Atmospheric Monitoring for the MAGIC Telescopes

TL;DR

This paper discusses the importance of atmospheric monitoring for the MAGIC telescopes, focusing on instrumentation, data analysis, and calibration to improve gamma-ray measurements and operational safety.

Contribution

It provides an overview of the ATCA group's activities in atmospheric monitoring, calibration, and data correction methods for MAGIC telescopes.

Findings

Development of instrumentation for atmospheric monitoring

Methods to correct data under non-optimal atmospheric conditions

Reduction of systematic uncertainties in gamma-ray flux measurements

Abstract

The monitoring of the atmosphere is very relevant for Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. Adverse weather conditions (strong wind, high humidity, etc.) may damage the telescopes and must therefore be monitored continuously to guarantee a safe operation, and the presence of clouds and aerosols affects the transmission of the Cherenkov light and consequently the performance of the telescopes. The ATmospheric CAlibration (ATCA) technical working group of the MAGIC collaboration aims to cover all aspects related to atmosphere monitoring and calibration. In this paper we give an overview of the ATCA goals and activities, which include the set-up and maintenance of appropriate instrumentation, proper analysis of its data, the realization of MC studies, and the correction of real data taken under non-optimal atmospheric conditions. The final goal is to reduce the systematic uncertainties in the determination of the $\gamma$-ray flux and energy, and to increase the duty cycle of the telescopes by establishing optimized data analysis methods specific for real atmospheric conditions.