Energy spectrum of cascade showers initiated by cosmic ray muons in the Cherenkov water detector

С С Хохлов ,V A Khomyakov ,В В Шутенко ,А А Петрухин ,A G Bogdanov ,В В Киндин ,Р П Кокоулин ,I I Yashin

doi:10.1051/epjconf/201920808018

С С Хохлов , V A Khomyakov + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201920808018

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Abstract

Results of analysis of experimental data on cascade showers with energies of 0.1 – 10 TeV initiated by muons in the Cherenkov water detector NEVOD are presented. The method of selection and reconstruction of cascade parameters in the volume of the detector is discussed. Experimental distributions of cascade axes in zenith angle and energy spectrum of cascades are obtained. The measured distributions are compared with results of calculations.

Highlights

IntroductionModern investigations of muons and neutrinos of ultrahigh energies are carried out using Cherenkov water detectors representing large water volumes of natural or artificial origin, in which optical sensors are deployed in the form of a regular spatial lattice
Modern investigations of muons and neutrinos of ultrahigh energies are carried out using Cherenkov water detectors representing large water volumes of natural or artificial origin, in which optical sensors are deployed in the form of a regular spatial lattice.One of the most important tasks of such detectors is to measure the energy of cascade showers generated by muons or neutrinos
The Cherenkov water detector of the experimental complex NEVOD [1] having a size of 9×9×26 m3 is equipped with a dense spatial lattice of 91 quasi-spherical modules (QSM)

Summary

Introduction

Modern investigations of muons and neutrinos of ultrahigh energies are carried out using Cherenkov water detectors representing large water volumes of natural or artificial origin, in which optical sensors are deployed in the form of a regular spatial lattice. The study of cascade showers in the Cherenkov water detector NEVOD with a dense spatial lattice of optical modules is an important experimental task. Each QSM has six FEU-200 PMTs with flat photocathodes which are directed along the axes of the orthogonal coordinate system Such a design of the module allows to measure the intensity of Cherenkov radiation from relativistic charged particles with almost equal sensitivity for all directions of incident light; it allows to determine the light direction. Muons crossing the supermodules of the DECOR placed in the opposite galleries along two short sides of the Cherenkov detector were selected Muons in such events have an average energy of 100 GeV and zenith angles in the range of 85-90◦. The energy of each shower and its point of maximum were reconstructed by fitting the experimental cascade curve with one-dimensional analytical dependence of the number of particles on the depth [6]

Spatial distribution of the Cherenkov radiation from cascades in water

Selection of cascades and reconstruction of their parameters

Energy spectrum of cascade showers

Findings

Conclusion