Design, calibration, and performance of the MINERvA detector Aliaga, L.; Bagby, L.; Baldin, B. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
04/2014, Volume:
743
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The MINERvA66Main INjector ExpeRiment ν-A. experiment is designed to perform precision studies of neutrino-nucleus scattering using νμ and ν¯μ neutrinos incident at 1–20GeV in the NuMI beam at ...Fermilab. This article presents a detailed description of the MINERvA detector and describes the ex situ and in situ techniques employed to characterize the detector and monitor its performance. The detector is composed of a finely segmented scintillator-based inner tracking region surrounded by electromagnetic and hadronic sampling calorimetry. The upstream portion of the detector includes planes of graphite, iron and lead interleaved between tracking planes to facilitate the study of nuclear effects in neutrino interactions. Observations concerning the detector response over sustained periods of running are reported. The detector design and methods of operation have relevance to future neutrino experiments in which segmented scintillator tracking is utilized.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Abstract We describe a new concept for a radiation detector based on extruded scintillator technology and commercially available solid-state photo-detectors. The detector is simple in construction, ...robust, very efficient, cost-effective and easily scalable in size from tens of cm 2 to tens of m 2 . We describe two possible applications: flagging radioactive food contamination and detection of illicit radioactive materials, such as those potentially used in a dirty bomb.
After a short review of previous attempts to observe and measure the near-infrared scintillation in liquid argon, we present new results obtained with NIR, a dedicated cryostat at the Fermilab Proton ...Assembly Building (PAB). The new results give confidence that the near-infrared light can be used as the much needed light signal in large liquid argon time projection chambers.
The purpose of the MU-RAY project is to develop an innovative approach to the study of volcanoes and their monitoring based on a particle physics approach. The test site is Vesuvio: one of the higher ...risk volcanoes in the world. In this context, muon radiography is an innovative method of enormous impact. This is an imaging technique which relies on the measurement, by means of a cosmic ray telescope, of the absorption in the volcano of muons with near-horizontal trajectories, produced by the interactions of cosmic rays with the atmosphere. Since 2003 this technique has been successfully used on volcanoes in Japan, providing pictures of their vertices with resolutions much better than those obtained with the traditional techniques based on gravimeters. Researchers from Naples and Florence are currently involved in the construction and testing of a prototype telescope based on the use of bars of plastic scintillator with a triangular section whose scintillation light is collected by special fibres (wave length shifters) and transported to SiPM (Silicon photomultipliers). A complete prototype telescope, consisting of three xy scintillation planes and 1m2 active area has been assembled and is now under test.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The MU-RAY detector for muon radiography of volcanoes Anastasio, A.; Ambrosino, F.; Basta, D. ...
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment,
12/2013, Volume:
732
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Peer reviewed
The MU-RAY detector has been designed to perform muon radiography of volcanoes. The possible use on the field introduces several constraints. First the electric power consumption must be reduced to ...the minimum, so that the detector can be solar-powered. Moreover it must be robust and transportable, for what concerns the front-end electronics and data acquisition. A 1m2 prototype has been constructed and is taking data at Mt. Vesuvius. The detector consists of modules of 32 scintillator bars with wave length shifting fibers and silicon photomultiplier read-out. A dedicated front-end electronics has been developed, based on the SPIROC ASIC. An introduction to muon radiography principles, the MU-RAY detector description and results obtained in laboratory will be presented.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Charged-particle tracking in the international Muon Ionisation Cooling Experiment (MICE) will be performed using two solenoidal spectrometers, each instrumented with a tracking detector based on ...350μm diameter scintillating fibres. The design and construction of the trackers is described along with the quality-assurance procedures, photon-detection system, readout electronics, reconstruction and simulation software and the data-acquisition system. Finally, the performance of the MICE tracker, determined using cosmic rays, is presented.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Since the 1970s it has been known that noble gases scintillate in the near infrared (NIR) region of the spectrum (0.7 mum < lambda < 1.5 mum). More controversial has been the question of the NIR ...light yield for condensed noble gases. We first present the motivation for using the NIR scintillation in liquid argon detectors, then briefly review early as well as more recent efforts and finally show encouraging preliminary results of a test performed at Fermilab.
The muographic imaging of volcanoes relies on the measured transmittance of the atmospheric muon flux through the target. An important bias affecting the result comes from background contamination ...mimicking a higher transmittance. The MU‐RAY and TOMUVOL collaborations measured independently in 2013 the atmospheric muon flux transmitted through the Puy de Dôme volcano using their early prototype detectors, based on plastic scintillators and on Glass Resistive Plate Chambers, respectively. These detectors had three (MU‐RAY) or four (TOMUVOL) detection layers of 1 m2 each, tens (MU‐RAY) or hundreds (TOMUVOL) of nanosecond time resolution, a few millimeter position resolution, an energy threshold of few hundreds MeV, and no particle identification capabilities. The prototypes were deployed about 1.3 km away from the summit, where they measured, behind rock depths larger than 1000 m, remnant fluxes of 1.83±0.50(syst)±0.07(stat) m−2 d−1 deg−2 (MU‐RAY) and 1.95±0.16(syst)±0.05(stat) m−2 d−1 deg−2 (TOMUVOL), that roughly correspond to the expected flux of high‐energy atmospheric muons crossing 600 meters water equivalent (mwe) at 18° elevation. This implies that imaging depths larger than 500 mwe from 1 km away using such prototype detectors suffer from an overwhelming background. These measurements confirm that a new generation of detectors with higher momentum threshold, time‐of‐flight measurement, and/or particle identification is needed. The MU‐RAY and TOMUVOL collaborations expect shortly to operate improved detectors, suitable for a robust muographic imaging of kilometer‐scale volcanoes.
Key Point
The feasibility of muon imaging of km thick volcanoes was checked using two different detectors
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The MU-RAY project: Volcano radiography with cosmic-ray muons Ambrosi, G.; Ambrosino, F.; Battiston, R. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
02/2011, Volume:
628, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Cosmic-ray muon radiography is a technique for imaging the variation of density inside the top few 100
m of a volcanic cone. With resolutions up to 10s of meters in optimal detection conditions, muon ...radiography can provide images of the top region of a volcano edifice with a resolution that is considerably better than that typically achieved with conventional methods. Such precise measurements are expected to provide us with information on anomalies in the rock density distribution, like those expected from dense lava conduits, low density magma supply paths or the compression with depth of the overlying soil. The MU-RAY project aims at the construction of muon telescopes and the development of new analysis tools for muon radiography. The telescopes are required to be able to work in harsh environment and to have low power consumption, good angular and time resolutions, large active area and modularity. The telescope consists of two
X–
Y planes of 2×2 square meters area made by plastic scintillator strips of triangular shape. Each strip is read by a fast WLS fiber coupled to a silicon photomultiplier. The readout electronics is based on the SPIROC chip.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Muon Radiography allows to map the density of a volcanic cone. It is based on the measurement of the attenuation of the flux of muons present in the cosmic radiation on the ground. The MU-RAY project ...has developed an innovative detector designed for the muon radiography. The main features are the low electric power consumption, robustness and transportability, good spatial resolution and muon time of flight measurement. A 1 m super(2) detector prototype has been constructed. and collected data at Mt. Vesuvius for approximately 1 month in spring 2013. A second campaign of measurement has been performed at the Puy de Dome, France, in the last four months of 2013. In this article the principles of muon radiography, the MU-RAY detector and the first results from the collected data will be described.
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