An orientable time of flight detector for cosmic rays

TL;DR

This paper introduces an orientable time of flight detector designed for cosmic ray detection, capable of distinguishing particle directions and optimized for detecting upward tau neutrinos from Earth-skimming events.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel, simple, and robust detector design based on time of flight between scintillator tiles, suitable for cosmic ray and neutrino detection with adjustable acceptance.

Findings

Successful detection in high noise environments

Effective discrimination of upward and downward cosmic rays

Potential for measuring Earth-skimming neutrino events

Abstract

Cosmic ray studies, in particular UHECR, can be in general supported by a directional, easy deployable, simple and robust detector. The design of this detector is based on the time of flight between two parallel tiles of scintillator, to distinguish particle passing through in opposite directions; by fine time resolution and pretty adjustable acceptance it is possible to select upward(left)/downward(right) cosmic rays. It has been developed for an array of detectors to measure upward $\tau$ from Earth-Skimming neutrino events with energy above $10^8 GeV$. The properties and performances of the detector are discussed. Test results from a high noise environment are presented.