Cosmic ray anisotropy studies with the Stockholm Educational Air Shower array

TL;DR

This paper presents the SEASA project, a network of synchronized detectors in Stockholm, designed to study cosmic ray anisotropy around the knee, combining outreach and scientific research.

Contribution

It introduces a novel detector network with high timing precision for cosmic ray anisotropy studies and evaluates its angular resolution through simulations and data comparison.

Findings

Timing resolution of the detector system has been determined.

Angular resolution has been studied using Monte Carlo simulations.

The system shows potential for analyzing cosmic ray anisotropies.

Abstract

The Stockholm Educational Air Shower Array (SEASA) project has established a network of GPS time-synchronised scintillator detector stations at high-schools in the Stockholm region. The primary aim of this project is outreach. A part of the network comprises a dense cluster of detector stations located at AlbaNova University Centre. This cluster is being used to study the cosmic ray anisotropy around the knee. Each station consists of three scintillator detectors in a triangular geometry which allows multiple timing measurements as the shower front sweeps over the station. The timing resolution of the system has been determined and the angular resolution has been studied using Monte Carlo simulations and is compared to data. The potential of this system to study small and large scale cosmic ray anisotropies is discussed.