Collaboration between high schools in Japan and Argentina for cosmic-ray research using CosmicWatches

TL;DR

This paper describes an educational collaboration between Japanese and Argentine high schools using CosmicWatches to observe cosmic-ray muons, aiming to compare muon fluxes influenced by geographic factors while engaging students in real research.

Contribution

It introduces a novel international high school collaboration for cosmic-ray research, integrating educational outreach with actual scientific data collection and analysis.

Findings

Muons observed with CosmicWatches show flux differences related to altitude and geomagnetic effects.

Students gain practical experience in data analysis and scientific research methods.

The project fosters international collaboration and STEM education among high school students.

Abstract

Cosmic rays are ubiquitous and readily available, making them a good teaching tool for particle and astrophysics by young students. Tan-Q is an inclusive outreach and educational project, providing students in Japanese junior-high or high schools with research opportunities to join cosmic-ray and particle physics. In the Tan-Q framework, the students in each school conduct their research with help from mentors who are mainly undergraduate students. Researchers are also extensively involved through regular Zoom meetings and continuous communication on Slack. Some cases are inter-school, and some are international. This paper presents one of the Tan-Q activities of joint research between high schools in Japan and Argentina to observe cosmic-ray muons using CosmicWatches. Our primary goal is to investigate the muon flux differences due to the differences in circumstances like altitudes and geomagnetic field strengths. Those involved learn not only particle physics but also statistical data analysis methods.