Optimizing a Water-Based Muon Detector

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Engineering, 2007-08

Liaison(s): Steven Dazeley
Advisor(s): Erik Spjut
Students(s): Ben Stanphill (TL), Bertrand Achard, Lupita Bermudez, Danny Lim (S), Justin White (F)

The LLNL Clinic team is experimenting with changing various design parameters of a water-based muon detector. When muons pass through water, they give off Cherenkov radiation, which is mostly in the ultraviolet (UV) range. Cherenkov radiation is very dim, so Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs) are used to detect it. Unfortunately, PMTs do not detect UV radiation well. The team is testing a variety of methods to increase the detection rate of muons.