Design and implementation of the AMIGA embedded system for data acquisition

TL;DR

This paper details the design and implementation of a robust embedded system for the AMIGA detector array, enabling centralized control and data acquisition for cosmic ray muon measurements, with proven stability since deployment.

Contribution

It introduces the final design of the AMIGA embedded system, enhancing control and data collection for cosmic ray detection in the Pierre Auger Observatory.

Findings

System proved to be robust and reliable

Operated stably since initial deployment

Enabled effective data acquisition and control

Abstract

The Auger Muon Infill Ground Array (AMIGA) is part of the AugerPrime upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory. It consists of particle counters buried 2.3 m underground next to the water-Cherenkov stations that form the 23.5 km$^2$ large infilled array. The reduced distance between detectors in this denser area allows the lowering of the energy threshold for primary cosmic ray reconstruction down to about 10$^{17}$ eV. At the depth of 2.3 m the electromagnetic component of cosmic ray showers is almost entirely absorbed so that the buried scintillators provide an independent and direct measurement of the air showers muon content. This work describes the design and implementation of the AMIGA embedded system, which provides centralized control, data acquisition and environment monitoring to its detectors. The presented system was firstly tested in the engineering array phase ended in 2017, and lately selected as the final design to be installed in all new detectors of the production phase. The system was proven to be robust and reliable and has worked in a stable manner since its first deployment.