System of calibration telescopes (SCT)

System of calibration telescopes (SCT) is a part of the experimental complex of setups, located in Scientific and Educational Center (SEC) NEVOD. SCT was developed for calibration of optical modules of Cherenkov water detector (CWD) NEVOD. It includes two planes of 40 scintillation detectors. Any pair of detectors from different planes forms a telescope. SCT is able to locate 1600 different muon trajectories with an accuracy better than 2 °. Photomultipliers of optical modules of CWD are calibrated using the Cherenkov radiation from muons passing through the operating volume of the NEVOD setup.

Housing and structure of SCT detector.

During the modernization (2009-2011) of the experimental complex, registering system of SCT was supplemented by amplitude channels of registration. As the result, a unique opportunity to register electron-photon and penetrating component of extensive air showers (EAS) on the experimental complex has appeared.

Studying of the structure of EAS provides information on the processes of interaction of cosmic rays (CR) with the matter of the atmosphere at energies much higher than a man is able to create on the Earth.

Results of the computer simulation.

At the SCT students of various faculties train and practice as well as defend their diploma works. In 2012, the student of the department 7 Shulzhenko I.A. was awarded with Kirillov-Ugryumov 1 degree Prize for students and Medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences for students of higher education for his thesis "System of calibration telescopes of Cherenkov water detector NEVOD".

SCT is quite "young" setup and therefore provides a real opportunity for initiative students and undergraduates to test the forces and intellectual abilities in the scientific field.

 General view of location of SCT detectors at the top and at the bottom of Cherenkov Water Detector NEVOD (circled).

• M.B. Amelchakov, A.G. Bogdanov, V.V. Isakov et al. Measuring the spectrum of the local density of charged particles on the SCT setup. Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Physics, 2015, Vol. 79, No. 3, pp. 368–370.

• M.B. Amelchakov, A.G. Bogdanov, E.A. Zadeba et. al. Calibration telescope system of CWD NEVOD as a detector of electron and muon components of EAS. Physics Procedia, V. 74 ( 2015) pp.449-456.