The performance of a prototype array of water Cherenkov detectors for the LHAASO project

A large high-altitude air-shower observatory (LHAASO) is to be built at Shangri-La, Yunnan Province, China. This observatory is intended to conduct sub-TeV gamma astronomy, and as an important component of the LHAASO project, a water Cherenkov detector array (WCDA) is proposed. To investigate engineering issues and fully understand the water Cherenkov technique for detecting air showers, a prototype array at 1% scale of the LHAASO-WCDA has been built at Yang-Ba-Jing, Tibet, China. This paper introduces the prototype array setup and studies its performance by counting rate of each photomultiplier tube (PMT), trigger rates at different PMT multiplicities, and responses to air showers. Finally, the reconstructed shower directions and angular resolutions of the detected showers for the prototype array are given. -- Highlights: • The technique of the water Cherenkov array is studied. • Engineering issues of the water Cherenkov array are investigated. • The PMTs and electronics of the water Cherenkov array are tested. • Some key parameters of the water Cherenkov array are measured