Techniques of the FLASH thin target experiment

Abstract The fluorescence yield in air is reported for wavelength and pressure ranges of interest to ultra-high energy cosmic ray detectors. A 28.5 GeV electron beam was used to excite the fluorescence. Central to the approach was the system calibration, using Rayleigh scattering of a nitrogen laser beam. In atmospheric pressure dry air, at 304 K, the yield is 20.8 ± 1.6 photons per MeV.