Performance comparison of water Cherenkov detectors with different geometries

Abstract

In the framework of the development of the SWGO experiment, we have performed a detailed study of the single unit of an extensive air shower observatory based on an array of water Cherenkov detectors. Indeed, one of the possible water Cherenkov detector unit configurations for SWGO consists of tanks, and to reach a high detection efficiency and discrimination capability between gamma-ray and hadronic air showers, different tank designs are under investigation. In this study, we consider and compare double-layer tanks with several sizes, shapes and number of photo-multiplier tubes (PMTs). Muons, electrons, and gamma-rays with energies typical of secondary particles in extensive air showers have been simulated entering the tanks with zenith angles from 0 to 60 deg. The comparison between different tank geometries was evaluated considering the number of photoelectrons produced by the PMTs, the detection efficiency, and the time resolution of the measurement of the first photon. We will show that with circular and hexagonal tanks better performance can be obtained than with the square ones, and that it improves for smaller tanks as expected.