Muon Detection Techniques

Scintillators (organics and inorganics)

  • Made of plastic doped with fluorescent substance or inorganic materials
  • Emits light when ionizing particles pass through them[1].
  • Light is collected by photodetectors (PMT or SiPM[2]). The resulting electrical signal is usually digitized.
  • Fast response (~ns rise time), easy to use.

Gaseous Detectors

  • A family of detectors that exploits the effect of electron avalanches in a gas-filled chamber upon ionizing particles passages.
  • Eg: Geiger tubes, multi-wire proportional chamber[3], time projection chamber.
  • Micro-mesh gas detectors (micro-megas)[4], resistive plate chambers (RPC), gas electron multiplier (GEM), etc., offer track reconstruction with sub-mm resolution.

Water Cherenkov Detectors

  • Charged particles that move faster than the light in the water generate the Cerenkov radiation, analogous to the sonic boom.
  • The event topology of the Cherenkov lights provides information about the direction and type of the particles[5].

Nuclear Emulsion Technique

  • One of the earliest detection technique, captured pion-to-muon decays, providing crucial evidence for the muon’s discovery.
  • Automated high-speed nuclear emulsion readout system, combining an optical microscope with the latest computing technologies.
  • An alternative in muongraphy applications owing to its sub-µm spatial resolution, lightweight, and portable properties[6].

References

  1. Masanori, K., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 62, 010503 (2023)
  2. Gundacker, S. & Arjan Heering, A., Phys. Med. Biol., 65, 17TR01 (2020)
  3. Maxim, T., NIMA, 581, 1-2, 25-37 (2007)
  4. Fonte, P. & Peskov, V., Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., 19, 034021 (2010)
  5. Suzuki, Y., Eur. Phys. J. C, 79, 298 (2019)
  6. Morishima, K., et al.,  Annals of Geophysics, 60(1), S0112 (2017)

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