Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Kurz, R. J..
The scintillation and Cherenkov responses of plastic Cherenkov radiators containing different wavelength-shifting fluors in varying concentrations have been studied in beams of low energy protons and pions. For cosmic ray applications, where large Cherenkov to scintillation ratios are desired, the optimum fluor concentrations are 0.000025 by weight or less.
The inelastic-interaction mean free paths (lambda) of 5-, 10-, and 15-GeV/c pions have been measured by determining the distribution of first-interaction locations in a modular tungsten-scintillator ionization spectrometer. In addition to commonly used interaction signatures of a few (2-5) particles in two or three consecutive modules, a chi-squared distribution is employed to calculate the probability that the first interaction occurred at a specific depth in the spectrometer. This latter technique seems to be more reliable than use of the simpler criteria. No significant dependence of lambda on energy has been observed. In tungsten, lambda for pions is 206 (plus or minus 6) g/sq cm.
The inelastic interaction mean free paths lambda of 5, 10, and 15 GeV/c pions were measured by determining the distribution of first interaction locations in a modular tungsten-scintillator ionization spectrometer. In addition to commonly used interaction signatures of a few (2-5) particles in two or three consecutive modules, a chi2 distribution is used to calculate the probability that the first interaction occurred at a specific depth in the spectrometer. This latter technique seems to be more reliable than use of the simpler criteria. No significant dependence of lambda on energy was observed. In tungsten, lambda for pions is 206 plus or minus 6 g/sq cm.
The response of a tungsten-scintillator ionization spectrometer to accelerated particle beams has been investigated. Results obtained from exposure of the approx. 1000 g/sq cm apparatus to 5, 10, and 15 GeV/c electrons and pions as well as to 2.1 GeV/nucleon C-12 and O-16 ions are presented. These results include cascade-development curves, fractions of the primary energy measured by the spectrometer, and resolutions of the apparatus for measuring the primary energies. For 15 GeV/c electrons, an average of about 82% of the incident energy is measured by the apparatus with resolution (normal standard deviation) of about 6%. For 15 GeV/c pions, an average of about 65% of the incident energy is measured with resolution of about 18%. The energy resolution improves with increasing energy and with increasing depth of the spectrometer.
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Measurement of the total fragmentation cross sections of C-12 and O-16 ions incident in CsI target and tungsten scintillator modules. The analysis described is based on a one-module criterion for determining the location of an interaction. The results are independent of the windows used, provided that corrections are made for interactions simulated by energy loss fluctuations in the individual modules and for Delta Z ? 1 interactions missed because of the use of wide windows. The cross sections obtained are in general agreement with the values obtained in other experiments for various target nuclei.
Techniques are being investigated to aid in distinguishing between electrons and the large background of interacting protons which simulate electron-induced electromagnetic cascades. For cosmic ray primaries, incident on the HECRE ionization spectrometer, statistical criteria are employed to test the cascade curves with the incident energy and starting point as free parameters. The physical significance of the distribution of apparent cascade starting points is being studied using Monte Carlo 100-GeV protons. The proposed use of a CsI detector module (totally-active and high Z) to further discriminate against protons is described.
The possible use of CsI to discriminate between high energy cosmic ray electrons and interacting protons has been investigated. The pulse-shape properties as a function of ionization density, temperature, and spectral response are presented for thallium-activated CsI and as a function of ionization density for sodium-activated CsI. The results are based on previously published data and on corroborative measurements from the present work. Experimental results on the response of CsI to electron-induced electromagnetic cascades and to interacting hadrons are described. Bibliographies of publications dealing with the properties of CsI and with pulse-shape discrimination techniques are presented.
The response of the GSFC High Energy Cosmic Ray Detector has been studied using electrons in the energy range from 5.4 to 18 GeV. A semiempirical analytic form has been developed to determine the starting points and the energies of electron-induced cascade showers. The energy resolution thus obtained has a full width at half maximum of 17%, and the starting point can be determined to within 0.1 to 0.2 radiation length. The results of this response calibration provide a basis on which cosmic ray electrons can be reliably identified and analyzed in the presence of a large proton background.
The spectrum of cosmic ray electrons above 10 GeV was studied extensively. The spectrum is predicted to steepen at an energy which is related to the lifetime of electrons in the interstellar medium against losses due to inverse Compton collisions with photons and to synchrotron radiation in galactic magnetic fields. The experimental results diverge widely; the lack of agreement between the various measurements is due to a variety of experimental problems.
Preliminary data analysis of lifetimes of positive and negative pions