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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 19: Cosmic Ray 1

T 19.3: Talk

Monday, March 21, 2022, 16:50–17:05, T-H32

A method to determine baselines of time traces at the Pierre Auger Observatory — •Tobias Schulz, David Schmidt, Darko Veberič, and Markus Roth for the Pierre Auger collaboration — Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Astroparticle Physics, Karlsruhe, Germany

The calibration and identification of detector signals is crucial for minimizing systematic uncertainties in measurements. A constant offset, called the baseline, which is generated by the electronics, has to be determined to properly estimate the size of the signals. At the Pierre Auger Observatory, two detector types, namely Water Cherenkov and Surface Scintillation Detectors, are used to measure the lateral distribution of extensive air showers at the ground. To determine the signal produced by the particles that enter the detectors, photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are used to collect the emitted Cherenkov or scintillation light. The PMTs have one low gain channel and one amplified high gain channel. The analog pulses are read out and sampled with a flash analog to digital converter in a FADC time trace.

After a signal, the output of the PMTs is reduced by an undershoot, resulting in a lowered baseline, that recovers after a certain time period. Accidental muons or late air shower components can result in additional signal in the traces, which complicate the estimation of the baseline. Here, we present a method to estimate the baseline, that is robust to signal contributions in the trace and accounts for undershoot of the PMT.