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Observing muon decays in water Cherenkov detectors at the Pierre Auger Observatory

2005/09/09 by P. Allison, Allison, P., F. Arneodo +21
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #Neutrino Physics Research #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0509238

openalex publication_date 2005/09/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Muons decaying in the water volume of a Cherenkov detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory provide a useful calibration point at low energy. Using the digitized waveform continuously recorded by the electronics of each tank, we have devised a simple method to extract the charge spectrum of the Michel electrons, whose typical signal is about 1/8 of a crossing vertical muon. This procedure, moreover, allows continuous monitoring of the detector operation and of its water level. We have checked the procedure with high statistics on a test tank at the Observatory base and applied with success on the whole array.

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