A Review of the EUSO-Balloon Pathfinder for the JEM-EUSO Program

Adams JH, Ahmad S, Allard D, Anzalone A, Bacholle S, Barrillon P, Bayer J, Bertaina M, Bisconti F, Blaksley C, Blin-Bondil S, Bobik P, Cafagna F, Campana D, Capel F, Casolino M, Cassardo C, Catalano C, Cremonini R, Dagoret-Campagne S, Danto P, Del Peral L, De La Taille C, Damian AD, Dupieux M, Ebersoldt A, Ebisuzaki T, Eser J, Evrard J, Fenu F, Ferrarese S, Fornaro C, Fouka M, Gorodetzky P, Guarino F, Guzman A, Hachisu Y, Haungs A, Judd E, Jung A, Karczmarczyk J, Kawasaki Y, Klimov PA, Kuznetsov E, Mackovjak S, Manfrin M, Marcelli L, Medina-Tanco G, Mercier K, Merino A, Mernik T, Miyamoto H, Morales De Los Rios JA, Moretto C, Mot B, Neronov A, Ohmori H, Olinto A, Osteria G, Panico B, Parizot E, Paul T, Picozza P, Piotrowski LW, Plebaniak Z, Pliego S, Prat P, Prevot G, Prieto H, Putis M, Rabanal J, Ricci M, Rojas J, Rodriguez Frias MD, Roudil G, Saez Cano G, Sahnoun Z, Sakaki N, Sanchez JC, Santangelo A, Sarazin F, Scotti , Shinozaki K, Silva H, Soriano JF, Suino G, Szabelski J, Toscano S, Tabone , Takizawa Y, Von Ballmoos P, Wiencke L, Wille M, Zotov M (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article, Review article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Book Volume: 218

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1007/s11214-022-00870-x

Abstract

EUSO-Balloon is a pathfinder for JEM-EUSO, the mission concept of a spaceborne observatory which is designed to observe Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR)-induced Extensive Air Showers (EAS) by detecting their UltraViolet (UV) light tracks "from above." On August 25, 2014, EUSO-Balloon was launched from Timmins Stratospheric Balloon Base (Ontario, Canada) by the balloon division of the French Space Agency CNES. After reaching a floating altitude of 38 km, EUSO-Balloon imaged the UV light in the wavelength range similar to 290-500 nm for more than 5 hours using the key technologies of JEM-EUSO. The flight allowed a good understanding of the performance of the detector to be developed, giving insights into possible improvements to be applied to future missions. A detailed measurement of the photoelectron counts in different atmospheric and ground conditions was achieved. By means of the simulation of the instrument response and by assuming atmospheric models, the absolute intensity of diffuse light was estimated. The instrument detected hundreds of laser tracks with similar characteristics to EASs shot by a helicopter flying underneath. These are the first recorded laser tracks measured from a fluorescence detector looking down on the atmosphere. The reconstruction of the direction of the laser tracks was performed. In this work, a review of the main results obtained by EUSO-Balloon is presented as well as implications for future space-based observations of UHECRs.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen Germany (DE) National Institute for Nuclear Physics / Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Italy (IT) Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées France (FR) National Centre for Nuclear Research (früher:Institute of Atomic Energy POLATOM & Andrzej Sołtan Institute for Nuclear Studies) / Narodowe Centrum Badań Jądrowych (NCBJ) Poland (PL) University of Turin / Università degli Studi di Torino (UNITO) Italy (IT) University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) United States (USA) (US) École Polytechnique - Université Paris-Saclay France (FR) University of Paris 7 - Denis Diderot / Université Paris VII Denis Diderot France (FR) National Institute for Astrophysics / Istituto Nazionale Astrofisica (INAF) Italy (IT) Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) / Slovenská akadémia vied (SAV) Slovakia (SK) Royal Institute of Technology / Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH) Sweden (SE) Riken Institute of Physical and Chemical Research / 理研 Japan (JP) National Centre for Space Studies / Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) France (FR) Universidad de Alcalá (UAH) Spain (ES) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Germany (DE) Colorado School of Mines United States (USA) (US) Università telematica internazionale Uninettuno Italy (IT) Centre de Recherche en Astronomie Astrophysique et Géophysique (CRAAG) Algeria (DZ) University of California, Berkeley United States (USA) (US) Lomonosov Moscow State University / Московский государственный университет имени М.В.Ломоносова Russian Federation (RU) National Autonomous University of Mexico / Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) Mexico (MX) Universidad de León Spain (ES) University of Geneva / Université de Genève (UNIGE) Switzerland (CH) University of Chicago United States (USA) (US) City University of New York CUNY United States (USA) (US)

How to cite

APA:

Adams, J.H., Ahmad, S., Allard, D., Anzalone, A., Bacholle, S., Barrillon, P.,... Zotov, M. (2022). A Review of the EUSO-Balloon Pathfinder for the JEM-EUSO Program. Space Science Reviews, 218(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-022-00870-x

MLA:

Adams, J. H., et al. "A Review of the EUSO-Balloon Pathfinder for the JEM-EUSO Program." Space Science Reviews 218.1 (2022).

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