Telescope Array Radar (TARA) Observatory for Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays
R. Abbasi, M. Abou Bakr Othman, C. Allen, L. Beard, J. Belz, D., Besson, M. Byrne, B. Farhang-Boroujeny, A. Gardner, W.H. Gillman, W. Hanlon,, J. Hanson, C. Jayanthmurthy, S. Kunwar, S.L. Larson, I. Myers, S. Prohyra, K., Ratzlaff, P. Sokolsky, H. Takai, G.B. Thomson
TL;DR
The TARA observatory aims to detect ultra-high energy cosmic rays using bi-static radar, potentially expanding detection capabilities beyond traditional methods.
Contribution
This paper presents the design and performance of the TARA radar system, a novel approach for UHECR detection co-located with the Telescope Array.
Findings
Successful construction of TARA radar system in 2013
High-power VHF transmitter and advanced data acquisition implemented
Potential for radar-based UHECR detection demonstrated
Abstract
Construction was completed during summer 2013 on the Telescope Array RAdar (TARA) bi-static radar observatory for Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR). TARA is co-located with the Telescope Array, the largest "conventional" cosmic ray detector in the Northern Hemisphere, in radio-quiet Western Utah. TARA employs an 8 MW Effective Radiated Power (ERP) VHF transmitter and smart receiver system based on a 250 MS/s data acquisition system in an effort to detect the scatter of sounding radiation by UHECR-induced atmospheric ionization. TARA seeks to demonstrate bi-static radar as a useful new remote sensing technique for UHECRs, extending their detection aperture far beyond what is accessible by conventional means. In this report, we describe the design and performance of the TARA transmitter and receiver systems.
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