The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Mostafa, Miguel, the HAWC Collaboration
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 27.10.2013
• Subjects: Angular resolution; Arrays; Cerenkov counters; Emission analysis; Field of view; Gamma ray bursts; Gamma rays; High altitude; Observatories; Photomultiplier tubes; Physics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena; Mexico
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1310.7237

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory is a large field of view, continuously operated, TeV gamma-ray experiment under construction at 4,100 m a.s.l. in Mexico. The HAWC observatory will have an order of magnitude better sensitivity, angular resolution, and background rejection than its predecessor, the Milagro experiment. The improved performance will allow us to detect both transient and steady emissions, to study the Galactic diffuse emission at TeV energies, and to measure or constrain the TeV spectra of GeV gamma-ray sources. In addition, HAWC will be the only ground-based instrument capable of detecting prompt emission from gamma-ray bursts above 50 GeV. The HAWC observatory will consist of an array of 300 water Cherenkov detectors (WCDs), each with four photomultiplier tubes. This array is currently under construction on the flanks of the Sierra Negra volcano near the city of Puebla, Mexico. The first thirty WCDs (forming an array approximately the size of Milagro) were deployed in Summer 2012, and 100 WCDs will be taking data by May, 2013. We present in this paper the motivation for constructing the HAWC observatory, the status of the deployment, and the first results from the constantly growing array.