Contents

1 Theory 1
1.1 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 The origin of the muons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Lifetime of muons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2.1 Deceleration of muons in matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.2 Polarization of muons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Evidence of the decay of muons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3.1 Precession of muons in the magnetic field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3.2 Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 The Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 Evaluation of data 6
2.1 Pulse height spectra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 Efficiency of the detectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3 Lifetime of muons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4 Evidence for the precession frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
List of Figures

1.1 Experimental set up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.1 Pulse height spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.2 Corrected pulse height spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Lifetime evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.4 Lifetime evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.5 Theoretical muon precession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.6 Muon precession in the upper detector without precession modulation . . . 11
2.7 Muon precession in the upper detector with precession modulation . . . . . 11
2.8 Muon precession in the lower detector without precession modulation . . . 11
2.9 Muon precession in the lower detector with precession modulation . . . . . 12
1. Theory

1.1 Theory

1.1.1 The origin of the muons

The vast majority of the cosmic radiation consists of protons (85%). Additionally there
are 12% alpha particles, 2% heavier nuclei as well as electromagnetic radiation including
electrons and gamma radiation.
If a hadronic particle hits earth’s atmosphere, it will initialize a hadronic air shower,
in which pions and kaons are created. Neutral pions will decay in two gamma quants,
which will create an electromagnetic air shower including Bremsstrahlung and electron pair
building.

π0 → γ + γ (1.1)

Charged pions will mostly decay in muons and muon neutrinos:

π + → µ+ + νµ (1.2)
−
π → µ− + ν̄µ (1.3)

The decay channel into electrons and electron neutrinos is suppressed due to the coupling of
the weak force onto left handed particles (negative chirality) and right handed antiparticles
(positive chirality). Hence neutrinos are always left handed and anti-neutrinos are always
right handed. Due to the conservation of the momentum, the muon or electron from 1.2
has to be emitted in the opposite direction of the neutrino, with the same chirality. So
in the case of a right handed anti-neutrino, the electron must be right handed as well.
Because of the low mass of the electron, it’s already travelling near speed of light for a
small momentum and should be left handed.This leads to a suppression for right handed
electrons. Muons have a 200 times higher mass than electrons and therefore a higher chance
to be right handed.

1.2 Lifetime of muons

Free muons have a lifetime of
τ = 2.197 µs. (1.4)

This lifetime would be too short to reach earths surface in the laboratory system. Due to
their high energy and the resulting Lorenz boost the lifetime of the muons is given by

1
2 P4 Quantum-Hall-effect

τE = γ · τ, (1.5)
with the Laurenz factor γ = E0 .
E
Using E = 10 GeV, the gamma factor would be

10 GeV
γ≈ ≈ 71, (1.6)
140 MeV
which increases the travel distance 71 times, so they can reach earth’s surface.

1.2.1 Deceleration of muons in matter

Compared to electrons, muons below energies around one GeV almost have no energy
losses due to Bremsstrahlung. This can be explained with the Larmor euation, which is
proprtional to m−4 .

Muons are often calles ’minimal ionizing particles’ (mips), because their energy-loss through
ionization in the GeV area is close to the minimum of the Bethe Bloch equation. Looking
at muons in the MeV area, they loose the majority of their energy on a short path due to
the Bragg-peak.
For muons with low energies, one has to distinguish between negative and positive muons.
Positive muons can capture electrons from atoms and create a hydrogen like construct
called Myonium. Negative muons can be caught in the K-orbit by positive nuclei. Because
they are different particles, they are not affected by the Pauli principle. Here the muon can
interact with the proton and create a neutron. Due to this process the lifetime in matter is
a lot lower.

1.2.2 Polarization of muons

In 1.1.1 the priorized decay of pions into muons over electrons is already explained. Looking
at the conservation of momentum and energy during the decay, one can calculate the energy
of the muon in the initila system of the pion:

(mc2 )2 + (mc2 )2
W= (1.7)
mc2
with m ≈ 106 MeV and m ≈ 140 MeV one will get the total energy W ≈ 110 MeV. This
shows that the muon gets an additionally 4 MeV in kinetic energy. Going back to the
initial laboratory system of the earth, the muons have different energies due to the different
directions they are emitted in. When they are emitted towards the earth, their kinetic
energy is higher than the ones in opposite direction. Because of those different directions
of decay, we’ll get a continuous energy spectrum on earth.
To distinguish between muons from lower energy pions emitted toward earth and muons from
higher energy pions emitted in the opposite dierection, one need to look at the polarization.
Negative muons are right handed and when emitted forward, they are polarized in forward
direction. Therefore positive muons in the same contellation are polarized in backwards
direction. Due to the shorter life time of negative muons, we can expect the majority of
muons to be polarized into backwards direction.

1.3 Evidence of the decay of muons

The decay is characterized by an emitted positron. The spectrum can be described through
Chapter 1. Theory 3

d2 N ϵ2 3ϵ2 − 2ϵ3 2ϵ − 1
 
= · [(3 − 2ϵ) − P · (1 − 2ϵ) · cos(θ)] = · 1+P · · cos(θ) . (1.8)
dϵdΩ 2π 2π 3 − 2ϵ

Whereas P is the polarisation, θ the angle between the momentuma nd spin of the muon.
ϵ = E/Emax is an energy in the unit of the maximal energy Emax = mµ c2 /2, which can be
transferred during the decay onto the muon. The equation can also be written as

d2 N
= a · (1 + b · cos(θ)). (1.9)
dϵdΩ

b is in the range of − 31 to 1.
Therefore the emission of the positron is not isotropic regarding the spin of µ+ . It will
occur preferably in spin direction. With higher energies the asymmetry increases. Positrons
with energies below a certain threshold are not able to reach the detector.

Integrating 1.8 over ϵ results in

dN
= k · (1 + A · cos(θ)). (1.10)
dΩ

k is a constant, which characterised through the threshold. A is the asymmetry. Integrating

over the complete spectrum will result in A = P/3. For the top half A is 0.44 P and the
limit for higher thresholds is A = P . But when using higher thresholds the counting rate
decreases.

1.3.1 Precession of muons in the magnetic field

The magnetig moment µ
⃗ can be written with the help of angular momentum J⃗ as

⃗ = γ · J.
µ ⃗ (1.11)

Using the motion equation for a particle in a magnetic field B

⃗

dJ⃗
=µ ⃗
⃗ × B, (1.12)
dt

one can get the precision frequency

ω =γ·B (1.13)

with the magnetic field B and the gyromagnetic ratio

gµB
γ= . (1.14)
ℏ

Where µB is the Bohr magneton with mass m and charge q:

qℏ
µB = . (1.15)
2m
4 P4 Quantum-Hall-effect

µB (electron) = 9.273 × 10−24 J/T. (1.16)

µB (muon) = 4.485 × 10−26 J/T. (1.17)

The dimnesionless factor g is called Landé factor and can be calculated through
γℏ ℏω
g= = . (1.18)
µB µB B

1.3.2 Measurement
Measurement of the mean lifetime
The detector will start a measurement when a muon gets decelerated and ends with the
occur of a positron, which is a result of the decay. For multiple muons one can use the
exponential law:

N (T ) = N0 · e−t/τ . (1.19)

Where N0 is the number of registered and stopped muons in the detector. N is the number
or decays during that time. The mean lifetime can be evaluated without knowing the
energy and direction of the muon.

Measurement of the precession frequency

A magnetic field at the target, which is tranversal to the direction of the muons, is used so
the spin is in precession. Moreover only positrons which are emitted in a certain direction
are measures. This leads to a modulation of the count rate through the precession frequency.
The rate will be the highest for muons with spin in that direction and therefor the lowest
for nmuons with spin in the opposite direction.
Using equation 1.10 and 1.19 one can get

t h i
N (t) = K · exp(− ) · 1 + A · cos(ωt + δ) . (1.20)
τ

A is the asymmetry of the detector. It’s time-independent and follows

t
A = A0 · exp(− ). (1.21)
TR

Where TR is the relaxation time. HoweverA can be presumed as constant in copper.

Chapter 1. Theory 5

Figure 1.1: Experimental set up

1.4 The Experiment

The experiment consists of three scintillators, each 1 cm thick, 5 cm wide and 93.5 cm long.
They are stacked parallel on top of each other, connected through Light guides (wavelength
shifter) with a Silicone photomultiplier. A 2.5 cm copper plate is located between the
second and third scintillator to stop the positive muons due to the higher density. This set
up is shown in figure 1.1
If a muon gets stopped in the copper plate, the signature will be 1 + 2 + 3. Such a event
will start the lifetime measurement. A positron in scintillator 2 or 3 will end it. 2 + 3 and
3 + 2 are equal and prevent accidental coincidences. To avoid errors, the best signature for
the stop is 1 + 2 + 3, but therefore the rate goes down.
2. Evaluation of data

2.1 Pulse height spectra

For the following measurements it is necessary to evaluate the thresholds for typical muon
and positron signals. Therefore a pulse height spectrum is recorded over all detected
signals from all detectors. A signal in the first detector is saved as soon as it’s above a
certain oscillator threshold, which is chosen in a way to reduce the background noise. This
spectrum can be seen in figure 2.1.
Signals in the lower detectors are stored if they occur in coincidence with the top module.
If those signals are simultaneously it can be assumed that it’s produced by a muon. Those
muons, which go through all three detectors, are used to calibrate the pulse height of each
detector. Therefore the lower and top 10% of the distribution are ignored and the geometric
mean is calculated. This corrected pulse height spectrum for is shown in figure 2.2.

2.2 Efficiency of the detectors

The efficiency of the detectors is determined by calculating the ratio of events that were
detected and events that should have been detected. This is done by "sandwiching" one of
the three detectors between two other detectors. The amount of events detected is given
by the events that produced all three detectors. While the amount of events that should
have been detected is not as straight forward we can make an educated guess. If an event
is detected in the other two detectors while the signal is not present in the middle one it is
most likely, that the muon did pass the detector but it did not detect it. Therefore the
amount of events that should have been detected are these events plus the events were all
detectors sensed a muon. Thus efficiency quality Q of a detector is given by
nA,B,C
Q= (2.1)
nA,B,C + nA,B̄,C

where the subscript A and C are for the other most detectors and B is for the tested detector.
A bar over the letter indicates, that no signal is measured in the respective detector. In
the permanently installed setup four detectors are present. For the two middle ones the
setup is not adjusted in order to determine the quality factor, while for the first detector
an extra smaller portable detector is used. The quality of the last detector is determined
with the help of a forth one beneath it, which is otherwise not used for this experiment.
Results can be seen in table 2.1. Note that the lowest and highest 10 % of signals were
discarded before evaluation as they are prone to error. Also the high efficiency of detector
A is most likely result of the low number of events that fulfill the restrictions. Cause of
this could be the much smaller size of the portable detector used for this measurement.

2.3 Lifetime of muons

The life time of muons is determined with the help of equation 1.19. In figure 2.3 and 2.4
the data of registered muons and their lifetime is shown as a histogram. The background

6
Chapter 2. Evaluation of data 7

Figure 2.1: Pulse height spectrum

Table 2.1: Efficiency of the detector as derived from the data.

Detector nA,B,C nA,B̄,C efficiency Q
A 594 4 99.3 %
B 19226 555 97.2 %
C 13612 295 97.9 %
8 P4 Quantum-Hall-effect

Figure 2.2: Corrected pulse height spectrum

noise wasn’t considered, because one can assume that the background noise is evenly
distributed throughout all decay times and hence doesn’t change the exponential curve.
Comparing figure 2.3 and 2.4, one can see that the data from the week long measurement
Chapter 2. Evaluation of data 9

has a lot more triggers and hence has is more evenly distributed with less errors compared
to the shorter measurement. By fitting the exponential curve, one can determine the mean
lifetime τ = 1.96 ± 0.142 µs for the short measurement and τ = 2.18 ± 0.021 µs for the
week long measurement, which is close to the literature value of τ = 2.197µs. The small
error could be decreased by even longer measure times.

Figure 2.3: Evaluation of the mean lifetime with data from the short measurement

Figure 2.4: Evaluation of the mean lifetime with data from the week long measurement

2.4 Evidence for the precession frequency

For the measurement of the precession frequency a magnetic field is used. The experiment
ran for one week. Due to the phase shift, the direction the positron is emitted is measured.
The theoretical curve for the positrons registered in the upper and lower detector is shown
in figure 2.5.
To evaluate the probability density function the equation 1.20 has to be standardized in the
measured interval [a, b]. Moreover one can assume a equally distributed underground noise,
10 P4 Quantum-Hall-effect

Figure 2.5: Theoretical muon precession

1
which also has to be standardized with the factor . Finally, the complete probability
b−a
density function consists of the background noise and the expected signal. We used the
factor f bg = 0.3 as good approximation for the composition of background and signal.
To determine the likelihood of a precession frequency, we compare a modulation with
precession modulation Ā and one without (Ā = 0). In order to compare the two modulations,
it’s necessary to fix all the other parameters.
The value for ω can be calculated with the help of the magnetic field B = 0.0036 T:
B
ω =g·e· = 3.08 · 106 Hz (2.2)
2·m
Moreover the interval for the probability dense function can be set to [0.6 · 10−6 , 11.0 · 10−6 ].
This helps to keep out very short decay times, which results from µ− captures in the copper
atoms. The upper limit is set by the maximal measurement time of the experiment. For
the lifetime the literature value of τ = 2.2 · 10−6 s is used. Using a precession modulation
of Ā = 15% and a phase shift δ = 0 for the upper and δ = π for the upper detector,leads
to figure 2.5.

Before the measured data can be plotted, a selection has to made. The goal is to get rid
of the background noise in the same time as keeping as much data as possible. Also all
the decay times have to be in the previously mentioned interval. For the first plot the
measured lifetimes are plotted in a histogram and the probability dense function with no
precession modulation is fitted. Which means Ā = ω = δ = 0. This is shown in figure 2.6
for the upper and in figure 2.8 for the lower detector.
For the second modulation the adjusted parameters from the first modulations are used.
Furthermore ω and δ are used as described before. Hence, only the Ā value is up for
variation. This leads to figure 2.7 for the upper and 2.9 for the lower detector.
Chapter 2. Evaluation of data 11

Figure 2.6: Muon precession in the upper detector without precession modulation

Figure 2.7: Muon precession in the upper detector with precession modulation

Figure 2.8: Muon precession in the lower detector without precession modulation

Due to only√one free parameter distinguishes between both models, one can calculate the
z-score z = ∆ for the negative Log-Likelihood ratio with

nd nd
!
∆ = −2 · nlL = −2 · − ln (pdf1 (xi , p⃗)) − − ln (pdf2 (xi , p⃗)) (2.3)
X X

i=1 i=1
12 P4 Quantum-Hall-effect

Figure 2.9: Muon precession in the lower detector with precession modulation

This z-score can be used to calculate the possibility with the help of the standard normal
distribution Φ:
p = 1 − (1 − Φ(z, µ = 0, σ = 0)) · 2 (2.4)

For the lower detector this leads to a z-score of z = 2.47 and hence a possibility of p = 98.95%.
For the upper detector to z = 3.19 and p = 99.81%. The fact that the upper detector has
a higher possibility for precession can also been seen in the data plot in figure 2.7 which
are closer to the curve in figure 2.5 than the data from the lower detector. Nevertheless
both values show that we most likely measured muons with precession frequency ω.