PoS - Proceedings of Science
Volume 395 - 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2021) - GAI - Gamma Ray Indirect
Current status of ALPACA for exploring sub-PeV gamma-ray sky in Bolivia
T. Sako*  on behalf of the ALPACA collaboration
Full text: pdf
Pre-published on: July 05, 2021
Published on: March 18, 2022
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 m^2 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 m^2 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 AL- PAQUITA 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 m^2 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.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22323/1.395.0733
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