Continued Operation of the South Pole Air Shower Experiment (SPASE-2)

Bartol Research Institute, Newark DE

Investigators

Abstract

This project is the continuation of a large cosmic-ray detector at South Pole called the South Pole Air Shower Experiment (SPASE) that operates in coincidence with Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA). The main goal is to study the composition of ultra-high-energy (3 PeV) primary cosmic rays. These cosmic-rays interact in the atmosphere above South Pole and produce "showers" consisting of thousands of electrons and muons. It is possible by measuring the resulting cosmic-ray showers at the surface with SPASE and two kilometers below the surface of the ice with AMANDA to deduce something about the original nucleus that caused the shower. SPASE is also very valuable for providing diagnostic and calibration information for AMANDA. ***