High-resolution timing for vertex-reconstructed muon-spin spectroscopy using plastic scintillators and MuTRiG
Vertex-reconstructed muon-spin spectroscopy (vx- μ SR) based on silicon pixel detectors has recently demonstrated unprecedented lateral resolution and operation at muon stop rates exceeding 400 kHz. However, the intrinsic timing resolution of current silicon pixel detector technology limits the accessible frequency range and restricts μ SR measurements with fast relaxation rates. In this work, we report on the integration of plastic scintillator detectors (PSD) read out with the MuTRiG ASIC into the MuSiP vx- μ SR spectrometer. This complements the spatial resolution achieved by using silicon pixel detectors with high-precision timing information for incoming muons and decay positrons. We demonstrate stable operation of MuTRiG in vacuum and achieve sub-300 ps time resolution after time-walk correction. Standard transverse-field μ SR measurements on a SiO 2 sample confirm that the combined MuTRiG–PSD system resolves precession frequencies beyond 50 MHz, far exceeding the capabilities of silicon pixel detectors alone. These results establish a viable and scalable path towards high-rate, high-resolution μ SR with both excellent spatial and temporal performance.
Authors
- Thomas Prokscha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7643-4695)
- Andrin Doll (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5957-424X)
- Z. Salman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3431-8135)
- Hubertus Luetkens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5842-9788)
- Konrad Briggl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0274-8023)
- Lukas Mandok
- Thomas Theodor Rudzki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5532-1600)
- N. Berger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9659-8507)
- Pascal Isenring
- Jonas A. Krieger
- Marius Snella Köppel
- Sebastian Mühle
- Maxime Lamotte
- Heiko Augustin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4459-608X)
- André Schöning (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4499-7215)
- Hans-Christian Schultz-Coulon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0860-7240)
Institutions
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Kirchhoff (Germany) (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment
- Published
- 2026-04-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2026.171607
- Primary Topic
- Neutrino Physics Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung