Operation of a new experimental facility Tunka-HiSCORE starts simultaneously with the facility Tunka-133


Black dots - the detectors of Tunka-133, red dots - supposed location of the detectors of Tunka-HiSCORE

At these days operation of the experimental facility Tunka-HiSCORE starts simulataneously with the facility Tunka-133.

As SINP MSU Leading researcher, DSc. Vasily Prosin told us: "In Tunka valley October is the most hectic time for the finishing of upgrading and start of the experiments for a new winter season. This year the Moon begins to hide on October 25, and we'll start to collect the experimental data from Tunka-133 and Tunka-HiSCORE at this first moonless night".

The experiments on the studies of cosmic rays physics leaded by the Head of the Deaprtment of super-high energy physics of SINP MSU, DSc. Leonid Kuz'michev are carried out during the most advantegeous period - during the long winter moonless nights from October and till April.

Currently the experimental facility Tunka-133, which was launched in operation in 2009, collects data from 175 detectors located at the square of 3 square kilometers. Electronic system of data collection of the facility Tunka-133 will also reord signals from 25 radioantennas of the facility Tunka-REX, which was developed and finally deployed by the scientists form Karlsruhe this summer.

The experiment Tunka-REX belongs to a perspective direction of registration of radio-emission produced by Auger showers. Scientists specialized in this directions consider that in future detection of Auger showers by means of radio-emission will allow to develop experimental facilities of gigantic size exceeding everything developed up todate. At the same time such facilities will be relatively cheap because radioantennas are significantly cheaper than photomultipliers and scintillation detectors.

The experimental facility Tunka-133 is intended for the studies of the spectrum and composition of cosmic rays within so-called transition zone (1016 – 1018 eV). It is regarded that within this region space particles accelerated in our Galaxy are changed by more high-energy cosmic rays produced by essentially more active galaxies. Exact baoundary value of the energy is still unclear and its determination is one of the goals of Tunka-133 experiment.

Tunka-HiSCORE (HiSCORE – Hundred Square-km Cosmic Origin Explorer) is a new facility with a low energy threshold and better accuracy of the primary particle direction definition, which will allow to separate gammas from the flux of cosmic rays charged particles. The first stage of the facility will consist of 25 detectors. Effective area of each is 16 times more than one of detectors of Tunka-133. In future detectors and electronics debugged at Tunka testing ground will allow to develop the biggest observatory for the studies of the Universe in gamma-rays (with energy over 100 GeV). Currently the scientists start testing operation of Tunka-HiSCORE conisted of the first 9 detectors.

During the development, testing and upgrade of experimental facilities Tunka-133 and Tunka-HiSCORE SINP scientists cooperated with the colleagues form the Institute of Applied Physics of Irkutsk State University, University of Hamburg, Technological Institute of Karlsruhe and DESY branch in Zeuthen (Germany).


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