High-energy gamma-astronomy with large underground detectors

✍ Scribed by V. S. Berezinsky; G. Cini-Castagnoli; V. A. Kudryavtsev; O. G. Ryazhskaya; G. T. Zatsepin

• Book ID: 104651483
• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 594 KB
• Volume: 49
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0038-6308
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00173758

✦ Synopsis

Large underground (underwater) detectors (such as 'Baikal' and DUMAND) are discussed for their possible use as gamma-ray telescopes. The signal is caused by high-energy muons (E, >~ 30-100 TeV) produced by the primary gamma-radiation in the Earth's atmosphere. The production of gamma-rays in the source through the reactionp + p ~ ~z ~ + X is calculated for a low density target of arbitrary thickness taking the electromagnetic cascade into account. The muon production by gamma-rays in the Earth's atmosphere is calculated using three processes: (i) photoproduction of n-and K-mesons followed by decay to muons, (ii) the direct production of ~ +/~--pairs: ~ + Z---, Z + # + + #-, and (iii)photoproduction of charmed particles. It is shown that for thin sources with a flat spectrum (integral exponent y = 1.1) a large (S = 0.1 km 2) underground detector can detect both neutrinos and gamma-quanta generated by the source. Finally we compare the performances of underground detectors with S = 0.1 km 2 for the search of gamma sources at E = 100 TeV with those of the previously proposed 1 km 2 EAS array.