We report on the design, deployment, and first results from a scintillation detector deployed at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO). The detector is a prototype for a larger array – the Square Kilometre Array Particle Array (SKAPA) – planned to allow the radio-detection of cosmic rays with the Murchison Widefield Array and the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array. The prototype design has been driven by stringent limits on radio emissions at the MRO, and to ensure survivability in a desert environment. Using data taken from Nov. 2018 to Feb. 2019, we characterize the detector response while accounting for the effects of temperature fluctuations, and calibrate the sensitivity of the prototype detector to through-going muons. This verifies the feasibility of cosmic ray detection at the MRO. We then estimate the required parameters of a planned array of eight such detectors to be used to trigger radio observations by the Murchison Widefield Array.

我们报告了在默奇森射电天文台（MRO）部署的闪烁探测器的设计，部署和初步结果。该探测器是更大阵列的原型，即平方公里阵列粒子阵列（SKAPA），计划通过Murchison宽场阵列和平方公里阵列的低频成分进行无线电探测。原型设计受到MRO严格限制无线电发射的驱动，并确保在沙漠环境中的生存能力。使用2018年11月至2019年2月的数据，我们在表征探测器响应的同时考虑了温度波动的影响，并校准了原型探测器对贯穿的μ子的灵敏度。这验证了在MRO探测宇宙射线的可行性。