Fyzikální ústav Akademie věd ČR

The atmospheric data are used extensively in the reconstruction of air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory, and are particularly important for the correct determination of shower energies and depths of the shower maximum from the fluorescence detector measurements. This paper contains a summary of the molecular and aerosol conditions at the Observatory site and includes a discussion about the impact of these measurements on the air shower reconstruction.

The surface detector stations and fluorescence detector sites of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Also shown are the locations of Malargüe and the atmospheric monitoring instruments operating at the Observatory.

Our group contributed to the construction, operation and monitoring of the performance of the fluorescence detectors. The group also operates the robotic telescope FRAM, which is monitoring the immediate atmospheric extinction and its wavelength dependence using standard stellar photometry.

[1] J. Abraham et al. (AUGER Collab., from FZÚ M. Boháčová, J. Chudoba, T. Kárová, D. Mandát, P. Nečesal, L. Nožka, M. Nyklíček, M. Palatka, M. Pech, M. Prouza, J. Řídký, J. Schovancová, P. Schovánek, R. Šmída, P. Trávníček) A Study of the Effect of Molecular and Aerosol Conditions in the Atmosphere on Air Fluorescence Measurements at the Pierre Auger Observatory. Astropart Phys. 33 (2010) 108 - 129.