Scintillation method for measuring muon lifetime

James W. Love
AbstractUsing a scintillator, PMT and suitable electronic components and software, the mean value for lifetime of muons produced in the Earths upper atmosphere was determined. After calibrating the equipment, it was found that the experimentally determined value for muon lifetime, exp=(2.1380.048)s obtained at threshold voltage=200mV and High Voltage=-1100V was closest to the theoretical value of th=2.20s. This result was the average obtained from data taken over approximately 90 hours, where a greater period of data taking corresponded to less uncertainty in the results.
I.

INTRODUCTION

like electrons, are elementary particles MUONS, classified as leptons, with relatively small mass and participation in the weak nuclear interaction. They have a negative electric charge and are spin , with a lifetime of about 2.20s [1]. Muons are produced when pions encounter cosmic rays in the Earths upper atmosphere, causing the pions to decay through the weak nuclear force:

commonly found in an advanced undergraduate physics laboratory. One or two photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are used to detect the pair of scintillation light flashes associated with the slowing down of muons entering a single scintillating material, and their subsequent decay into an electron or positron. The medium must be massive enough to stop a measurable portion of the muons entering it [3]. Photon emission occurs as a result of charged particles losing energy to the scintillating material. This loss of energy excites electrons to a higher energy state, and as they return to their initial state, a photon is released with energy equivalent to the difference between the two states [4].

Fig 1: Pion decay chain [2]

Fig 3: Scintillation method [3]

where is pion, - is anti-pion, - is muon, + is anti-muon, is muon neutrino, and is muon anti-neutrino. The muons then decay via the weak force and an electron or positron is produced:

The electronics in the experimental setup are designed to distinguish between when a muon enters, slows and stops in the detector during the decay process. The FPGA timer checks for events of coincidence, the discriminator rejects any irrelevant data, and the two-stage amplifier magnifies the output of the PMT.

Fig 2: Muon decay chain [2]

where e- is electron, e+ is positron, e is electron neutrino, e is electron anti-neutrino, and me=0.511MeV/c2 (mass of electron). So, the muons mass of 105.7MeV/c2 is about 207 times the mass of the electron. The muon decay is an example of conservation of lepton number, where there must be one electron neutrino and one muon neutrino or anti-neutrino in the decay [2]. Measurements of the mean lifetime of muons produced in the Earths atmosphere can be performed using equipment
Manuscript received November 6, 2009. J. W. Love is with the University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia (e-mail: jwl606@uow.edu.au).

Fig 4: Diagram of experimental apparatus [3]

II. RESULTS With the applied High Voltage to the detector at -1120V, the optimum discriminator setting (where the green LED flashed) was found to be at 217mV. Setting the correct threshold ensured that the discriminator detected all events, so that it could reject all of those that were irrelevant. A sine wave was inputted to the electronics box to measure the two-stage amplifier gain. It was found that the gain

It was observed that increasing the threshold produces a TTL, where the amount of time of the stop pulses increases. The pulse time on the detector was adjusted and accuracy of the equipment was checked by comparing data on the CRO and software.
Comparison of time between rising edges as measured on CRO and software
20 18 Time between rising edges 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 CRO value (0.1s) Software value (0.1s)

156 100

remained constant as the frequency was increased from 100kHz to very high. When the input voltage was increased to Vin=200mVp-p, the output became distorted (i.e. where Vout=300mVp-p saturation output voltage). The gain was found to decrease at a frequency of around 7kHz, so the maximum decay rate was determined as =
1 7

= 140.

Pulse time adjust (detector value)

Fig 7: Accuracy of pulse time adjust on detector

Examining the discriminator output showed that the FPGA timing was affected by a saturated amplifier output. From this it was determined that light signals from the scintillator be kept at a low level, so as not to distort the amp output. The following sketches of CRO output showed how the discriminator output varied as the threshold was increased:

The results displayed on software were found to correspond well to those displayed on the CRO. The maximum time between signal pulses where results can be recorded on the FPGA was measured as 20s. The lowest time interval available was 0.6s, as preset by the FPGA. It was not possible to examine smaller times between pulses, as the pulse generator available could not be made to work properly. It was also found that adjusting the discriminator threshold had minimal impact on the decay times observed on the CRO and computer. Real time data was taken over several days at different High Voltages and theshholds, in order to determine the mean lifetime of the muon.

Fig 5: Vin & discriminator output vs. time

Fig 6: Vin & discriminator output vs. time

Fig 8: Threshold voltage=200mV, High Voltage=-1100V

Fig 9: Threshold voltage=200mV, High Voltage=-1200V

Fig 11: Threshold voltage=220mV, High Voltage=-1200V

III. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION The preliminary exercises were performed to ensure that the equipment was functioning correctly and all its parameters were fixed to the optimum values. It also gave an insight into how the parameters affected the general function of the equipment and how they influenced the experiment as a whole. Through several days of data taking, it was determined that the muon lifetime of exp=(2.1380.048)s obtained at threshold voltage=200mV and High Voltage=-1100V was closest to the theoretical value of th=2.20s. The lower lifetimes observed at High Voltage=-1200V corresponded to the prevalence of lower energy muons. At this voltage, higher energy muons with higher lifetimes were not detected, because they started or stopped outside of the equipment. There was also less uncertainty in this value as it was taken over approximately 90 hours, as opposed to data taken over about 70 hours.

Fig 10: Threshold voltage=180mV, High Voltage=-1200V

IV. REFERENCES
[1] [2] [3] P. A. Tipler, E. P. Mosca, Physics for scientists and engineers, 5th ed. New York : W.H. Freeman, 2003, p. 1336. R. Nave, HyperPhysics - Leptons. Retrieved 4/11/09 from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Particles/lepton.html. T. Coan, T. Liu, J. Ye, A compact apparatus for muon lifetime measurement and time dilation demonstration in the undergraduate laboratory, American Journal of Physics, vol. 74, no. 2, p161. R. Nave, HyperPhysics Radiation Detection and Measurement. Retrieved 4/11/09 from http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/Nuclear/rdtec.html.

[4]