HAWC: Design, Operation, Reconstruction and Analysis

TL;DR

The HAWC Observatory is a high-altitude gamma-ray detector with a large water Cherenkov array, optimized for TeV gamma-ray detection, providing continuous sky survey capabilities and demonstrating sensitivity through Crab observations.

Contribution

This paper provides a comprehensive technical description of HAWC's design, operation, data reconstruction, and analysis methods, highlighting its improved sensitivity and survey capabilities.

Findings

Demonstrated HAWC's sensitivity with Crab observations

Achieved gamma-ray detection threshold below 1 TeV

Optimized design for continuous sky survey

Abstract

The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory was completed and began full opera- tion on March 20, 2015. The detector consists of an array of 300 water tanks, each containing 200 ktons of purified water and instrumented with 4 PMTs. Located at an elevation of 4100m a.s.l. near the Sierra Negra volcano in central Mexico, HAWC has a threshold for gamma-ray detection well below 1 TeV and a sensitivity to TeV-scale gamma-ray sources an order of magnitude better than previous air-shower arrays. The detector operates 24 hours/day and observes the overhead sky (2 sr), making it an ideal survey instrument. We describe the configuration of HAWC with an emphasis on how the design was optimized, describe the data acquired, reconstructed and an- alyzed. Finally, we will demonstrate the sensitivity of the detector using the observation of the Crab. This paper serves as a detailed technical description of the foundations of the numerous analyses presented at this meeting by members of the HAWC collaboration.