SIR Physics Investigation Abstract
DETECTION OF MUONS USING SCINTILLATOR DETECTORS
Presenter:
Vihas Abraham, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Advisor:
Dr. Mark Adams, University of Illinois at Chicago
Abstract:
The research is an effort to derive the origination of cosmic rays. Scintillation detectors, using electronics developed by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, are used to count the number of muons showering in a particular area. From the precise timing data collected, it is possible to "point" to the direction of where the cosmic ray hit the atmosphere by matching the muons that hit the detector at the same time. Some of the hits that occur at the same time are due to randomness/chance, and are understood using timing measurements with 1ns resolution. The reason other schools/universities conduct the same experiment we are conducting, is to be sensitive to very high energy showers. Our data is then posted onto a website, where we can compare and analyze each others data. If there is a detection of muons at the same time at two different locations, then we can know that it originates from the same cosmic ray. With data like this, it will be possible to more accurately reconstruct the direction of the cosmic ray.
Detectors were successfully commissioned and calibrated at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy by November. Two sets of data from our school have been posted onto the website. More data from IMSA will be posted in the future. However, the conclusion to this research will take years of data. This is because the highest energy showers are very rare. Cosmic rays that cause these highest energy showers, however, don't get bent appreciably by the galaxy's magnetic field; so we may be able to accurately pinpoint the original source of the cosmic ray.