Solid-state track detectors made of glass have been used for detecting fission fragments since the 1960s 1–3. These detectors are efficient for recording, they are relatively insensitive to light and ...background beta and gamma radiations, and they have a low own background. The passage of a multicharged ion in a glass creates a hidden image in the form of residual defects along the track of the ion with a width of ~10 nm. This hidden image can be detected by chemical etching. In an optical microscope, the etched track is observed as a well of a conical shape with a vertex coinciding with the trajectory of the particle, and with a diameter on the glass surface of the order of 5 to 10 μm. Compared to other solid-state detectors of multicharged ions (micas, plastics), glasses have a number of advantages, especially the lack of layering, which prevents the restoration of the full length of the track. We need to note the spectrometric property of glasses, namely, the proportionality of the linear size of the etched defect to the charge of the particle slowing in the detector to a stop. This property allows establishing a relationship between the particle charge and the geometric parameters of the track. In this study we used phosphate glasses as materials for detectors of charged particles. In these glasses, the main glass-forming component is phosphorus pentoxide P
2
O
5
. In particular, phosphates were successfully used in 1969 at the LNR JINR in an experiment to search for element 105 by spontaneous fission 4. Previously we demonstrated a successful implementation of the automated processing of the detected tracks 5. The aim of this study is to develop an offline method for an automated search for rare events of the decay of superheavy nuclei in order to record multicharged ions and determine their characteristics.
The first results of testing KU-2 optical quartz glass as a detector of accelerated heavy ions are presented. The results of etching the irradiated glasses in hydrofluoric acid indicate a possibility ...of their use for detecting superheavy nuclei and their decay products.
The article presents the results of modernization of the high-tech automated measuring complex PAVICOM, which provides for processing the experimental data obtained in photographic nuclear emulsion ...in accordance with modern world standards.
Owing to the development of optical precision and computer technology, the number of experiments based on visual methods for processing data from track detectors is growing. The use of neural ...networks to identify clusters in images obtained using new-generation scanning stations will both speed up image processing in nuclear emulsions and make the track reconstruction process an order of magnitude more efficient.
The present work is involved in a series of joint studies of several Russian institutes on the investigation of archaeological objects in Russia by the muon radiography method. The method is applied ...to study the internal structure and hidden regions of large natural and industrial objects using muons. In this study, it is used to search for hidden objects in the Holy Trinity Danilov Monastery territory in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky.
The imaging method based on the absorption and scattering of atmospheric muons (muography method) uses the natural flow of muons formed in the interactions of cosmic rays in the atmosphere. The ...method is at the junction of elementary particle physics and research in other very diverse fields of natural science, in particular, in archaeology. The paper presents the first results of an experiment to study a unique underground structure in the Holy Dormition Pskov-Caves Monastery, which is a cultural object with a centuries-old history.
The results of simulation of joint operation of detectors of two types, i.e., SciFi scintillation optical fibers and emulsion chambers, are presented. To evaluate the results of the hybrid detector ...operation, a model was implemented in the GEANT4 software package.
The developed modeling methods can be used in preparing other experiments with hybrid detectors of similar types.
The characteristics of heavy ion tracks in phosphate glasses after irradiation under various temperature conditions are presented. Calibration experiments are performed to obtain the dependence of ...the parameters of the etched tracks on the sample heating temperature and time and on the moment of heating a sample in relation to irradiation and etching. To effectively identify the ion charges, the stability of reproducing the optimum chemical etching conditions (etching chemical solution composition, concentration, etching time) is strictly observed in processing irradiated glasses. The results obtained allow us to conclude that phosphate glasses can be effectively used to detect and identify the superheavy nuclei synthesized at the Factory of Superheavy Elements of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR).
The detection and identification of heavy ions in phosphate glasses is based on an analysis of geometric parameters of tracks that manifest themselves upon the etching of irradiated glasses in a ...special solution. The shape and size of emerging tracks depend both on the parameters of the ions being studied (charge, energy, and angle of incidence) and on the etching conditions (etchant composition and concentration and etching time). Phosphate glass belongs to the class of solid-state tracking detectors whose principle of operation relies on the fact that multiply charged particles destroy a local solid-state structure along their trajectory. This local damage can be intensified by means of subsequent etching, whereby the tracks under study are visualized. The damaged parts of the material react with an etchant more intensely than intact parts do. This reaction leads to the formation of characteristic etching cones.The radiation damage of the material is proportional, as well as the specific energy loss of charged particles is, to the square of the particle charge and also depends on the particle speed.
