586 research outputs found
Effect of multiple reusing of simulated air showers in detector simulations
The study of high energy cosmic rays requires detailed Monte Carlo
simulations of both, extensive air showers and the detectors involved in their
detection. In particular, the energy calibration of several experiments is
obtained from simulations. Also, in composition studies simulations play a
fundamental role because the primary mass is determined by comparing
experimental with simulated data. At the highest energies the detailed
simulation of air showers is very costly in processing time and disk space due
to the large number of secondary particles generated in interactions with the
atmosphere. Therefore, in order to increase the statistics, it is quite common
to recycle single showers many times to simulate the detector response. As a
result, the events of the Monte Carlo samples generated in this way are not
fully independent. In this work we study the artificial effects introduced by
the multiple use of single air showers for the detector simulations. In
particular, we study in detail the effects introduced by the repetitions in the
kernel density estimators which are frequently used in composition studies.Comment: 15 pages and 4 figure
A Compact Apparatus for Muon Lifetime Measurement and Time Dilation Demonstration in the Undergraduate Laboratory
We describe a compact apparatus that automatically measures the charge
averaged lifetime of atmospheric muons in plastic scintillator using low-cost,
low-power electronics and that measures the stopping rate of atmospheric muons
as a function of altitude to demonstrate relativistic time dilation. The
apparatus is designed for the advanced undergraduate physics laboratory and is
suitable for field measurements.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Distortions of Experimental Muon Arrival Time Distributions of Extensive Air Showers by the Observation Conditions
Event-by-event measured arrival time distributions of Extensive Air Shower
(EAS) muons are affected and distorted by various interrelated effects which
originate from the time resolution of the timing detectors, from fluctuations
of the reference time and the number (multiplicity) of detected muons spanning
the arrival time distribution of the individual EAS events. The origin of these
effects is discussed, and different correction procedures, which involve
detailed simulations, are proposed and illustrated. The discussed distortions
are relevant for relatively small observation distances (R < 200 m) from the
EAS core. Their significance decreases with increasing observation distance and
increasing primary energies. Local arrival time distributions which refer to
the observed arrival time of the first local muon prove to be less sensitive to
the mass of the primary. This feature points to the necessity of arrival time
measurements with additional information on the curvature of the EAS disk.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle
Physic
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