PhysRevD.81.012001.pdf (1.29 MB)
Observation of muon intensity variations by season with the MINOS far detector
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 23:41 authored by P Adamson, C Andreopoulos, K.E Arms, R Armstrong, D J Auty, D.S Ayres, C Backhouse, N E Devenish, Elisabeth FalkElisabeth Falk, Philip Harris, Jeff HartnellJeff Hartnell, C Smith, et elThe temperature of the upper atmosphere affects the height of primary cosmic ray interactions and the production of high-energy cosmic ray muons which can be detected deep underground. The MINOS far detector at Soudan MN, USA, has collected over 67 million cosmic ray induced muons. The underground muon rate measured over a period of five years exhibits a 4% peak-to-peak seasonal variation which is highly correlated with the temperature in the upper atmosphere. The coefficient, $\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\alpha_T$, relating changes in the muon rate to changes in atmospheric temperature was found to be: $\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\alpha_T = 0.874 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\pm 0.009$ (stat.) $\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\pm 0.010$ (syst.). Pions and kaons in the primary hadronic interactions of cosmic rays in the atmosphere contribute differently to $\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\alpha_T$ due to the different masses and lifetimes. This allows the measured value of $\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\alpha_T$ to be interpreted as a measurement of the K/$\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\pi$ ratio for $E_{p}\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\gtrsim$\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\unit[7]{TeV} of $0.13 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\pm 0.08$, consistent with the expectation from collider experiments.
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Publication status
- Published
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- Published version
Journal
Physical Review DISSN
1550-7998Publisher
American Physical SocietyExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
D81Page range
012001Pages
9.0Department affiliated with
- Physics and Astronomy Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2012-02-06First Open Access (FOA) Date
2016-03-22First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2016-11-10Usage metrics
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