https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20158902002
Atmospheric monitoring in H.E.S.S.
Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, PO Box 103980, 69029 Heidelberg, Germany
a e-mail: Joachim.Hahn@mpi-hd.mpg.de
b e-mail: Raquel.de.los.Reyes@mpi-hd.mpg.de
Published online: 26 March 2015
Instruments applying the IACT method, such as H.E.S.S. (High Energy Stereoscopic System), observe VHE (very high energy, E > 100 GeV) photons indirectly, using the Earth's atmosphere as a calorimeter. In the H.E.S.S. data reconstruction, the properties of this component are estimated by Monte Carlo simulations of a yearly averaged atmosphere density profile. Deviations of the real atmospheric conditions from this assumed atmospheric model will result in a biased reconstruction of the primary gamma-ray energy and thus the resulting source spectrum. In order to keep the corresponding systematic effects to a minimum, H.E.S.S. operates a set of atmospheric monitoring devices that allows it to characterise the atmospheric conditions during data taking. This information in turn is then used in data selection. Here, a short overview with respect to their usage during source observation and a posteriori analysis data selection will be presented.
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2015
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
