Katarzyna Oldak with Corbin Covault

The Building and Testing of a Cherenkov Radiation Detector for the Auger Project

Detecting Cherenkov radiation is a way to obtain information about the ultra-high-energy cosmic rays that enter the Earth’s atmosphere. By measuring this radiation, we can discover the energy-level and direction of the incoming rays, which can in turn point us to their source. The purpose of this project is to put together a durable and low-cost Cherenkov radiation detector from a non-imaging optical concentrator and a coincidence system. Specifically, all the already-assembled components need to be tested individually and used together to take data. After it is possible to successfully detect Cherenkov radiation with this setup, more such detectors will be created, to be employed in the Auger North Project.