Benjamin Brau | Searcharxiv

arXiv2022

Recent Progress and Next Steps for the MATHUSLA LLP Detector

We report on recent progress and next steps in the design of the proposed MATHUSLA Long Lived Particle (LLP) detector for the HL-LHC as part of the Snowmass 2021 process. Our understanding of backgrounds has greatly improved, aided by detailed simulation studies, and significant R&D has been performed on designing the scintillator detectors and understanding their performance. The collaboration is on track to complete a Technical Design Report, and there are many opportunities for interested new members to contribute towards the goal of designing and constructing MATHUSLA in time for HL-LHC collisions, which would increase the sensitivity to a large variety of highly motivated LLP signals by orders of magnitude.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2009

Determining the Muon Mass in an Instructional Laboratory

An instructional laboratory experiment to measure the muon mass is described. Using coincidence-anticoincidence detection, the decay of a cosmic-ray muon into an electron (or positron) is observed in a multiplate spark chamber, and recorded with a triggered CCD detector. The energy of the charged decay-product particle is then quantified by counting the number of spark gaps $n_S$ it traverses before being stopped by the chamber's aluminum plates. By running this apparatus under computer-control for several hours, the number of product-particles $N(n_S)$ with various $n_s$-values is obtained. The muon mass is obtained by a least-squares fit, which compares the experimentally observed $N(n_S)$ with simulation values predicted for this distribution by the Fermi description of muon decay via the weak interaction. We present the results for the muon mass we have obtained and discuss the simulation we developed to account for the observed skewing of $N(n_S)$ due to the various directions the spark-producing product particles move as well as the escape of some of the higher-energy particles from the chamber.

physics.ed-ph↗