AIRFLY: Measurement of the Air Fluorescence Radiation Induced by Electrons

The AIRFLY (AIR FLuorescence Yield) experiment objective is the precise measurement of the fluorescence yield in atmospheric gases. AIRFLY takes data at the Beam Test Facility of the INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati. A first test performed on the beam line has allowed to verify the feasibility of the physics program which includes an absolute measurement of the fluorescence yield with a precision better than 5%, the measurement of the spectrum and of the yield dependence on the electron energy, gas pressure, temperature and composition. Details of the experimental apparatus and preliminary results from the test are reported.