Measurements of energy spectra of relativistic electrons and gamma-rays from avalanches developed in the thunderous atmosphere with Aragats Solar Neutron Telescope

Abstract

Abstract Aragats solar neutron telescope (ASNT) is a unique instrument allowing to measure the energy spectra of electrons accelerated and multiplied in the strong electric fields of the atmosphere. We describe the instrument setup, its operation condition, software, and hardware triggers. We present energy spectra of a very large thunderstorm ground enhancement (TGE) event observed on 6 October 2021. The detector response function, algorithm to recover energy spectra from the energy release histograms also are presented. The spectra recovery procedure is verified by simulation of the response function of the SEVAN detector, operating nearby ASNT. SEVAN is a stacked 3 layered detector, interlayered by lead filters registering both charged and neutral species of cosmic rays. The simulated and measured count rates of all 3 layers of the SEVAN detector show good agreement within 20%.