloon is presented as well as implications for future space-based observations of UHECRs.
|
|
| 2. |
- Bagheri, Mahdi, et al.
(författare)
-
Overview of Cherenkov Telescope on-board EUSO-SPB2 for the Detection of Very-High-Energy Neutrinos
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of Science. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the status of the development of a Cherenkov telescope to be flown on a long-duration balloon flight, the Extreme Universe Space Observatory Super Pressure Balloon 2 (EUSO-SPB2). EUSO-SPB2 is an approved NASA balloon mission that is planned to fly in 2023 and is a precursor of the Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA), a candidate for an Astrophysics probe-class mission. The purpose of the Cherenkov telescope on-board EUSOSPB2 is to classify known and unknown sources of backgrounds for future space-based neutrino detectors. Furthermore, we will use the Earth-skimming technique to search for Very-High-Energy (VHE) tau neutrinos below the limb (E > 10 PeV) and observe air showers from cosmic rays above the limb. The 0.785 m2 Cherenkov telescope is equipped with a 512-pixel SiPM camera covering a 12.8° x 6.4° (Horizontal × Vertical) field of view. The camera signals are digitized with a 100 MS/s readout system. In this paper, we discuss the status of the telescope development, the camera integration, and simulation studies of the camera response.
|
|
| 3. |
- Battisti, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Overview of the Mini-EUSO μs trigger logic performance
- 2022
-
Ingår i: 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2021. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mini-EUSO is the first detector of the JEM-EUSO program deployed on the ISS. It is a wide field of view telescope currently operating from a nadir-facing UV-transparent window on the ISS. It is based on an array of MAPMTs working in photon counting mode with a 2.5 μs time resolution. Among the different scientific objectives it searches for light signals with time duration compatible to those expected from Extensive Air Showers (EAS) generated by EECRs interacting in the atmosphere. Although the energy threshold for cosmic ray showers is above E > 1021eV, due the constraints given by the size of the UV-transparent window, the dedicated trigger logic has been capable of the detection of other interesting classes of events, like elves and ground flashers. An overview of the general performance of the trigger system is provided, with a particular focus on the identification of classes of events responsible for the triggers.
|
|
| 4. |
- Bisconti, F., et al.
(författare)
-
Pre-flight qualification tests of the Mini-EUSO telescope engineering model
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Nature. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 53:1, s. 133-158
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mini-EUSO is part of the JEM-EUSO program and operates on board the International Space Station (ISS). It is a UV-telescope with single-photon counting capability looking at nighttime downwards to the Earth through a nadir-facing UV-transparent window. As part of the pre-flight tests, the Mini-EUSO engineering model, a telescope with 1/9 of the original focal surface and a lens of 2.5 cm diameter, has been built and tested. Tests of the Mini-EUSO engineering model have been made in laboratory and in open-sky conditions. Laboratory tests have been performed at the TurLab facility, located at the Physics Department of the University of Turin, equipped with a rotating tank containing different types of materials and light sources. In this way, the configuration for the observation of the Earth from space was emulated, including the Mini-EUSO trigger schemes. In addition to the qualification and calibration tests, the Mini-EUSO engineering model has also been used to evaluate the possibility of using a JEM-EUSO-type detector for applications such as observation of space debris. Furthermore, observations in open-sky conditions allowed the studies of natural light sources such as stars, meteors, planets, and artificial light sources such as airplanes, satellites reflecting the sunlight, and city lights. Most of these targets could be detected also with Mini-EUSO. In this paper, the tests in laboratory and in open-sky conditions are reported, as well as the obtained results. In addition, the contribution that such tests provided to foresee and improve the performance of Mini-EUSO on board the ISS is discussed.
|
|
| 5. |
- Cambié, G., et al.
(författare)
-
Integration and qualification of the Mini-EUSO telescope on board the ISS
- 2022
-
Ingår i: 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2021. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mini-EUSO is a compact telescope (37 × 37 × 62 cm3) currently hosted on board the International Space Station. Mini-EUSO is devoted primarily to study Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) above 1021 eV but also to search for Strange Quark Matter (SQM), to observe Transient Luminous Event (TLE) in upper atmosphere, meteoroids, sea bioluminescence and space debris tracking. Mini-EUSO consist of a main optical system, the Photo Detector Module (PDM), sensitive to UV spectrum (300 ÷ 400 nm) and several ancillary sensors comprising a visible (400 ÷ 780 nm) and NIR (1500 ÷ 1600 nm) cameras and a 8 × 8 channels Multi-Pixel Photon Counter Silicon PhotoMultiplier (MPPC SiPM) array which will increase the Tecnological Readyness Level of this ultrafast imaging sensor. Mini-EUSO belongs to a novel set of missions committed to evaluate, for the first time, the capability of observing Cosmic Rays from a space-based The instrumentation, space-qualified tests will be shown.
|
|
| 6. |
- Diesing, R., et al.
(författare)
-
UCIRC2: EUSO-SPB2’s Infrared Cloud Monitor
- 2022
-
Ingår i: 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2021. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The second generation of the Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon (EUSO-SPB2) is a balloon instrument for the detection of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with energies above 1 EeV and very high energy neutrinos with energies above 10 PeV. EUSOSPB2 consists of two telescopes: a fluorescence telescope pointed downward for the detection of UHECRs and a Cherenkov telescope pointed towards the limb for the detection of tau lepton-induced showers produced by up-going tau neutrinos and background signals below the limb. Clouds inside the field of view of these telescopes reduce EUSO-SPB2’s geometric aperture, in particular that of the fluorescence telescope. For this reason, cloud coverage and cloud-top altitude within the field of view of the fluorescence telescope must be monitored throughout data-taking. The University of Chicago Infrared Camera (UCIRC2) will monitor these clouds using two infrared cameras with response centered at wavelengths 10 and 12 microns. By capturing images at wavelengths spanning the cloud thermal emission peak, UCIRC2 will measure cloud color-temperatures and thus cloud-top altitudes. In this contribution, we provide an overview of UCIRC2, including an update on its construction and a discussion of the techniques used to calibrate the instrument.
|
|
| 7. |
- Miyamoto, H., et al.
(författare)
-
EUSO@TurLab project in view of Mini-EUSO and EUSO-SPB2 missions
- 2022
-
Ingår i: 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2021. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The TurLab facility is a laboratory, equipped with a 5 m diameter and 1 m depth rotating tank, located in the fourth basement level of the Physics Department of the University of Turin. In the past years, we have used the facility to perform experiments related to the observations of Extreme Energy Cosmic Rays (EECRs) from space using the fluorescence technique for JEM-EUSO missions with the main objective to test the response of the trigger logic. In the missions, the diffuse night brightness and artificial and natural light sources can vary significantly in time and space in the Field of View (FoV) of the telescope. Therefore, it is essential to verify the detector performance and test the trigger logic under such an environment. By means of the tank rotation, a various terrestrial surface with the different optical characteristics such as ocean, land, forest, desert and clouds, as well as artificial and natural light sources such as city lights, lightnings and meteors passing by the detector FoV one after the other is reproduced. The fact that the tank located in a very dark place enables the tests under an optically controlled environment. Using the Mini-EUSO data taken since 2019 onboard the ISS, we will report on the comparison between TurLab and ISS measurements in view of future experiments at TurLab. Moreover, in the forthcoming months we will start testing the trigger logic of the EUSO-SPB2 mission. We report also on the plans and status for this purpose.
|
|
| 8. |
- Miyamoto, H., et al.
(författare)
-
Simulation studies for the Mini-EUSO detector
- 2022
-
Ingår i: 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2021. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- 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 1021 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.
|
|
| 9. |
- Plebaniak, Z., et al.
(författare)
-
Study of the calibration method using the stars measured by the EUSO-TA telescope
- 2022
-
Ingår i: 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2021. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- EUSO-TA is a ground-based experiment, placed at Black Rock Mesa of the Telescope Array site as a part of the JEM-EUSO (Joint Experiment Missions for the Extreme Universe Space Observatory) program. The UV fluorescence imaging telescope with a field of view of about 10.6◦ x 10.6◦ consisting of 2304 pixels (36 Multi-Anode Photomultipliers, 64 pixels each) works with 2.5-microsecond time resolution. An experimental setup with two Fresnel lenses allows for measurements of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays in parallel with the TA experiment as well as the other sources like flashes of lightning, artificial signals from UV calibration lasers, meteors and stars. Stars increase counts on pixels while crossing the field of view as the point-like sources. In this work, we discuss the method for calibration of EUSO fluorescence detectors based on signals from stars registered by the EUSO-TA experiment during several campaigns. As the star position is known, the analysis of signals gives an opportunity to determine the pointing accuracy of the detector. This can be applied to space-borne or balloon-borne EUSO missions. We describe in details the method of the analysis which provides information about detector parameters like the shape of the point spread function and is the way to perform absolute calibration of EUSO cameras.
|
|
| 10. |
- Shinozaki, K., et al.
(författare)
-
Measurement of UV light emission of the nighttime Earth by Mini-EUSO for space-based UHECR observations
- 2022
-
Ingår i: 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2021. - : Sissa Medialab Srl.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- 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’s 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 × 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.
|
|
