Statistical analysis and correction of the pile-up effect in MAPMT single photoelectron counting with the SPACIROC-3 ASIC: application to the Mini-EUSO experiment

TL;DR

This paper develops a method combining simulations, experiments, and machine learning to correct pile-up effects in single photoelectron counting with MAPMTs, improving photon flux measurements for space-based observations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel correction technique for pile-up effects in MAPMTs using inversion of pile-up plots and machine learning to determine double pulse resolution in space experiments.

Findings

Effective correction of pile-up effects achieved

Accurate photon flux recovery demonstrated

Method validated with Mini-EUSO data

Abstract

We present a comprehensive study addressing pile-up effects in single photoelectron counting with R-11265 Hamamatsu multi-anode photomultiplier tubes (MAPMTs) equipped with the SPACIROC-3 ASIC. Extended dead time in the electronics causes saturation and quenching of the counting rate, an effect we counter by inverting the pile-up plot once the double pulse resolution is determined. Our work combines extensive numerical simulations with experimental validations to quantify the statistical uncertainties associated with the corrected event rates. We apply this methodology to the Mini-EUSO experiment onboard the International Space Station where machine learning techniques are employed to extract pixel-by-pixel double pulse resolutions from long-term photon count histograms. This integrated approach enables the accurate recovery of true photon fluxes essential for studying ELVES, meteors and other transient phenomena detected by Mini-EUSO.