Cosmic ray measurements using the ISMRAN setup in a non-reactor environment

TL;DR

This paper reports on cosmic ray measurements using the ISMRAN detector in a non-reactor environment, providing benchmarks for background and muon properties relevant for future neutrino experiments.

Contribution

It presents the first measurements of cosmic ray muons, their angular distribution, and muon lifetime inside the ISMRAN setup, validated against Monte Carlo simulations.

Findings

Measured zenith angle distribution of atmospheric muons

Determined muon lifetime and decay spectra within the detector

Validated detector response with GEANT4 simulations

Abstract

The cosmic rays data collected using a large area plastic scintillator array ISMRAN (Indian Scintillator Matrix for Reactor AntiNeutrino) are presented. The data collected serve as a useful benchmark of cosmogenic background in a non-reactor environment for the future measurements of electron-antineutrinos to be performed using the ISMRAN setup. The zenith angle distribution of the atmospheric muons has been measured and compared with Monte Carlo expectations. The detector setup was further used to measure the lifetime distribution of stopped muons and extract their rates inside the detector matrix. The measured spectra of decaying muons and associated electrons show a good agreement with the MC simulations performed through GEANT4 simulation.