Characteristics of the ground-based « CARPET-ASTANA » instrument for detecting charged component of cosmic rays and preliminary analysis of the first experimental data

In this paper the description and technical characteristics of the new instrument for detection of the charged secondary component of cosmic rays named CARPET-ASTANA, designed in the Dolgoprudny Scientific Station of the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute are presented. This instrument is installed at L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan) at the end of 2015. The detectors of the CARPET-ASTANA instrument are gas-discharge counters of the STS-6 type, combined in 12 blocks of 10 counters in each. Each block has two layers. The upper counter layer has separated from the lower counter layer by an aluminum filter with a thickness of 7 mm. The results of determining the barometric coefficient for the CARPET-ASTANA instrument and analysis of the first experimental data are presented in this paper. The issue of detection accuracy is also discussed.