Expected performance of the K-EUSO space-based observatory

Francesco Fenu; Sergei Sharakin; Mikhail Zotov; Naoto Sakaki; Yoshiyuki Takizawa; Marta Bianciotto; Mario Bertaina; Marco Casolino; Pavel Klimov

arXiv · 2112.11302

Expected performance of the K-EUSO space-based observatory

Francesco Fenu·Sergei Sharakin·Mikhail Zotov·Naoto Sakaki·Yoshiyuki Takizawa·Marta Bianciotto·Mario Bertaina·Marco Casolino·Pavel Klimov

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Abstract

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.

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Francesco Fenu, Sergei Sharakin, Mikhail Zotov, Naoto Sakaki, Yoshiyuki Takizawa, Marta Bianciotto, Mario Bertaina, Marco Casolino, Pavel Klimov. 2021-12-21. Expected performance of the K-EUSO space-based observatory. https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.11302

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