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Exploring Cosmic Rays: Detector Development and Particle Analysis

Explore the development of cosmic ray detectors, measuring nuclear charge, energy, and more. Learn about luminescence and scattering chamber design for accurate particle analysis.

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Exploring Cosmic Rays: Detector Development and Particle Analysis

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  1. What are Cosmic Rays? • Particles bombarding Earth from outer space • Includes protons up to heavy elements • Ionic charge and energy vary greatly

  2. Cosmic Ray Detector Jason Alicea University of Florida Dr. Muga Nuclear Chemistry Dept.

  3. Outline • Detector overview • What I did • Detector test • Scattering chamber design • Conclusion-What next? • Questions?

  4. Cosmic Ray Detector Measures... • Nuclear charge (Z) • Energy • Velocity • Mass • Ionic charge

  5. Detector Components • Thin film detector (TFD, measures luminescence) • Thin scintillator film • Photomultiplier tubes • Solid state detector (SSD, measures energy) Photomultiplier tubes Particles SSD Thin film

  6. Why Measure Luminescence? • Luminescence-Energy curves are unique for each atomic number Z. Z 1 Z 2 Luminescence Z 3 Energy

  7. Why Measure Luminescence? • Atomic number of particle corresponds to the curve data point lies on. Data Point Z 1 Z 2 Luminescence Z 3 Atomic # of Particle Energy

  8. What About Other 3 Properties? • Velocity: divide distance between thin film and SSD by time recorded between signals • From measured energy & velocity, mass is easily calculated • Ionic charge: compare luminescence & velocity after each of several thin films

  9. What Did I Do? • Fabricated a thin film, which was used in testing the detector. • Recorded response of thin film and SSD to fission fragments • Designed scattering chamber

  10. Detector Test • Used newly fabricated thin film • Test particles were californium (Cf) fission fragments • Measured response from thin film and solid state detector. • Computer recorded luminescence and energy data.

  11. Solid State Detector Response Good signal since peak is narrow.

  12. Thin Film Response Peak is too wide--results in uncertainty in Z determination

  13. Scattering Chamber: Why? • Beam from Van de Graaff accelerator is too strong for SSD and electronics • SSD can be damaged and electronics overloaded • By scattering the beam off a foil (Rutherford scattering), intensity will be adequately reduced

  14. Design Requirements • Scatter through angles between 0 and 60 degrees • Chamber must accommodate at least 3 scattering foils • Must be kept at vacuum pressure

  15. Plunger to raise/ lower foils Final Design Beam Pipe to Detector Scattering Foils (5) Fixed Cylinder Beam Pipe to Accelerator Rotating Collar

  16. What Next? • Improvements are underway to strengthen thin film signal • Copper thin film? • Design of scattering chamber is complete, construction is anticipated • If perfected, detector would be an excellent candidate for a space mission, which is the ultimate goal.

  17. Questions?

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