Speaker
Description
To measure the properties of the highest-energy particles in the Universe with unprecedented precision we are upgrading the Pierre Auger Observatory. A crucial component of the upgrade is the Radio Detector; radio antennas have been added to all 1660 positions of the surface detector array, covering an area of 3000 km$^2$. The antennas sense radio emission, emitted by extensive air showers in the frequency band from 30 to 80 MHz in two polarization directions - one parallel and one perpendicular to the Earth magnetic field. For inclined air showers with zenith angles above 60 degrees we will obtain a clean measurement of the electromagnetic shower component with the radio antennas and the muonic component with the water-Cherenkov detectors.
Large-scale deployment in the Argentinian Pampa Amarilla started around June 2023. The deployment should be completed at the time of the symposium. The deployment is accompanied by extensive calibration efforts in the laboratory and in the field. The signal chain is characterized in the laboratory. The Galactic radio emission is used as a reference signal and the antenna patterns are verified through in-situ calibrations with an reference antenna. Commissioning of the system is in full progress as well as the analysis of first measured air showers. We will give an overview on the commissioning and calibration efforts and will present first air showers measured with the largest radio detector for cosmic rays in the world.
