Explanation of the seasonal variation of cosmic multiple muon events observed with the NOvA Near Detector

The flux of cosmic ray muons at the Earth’s surface exhibits seasonal variations due to changes in the temperature of the atmosphere affecting the production and decay of mesons in the upper atmosphere. Using 1473 live days of data collected by the NuMI Off-axis <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <a:msub> <a:mi>ν</a:mi> <a:mi>e</a:mi> </a:msub> </a:math> Appearance (NOvA) Near Detector during 2018–2022, we studied the seasonal pattern in the multiple-muon event rate. The data confirm an anticorrelation between the multiple-muon event rate and effective atmospheric temperature, consistent across all the years of data. Previous analyses from MINOS and NOvA saw a similar anticorrelation but did not include an explanation. We find that this anticorrelation is driven by altitude–geometry effects as the average muon production height changes with the season. This has been studied with a CORSIKA cosmic ray simulation package by varying atmospheric parameters, and provides an explanation to a longstanding discrepancy between the seasonal phases of single and multiple-muon events.

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Journal
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Published
2025-12-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/6djf-6bn5
Primary Topic
Insects and Parasite Interactions
Type
article
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article

Explanation of the seasonal variation of cosmic multiple muon events observed with the NOvA Near Detector

Karl J. Friston
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Insects and Parasite Interactions
article

Explanation of the seasonal variation of cosmic multiple muon events observed with the NOvA Near Detector

Karl J. Friston
article en

Abstract

The flux of cosmic ray muons at the Earth’s surface exhibits seasonal variations due to changes in the temperature of the atmosphere affecting the production and decay of mesons in the upper atmosphere. Using 1473 live days of data collected by the NuMI Off-axis <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <a:msub> <a:mi>ν</a:mi> <a:mi>e</a:mi> </a:msub> </a:math> Appearance (NOvA) Near Detector during 2018–2022, we studied the seasonal pattern in the multiple-muon event rate. The data confirm an anticorrelation between the multiple-muon event rate and effective atmospheric temperature, consistent across all the years of data. Previous analyses from MINOS and NOvA saw a similar anticorrelation but did not include an explanation. We find that this anticorrelation is driven by altitude–geometry effects as the average muon production height changes with the season. This has been studied with a CORSIKA cosmic ray simulation package by varying atmospheric parameters, and provides an explanation to a longstanding discrepancy between the seasonal phases of single and multiple-muon events.

Physical review. D/Physical review. D.Vol. 113(1)
Florida State University (US), University of Delhi (IN), Tufts University (US), California Institute of Technology (US), University of Iowa (US), Argonne National Laboratory (US), University of Minnesota (US), Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (US), Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IN), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), University of South Carolina (US), University of Sussex (GB), William & Mary (US), National Institute of Science Education and Research (IN), Queen Mary University of London (GB), University of Pittsburgh (US), Iowa State University (US), Southern Methodist University (US), Illinois Institute of Technology (US), Czech Academy of Sciences (CZ), University of California, Irvine (US), Cochin University of Science and Technology (IN), Charles University (CZ), University of Magdalena (CO), Williams (United States) (US), Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University (TR), Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (RU), University of Mississippi (US), University of Hyderabad (IN), Wichita State University (US), Twin Cities Orthopedics (US), Institute for Nuclear Research (RU), Universidad del Atlántico (MX), University of Minnesota, Duluth (US), University of Houston (US), Czech Technical University in Prague (CZ), University College London (GB), Panjab University (IN), University of Virginia (US), The Ohio State University (US), Indiana University (US), University of Cincinnati (US), Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IN), Universidade Federal de Goiás (BR), Syracuse University (US), University of South Alabama (US), The University of Texas at Austin (US), Michigan State University (US), Erciyes University (TR), Banaras Hindu University (IN), Colorado State University (US)
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