Expected performance of the K-EUSO space-based observatory

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Fenu, Francesco, Sharakin, Sergei, Zotov, Mikhail, Sakaki, Naoto, Takizawa, Yoshiyuki, Bianciotto, Marta, Bertaina, Mario, Casolino, Marco, Klimov, Pavel, the JEM-EUSO collaboration
• Format: Paper
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 21.12.2021
• Subjects: Cosmic ray showers; Cosmic rays; Field of view; Fluorescence; International Space Station; Observatories; Spatial resolution

K-EUSO is a planned mission of the JEM-EUSO program for the study of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) from space, to be deployed on the International Space Station. The K-EUSO observatory consists of a UV telescope with a wide field of view, which aims at the detection of fluorescence light emitted by extensive air showers (EAS) in the atmosphere. The EAS events will be sampled with a time resolution of \(\sim\)1-2.5 s to reconstruct the entire shower profile with high precision. The detector consisting of $\sim$$10^5\( independent pixels will allow a spatial resolution of \)\sim$700 m on ground. From a 400 km altitude, K-EUSO will achieve a large and full sky exposure to sample the highest energy range of the UHECR spectrum. In this contribution, we present estimates of the performance of the observatory: an estimation of the expected exposure and triggered event rate as a function of energy and the event reconstruction performance, including resolution of arrival directions and energy of UHECRs.