Interpretation of Cosmic-Ray Measurements Far Underground

Measurement of the atmospheric muon spectrum from 20 to 3000 GeV

“…4 shows an example of the stability of the measured muon flux within the two data-taking years for zenith angles between 0 and 32 degrees. Since the muon production is known to change with atmospheric conditions [18,19], the observed variation of the muon flux is compared to an air-shower simulation with the TARGET [20] program using atmospheric density profiles measured in balloon flights close to the experiment [21]. Good overall agreement between data and Monte Carlo is observed.…”

Development of the very long-range cosmic-ray muon radiographic imaging technique to explore the internal structure of an erupting volcano, Shinmoe-dake, Japan

“…The energy loss of muons through matter is given as a function of density length (density × path length along the muon path) and several approximation methods have been attempted (e.g., Barrett et al, 1952). Monte Carlo (MC) simulations offer more accurate results (Groom et al, 2001).…”

Primary spectrum and composition with IceCube/IceTop

“…The IceTop DOMs are fully integrated into the data acquisition system of IceCube so that timing across the full array is accurate to ≈ 3 ns. The spectrum measurement with IceTop benefits from the high altitude of the array (equivalent to a depth of ≈ 690 g/cm 2 ), which allows a measurement of the spectrum with very good energy resolution.…”

“…The first deep underground muon detector near Cornell University in upstate New York [2] also set up a small air shower array on the surface. With underground detectors of order 1 m 2 at a depth of 600 m and surface detectors spaced by ≈ 60 m, the aperture was tiny (∼ 0.01 m 2 sr).…”