Date of Award
Spring 2023
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Department
Physics and Astronomy
First Advisor
David Tedeschi
Abstract
The Majorana Demonstrator (MJD) is a shielded radiation detection system located a mile underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in South Dakota. The system aims to detect the theorized, rare process of neutrinoless double-beta decay. The Demonstrator utilizes an array of scintillating acrylic detectors to veto any signals induced by earth-penetrating cosmogenic muons and reach background levels necessary for the detection of neutrinoless double-beta decay. Utilizing the data collected by the muon veto system, an analysis has been done to determine the differential muon intensity. The complex geometry of the interlacing detector panels requires the use of Monte Carlo methods to accurately determine the Demonstrator’s sensitivity to muons approaching from a range of angles. Combining the detector geometry with the data from the previous six years of operation allows the muon intensity to be monitored as a function of direction and time.
This material is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics, the Particle Astrophysics and Nuclear Physics Programs of the National Science Foundation, and the Sanford Underground Research Facility.
Rights
© 2023, Franklin Michael Adams Jr.
Recommended Citation
Adams Jr., F. M.(2023). Muon Intensity Measurement with the Majorana Demonstrator. (Master's thesis). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/7203