Current status of ALPACA for exploring sub-PeV gamma-ray sky in Bolivia

the ALPACA Collaboration

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Abstract

The Andes Large area PArticle detector for Cosmic ray physics and Astronomy (ALPACA) project is now constructing an air shower array near the Chacaltaya mountain at the altitude of 4, 740 m in Bolivia. An 82, 800 m2 surface area will be covered by 401 scintillating counters of 100 cm×100 cm×5 cm (thick). In addition to this conventional surface array, underground muon detectors covering a total of 3, 600 m2 allow precise identification of muon components in air showers. Using this array, ALPACA will explore the sub-PeV gamma-ray sky first time in the Southern hemisphere. The prime target of ALPACA is to reveal PeV cosmic-ray accelerators presumably existing in the galactic plane including the galactic center. A prototype array ALPAQUITA consisting of 97 surface counters and a 900 m2 muon detector is under construction and is planned to start data taking in 2021. The next extension to the 200 counters and 3, 600 m2 muon detectors named ALPACA (half) is scheduled for 2022. In this contribution, a general introduction to ALPACA, the current status of ALPAQUITA with its infrastructure, and the extension plan after 2022 are presented.

Original languageEnglish
Article number733
JournalProceedings of Science
Volume395
StatePublished - 18 Mar 2022
Event37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2021 - Virtual, Berlin, Germany
Duration: 12 Jul 202123 Jul 2021

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