Calibrating laser test-beams for cosmic-ray observatories

TL;DR

This paper discusses a robotic calibration system for pulsed UV lasers used as testbeams in cosmic-ray observatories, enabling accurate calibration of detectors and atmospheric corrections.

Contribution

It introduces a robotic system for laser polarization and energy calibration, improving the accuracy of cosmic-ray detector calibration.

Findings

Laboratory measurements of laser energies from different probes

Calibration system enhances detector accuracy

Robotic calibration improves atmospheric correction precision

Abstract

Pulsed UV lasers can provide useful "testbeams" for observatories that use optical detectors, especially fluorescence detectors, to measure high energy cosmic-rays. The light observed by the detector is proportional to the energy of the laser pulse. Since the absolute laser energy can be measured locally, a well-calibrated laser offers a practical way to test the photometric calibration of the cosmic-ray detector including atmospheric corrections. This poster will describe a robotic system for laser polarization and energy calibration. Laboratory measurements of laser energies and polarizations by energy probes from different manufactures will be presented