Estimation of cosmic-muon flux attenuation by Monserrate Hill in Bogota

TL;DR

This study computationally estimates cosmic muon flux attenuation through Monserrate Hill in Bogota using CORSIKA and GIS tools, aiding experimental design for muon flux measurements in geological structures.

Contribution

It introduces a method combining CORSIKA simulations and GIS analysis to estimate muon flux attenuation through a specific geological structure.

Findings

Estimated muon flux attenuation as a function of mountain location.

Provided data for planning muon flux measurement experiments.

Calculated data acquisition time for 3% measurement accuracy.

Abstract

When designing an experimental setup for measuring the flux of cosmic ray muons through a geological structure, it is crucial to make detailed estimates about the expected muon flux attenuation by the structure studied. In this way, the coverage area of the detectors, the data acquisition system and the time length of data taking can be planned accordingly to the aimed accuracy of the measurements. We present here a computational study of the cosmic muon flux at the location of Monserrate Hill in Bogota, Colombia, using the CORSIKA cosmic ray simulator. We use ArcGIS package to estimate the mean depth muons have to travel through the mountain to reach the detector. We consider two different uniform densities of rock for the mountain to make estimates of the muon flux. Through the interpolation of stopping power available data, one can then determine the attenuation as a function of the muon incident energy. Our final result provides an estimation for the muon flux attenuation as a function of the location of the mountain where the muons pass through. We also supply estimated values for the time needed to reach an accuracy of about 3$\%$ in the measurement of the muon flux through Monserrate Hill. Our strategy can be easily adapted for muon flux studies at any other location in the world.