Search for large-scale coincidences in network observation of cosmic ray air showers

The Large Area Air Shower (LAAS) group has been performing a network observation of extensive air showers (EAS) since 1996 in Japan. Eight compact EAS arrays (ten in the near future) are operating simultaneously and independently at distant stations (up to ≈ 1000 km), constituting a gigantic detector system as a whole. Using five stations' datasets, large-scale coincidences of EAS have been searched for with the aim of detecting signals from extremely short bursts in the universe. By comparing arrival times and arrival directions of all registered EAS, three coincident and parallel EAS pairs were extracted out of a sea of background cosmic rays. One of them was observed almost from the direction of the Crab Nebula, a previously reported ultra-high-energy γ-ray source. The first application reported here allows the analysis techniques to be tested and demonstrates the potential of observations with the full operation of the network detector system.