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DOE OSTI2022

EUSO-SPB2 Fluorescence Telescope trigger test within the EUSO@TurLab Project

The second generation Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super-Pressure Balloon (EUSO-SPB2) mission is on track to be approved by NASA for a long duration flight (up to 100 days) in 2023 from Wanaka, New Zealand. EUSO-SPB2 will monitor the night atmosphere of the Southern hemisphere from 33 km altitude to detect Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) and search for astrophysical and cosmogenic neutrinos. EUSO-SPB2 features two telescopes, a Cherenkov (CT) and a Fluorescence (FT) Telescope. The hardware implementation and performance of the FT trigger logic were tested at the TurLab facility, hosted at the University of Turin. In conclusion, the tests proved the correct hardware implementation of the trigger logic and its ability to detect μs timescale transient signals.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2021

Development of a cosmic ray oriented trigger for the fluorescence telescope on EUSO-SPB2

The Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon 2 (EUSO-SPB2), in preparation, aims to make the first observations of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) from near space using optical techniques. EUSO-SPB2 will prototype instrumentation for future satellite-based missions, including the Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) and K-EUSO. The payload will consist of two telescopes. The first is a Cherenkov telescope (CT) being developed to quantify the background for future below-the-limb very high energy (E 10 PeV) astrophysical neutrino observations, and the second is a fluorescence telescope (FT) being developed for detection of UHECRs. The FT will consist of a Schmidt telescope, and a 6192 pixel ultraviolet camera with an integration time of 1.05 s. The first step in the data acquisition process for the FT is a hardware level trigger in order to decide which data to record. In order to maximize the number of UHECR induced extensive air showers (EASs) which can be detected, a novel trigger algorithm has been developed based on the intricacies and limitations of the detector. Finally, the expected performance of the trigger has been characterized by simulations and, pending hardware verification, shows that EUSO-SPB2 is well positioned to attempt the first near-space observation of UHECRs via optical techniques.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗