Suche nach Supernovaueberresten als Quellen der Kosmischen Strahlung im Energiebereich oberhalb von 14 TeV mit dem AIROBICC-Detektor des HEGRA-Experiments

This thesis deals with the search for the origin of cosmic radiation. The most evolved theoretical model for this is Fermi acceleration at shock fronts of supernova remnants. The model allows quantitative predictions for the flux of #gamma#-radiation produced by cosmic rays in these objects. The aim of this thesis is the search for high energy #gamma#-radiation (#>=# 14 TeV) from supernova remnants with the AIROBICC detector of the HEGRA air shower experiment. First, the most important detector parameters have been determined. The energy threshold of the AIROBICC array for perpendicular showers is (25#+-#2) TeV for proton induced showers and (12#+-#1) TeV for #gamma#-induced showers. The angular resolution of AIROBICC (determined with the chessboard method) is (0.23#+-#0.01) at trigger threshold and (0.11 #+-# 0.01) at a #gamma#-threshold of 25 TeV. The systematic direction error is 0.2 ; it has been evaluated with an analysis of showers, which were detected simultaneously with AIROBICC and the HEGRA Prototype Cherenkov Telescope. A method which suppresses the background of hadronic showers (modified LES-method) has been developed for the search of #gamma#-sources above a #gamma#-energy threshold of 25 TeV. The quality factor of this method has been determined with simulated showers to be 1.44 #+-# 0.05 for a zenith angle of 10 and 1.33 #+-# 0.08 for a zenith angle of 25 . There is very good agreement for the distributions of the LES-parameter of hadronic showers for simulated and experimental data. The cut efficiencies are reproduced by the simulation within 1.5#sigma# (except at highest energies). (orig.)Available from TIB Hannover: RR 2916(97-30) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman