Muon tracking in a LiquidO opaque scintillator detector

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates event-by-event muon tracking in a LiquidO opaque scintillator detector prototype, achieving a position resolution of 450 micrometers, showcasing the potential for precise particle tracking and imaging.

Contribution

First demonstration of muon tracking in a LiquidO opaque scintillator detector with high spatial resolution using a fiber array and cosmic-ray muons.

Findings

Achieved 450 μm position resolution per fiber row.

Demonstrated effective muon tracking in a highly scattering medium.

Showcased potential for detailed particle imaging with LiquidO detectors.

Abstract

LiquidO is an innovative radiation detector concept. The core idea is to exploit stochastic light confinement in a highly scattering medium to self-segment the detector volume. In this paper, we demonstrate event-by-event muon tracking in a LiquidO opaque scintillator detector prototype. The detector consists of a 30 mm cubic scintillator volume instrumented with 64 wavelength-shifting fibres arranged in an 8$\times$8 grid with a 3.2 mm pitch and read out by silicon photomultipliers. A wax-based opaque scintillator with a scattering length of approximately 0.5 mm is used. The tracking performance of this LiquidO detector is characterised with cosmic-ray muons and the position resolution is demonstrated to be 450 $\mu$m per row of fibres. These results highlight the potential of LiquidO opaque scintillator detectors to achieve fine spatial resolution, enabling precise particle tracking and imaging.