Introduction to QuarkNet Lab Summer 2012 R. Mountain, M. Soderberg, S. Blusk with Erika Cowan, Anna Fadeeva, Dylan Hsu, Emily Kraus

OverviewOverview Purpose of these lab activities Reinforce material to be presented in lectures Give you some idea about how experiments are done in High Energy Physics Provide you with some take-away Ideas and concepts from High Energy Physics for your use in class lectures Hardware for classroom or lab activities of your own R. Mountain, Syracuse UniversitySU QuarkNet Program, Summer 20122

Lab Activities 1.Muon Lifetime 2.Gamma Spectroscopy 3.Wire Chamber Wires & Resonance Behavior 4.Electronics I: Op Amps & Si Dets 5.Electronics II: ADCs & DAQ Plus: Cosmic Ray Telescope (Mini-Workshop) R. Mountain, Syracuse UniversitySU QuarkNet Program, Summer 20123

OrganizationOrganization Groups Four groups of 2–3 persons each, five lab activities, assignments TBD Round-robin, two days per activity, ~1½–2 hr per session per day (AM/PM sessions) Assistance from students who’ve done the labs: Erika, Anna, Dylan, Emily Materials & Procedure Logbooks for everyone! Write-ups for each lab: introductory material and specific activities (can do more) Webpage with online references, help, background tutorials, etc. (permanent feature) linked from main page * Mini-Workshop Separate, details will come during mini- workshop, 7/9-11 R. Mountain, Syracuse UniversitySU QuarkNet Program, Summer *

R. Mountain, Syracuse UniversitySU QuarkNet Workshop, Summer Muon Lifetime Motivation & Goals – Learn about cosmic rays – Hands-on experience with subatomic particles – Lifetime msrmt – Statistics Setup – Mini version of real high energy physics experiment Activities – Set up experiment 1 st day – Take data overnight – Analyze 2 nd day Take-Away – Physics background and concepts Emily

R. Mountain, Syracuse UniversitySU QuarkNet Workshop, Summer Gamma Spectroscopy Motivation & Goals – Learn about radioactivity, radioactive decays – Radiation sources – Energy spectra – PMTs, Scintillators Setup – Multi-Channel Analyzer – PMTs, Scintillators Activities – Gamma spectra from several sources and background – Study PMT behavior – Energy calibration Take-Away – Physics concepts (nuke) Erika

R. Mountain, Syracuse UniversitySU QuarkNet Workshop, Summer Wire Chamber Wire & Resonance Motivation & Goals – Study resonance behavior – Role of resonance widespread, important application here in detector construction Setup – Tensioned wire, magnets, frequency generator Activities – Observe, measure resonant frequencies as function of tension, length, applied magnetic field, etc. – Plus: fun with strobe light Take-Away – Lots of wire available to take – Simple setup, may already have all components at your home institution Emily and…

R. Mountain, Syracuse UniversitySU QuarkNet Workshop, Summer Electronics I: Op Amps + Si Det Motivation & Goals – Learn about detector readout chain in HEP (pt.1) – Detector – Amplifier – Shaping Setup – Solderless breadboard – Electronic components – Oscilloscope – Silicon photodiode Activities – Learn how amplifiers work – Learn limits in amplitude and frequency – Learn how silicon detectors work Take-Away – Review of circuits – Oscilloscope operation – Electronics concepts Dylan

R. Mountain, Syracuse UniversitySU QuarkNet Workshop, Summer Electronics II: ADCs + DAQ Motivation & Goals – Learn about detector readout chain in HEP (pt.2) – Data conversion (and digitization) – Data acquisition – Data manipulation and generally, dealing w data Setup – TNG3B ADC – Sensors – Computer readout software Activities – Learn about ADCs, and their properties in amplitude and frequency – Learn how to interface ADC and sensors with computer Take-Away – Hardware: TNG3B ADC unit, cables, sensors of your choice – Software: NT (NeatTools) interface package, with interactive control and digital logic and I/O (open ended programming component) Anna

R. Mountain, Syracuse UniversitySU QuarkNet Workshop, Summer Cosmic Ray Telescope Motivation & Goals – Return to cosmic rays – Several measurements can be made: flux, directionality, lifetime Setup – PMTs – Scintillators – HV – GPS Activities – Construct the telescope – Details to be discussed in detail during mini-workshop Take-Away – Two full telescopes, to share among you – Software for acquiring and analyzing data – Sharing with other stations, at different locations and elevations nationwide

Be careful, be aware you are in a lab environment Dealing with: High Voltage Radioactive Sources Sensitive Detectors Stay safe, just follow instructions Any questions, just ask Safety Issues

(Stop me if you’ve said this before…) Read lab material Ahead of time (…if possible) Some reference material and links on the activities webpage will be helpful Use your logbook For info, questions, data, etc. etc. The point is to learn, so: Ask questions (Pauli) Try to figure things out Find help, if you need help Don’t get stuck! This will be fun… R. Mountain, Syracuse UniversitySU QuarkNet Program, Summer Helpful Suggestions