Energy Distribution of Cosmic Rays in ERAU Prescott

Particle detectors such as the Coherent CAPTAIN-Mills detector (CCM) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are setting new limits to the mass and variety of dark matter searches. This project proposes the assembly of 4 Cosmic Watch Detectors (CWDs) positioned above the on-campus 5-gallon scintillator detector to determine energy calibrations and event triggers to advance CCM research. Triggering events with the CWDs, specifically in a vertical column in the middle of the scintillator detector, will guarantee event locations where a Michel electron produces the light completely inside the scintillator detector. The outcome of this project will be to measure the kinetic energy distribution of cosmic Michel electrons, determined by the amount of their light output, and compare it to the theoretical distribution to determine the upper limit of the energy scale. This will allow the scintillator detector to act as a model for other universities pursuing cosmic ray detection and dark matter searches. In addition to contributing to dark matter research, these scintillator detectors can be used as a teaching tool for new cosmic ray experiments in the Modern Physics Lab (PS 315). Future applications in cosmic ray research include determining the flux and energy as a function of the zenith angle at our location (34.54 degrees latitude).