Data Acquisition, Triggering, and Filtering at the Auger Engineering Radio Array

TL;DR

The paper discusses the methods used by the Auger Engineering Radio Array to detect high-energy cosmic rays through radio signals, addressing challenges like interference and autonomous operation.

Contribution

It introduces specific triggering, filtering, and data acquisition techniques for effective self-triggered radio detection in a low-power autonomous array.

Findings

Effective algorithms for radio signal triggering and filtering.

Successful detection of cosmic rays above 10^17 eV.

Robust data acquisition and communication system design.

Abstract

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is currently detecting cosmic rays of energies at and above 10^17 eV at the Pierre Auger Observatory, by triggering on the radio emission produced in the associated air showers. The radio-detection technique must cope with a significant background of man-made radio-frequency interference, but can provide information on shower development with a high duty cycle. We discuss our techniques to handle the challenges of self-triggered radio detection in a low-power autonomous array, including triggering and filtering algorithms, data acquisition design, and communication systems.