arXiv subjects

Christian Sarmiento-Cano

Publications and source records attributed to Christian Sarmiento-Cano.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Water Cherenkov Detectors in Precision Agriculture: A Novel Approach for High-Resolution Soil Moisture Monitoring

Water Cherenkov Detectors (WCDs), traditionally employed in cosmic-ray detection, are repurposed here for precision soil moisture monitoring using cosmic-ray neutron sensing. This approach offers advantages over conventional neutron probes, including enhanced sensitivity to low moisture levels and the ability to cover larger soil volumes without subsurface intrusion. This study evaluates the feasibility of WCDs for agricultural neutron hydrometry, addressing challenges such as background suppression and data interpretation in heterogeneous soils. We present experimental results from controlled wet and dry soil-condition emulations, alongside Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4 with an atmospheric neutron spectrum to correlate signal variation with soil-moisture differences. By bridging particle physics and agronomy, WCDs could advance soil moisture monitoring, offering a non-invasive, scalable, and accurate alternative for optimizing agricultural water use. Preliminary findings suggest a transformative potential for sustainable farming, though further research is needed to enhance cost-efficiency and adaptability to diverse soil types.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

Two-Stage Gamma-Neutron Source Classification in Water Cherenkov Detectors: Energy Threshold Screening and Machine Learning Pulse Analysis

Water Cherenkov detectors offer a robust and economical solution for real-time radiation monitoring by detecting Cherenkov light from charged particles moving faster than light in water. This work presents a novel two-stage classification framework for gamma-neutron discrimination: an initial physics-based energy threshold filters unambiguous low-energy gamma sources, followed by a machine learning ensemble that resolves ambiguities at higher energies. The detector response was characterized using $^{60}$Co (1.17/1.33~MeV), $^{137}$Cs (0.66~MeV), and a shielded $^{241}$AmBe source, with lead, paraffin, and cadmium shielding employed to isolate neutron and gamma interactions. Energy calibration established a linear ADU to MeV conversion ($R^2 = 0.966$), enabling identification of a neutron detection threshold at $2.62 \pm 0.77$~MeV via a $3σ$ significance analysis. Stage one categorizes sources as pure gamma (below threshold) or neutron-emitting (at threshold). For ambiguous cases above threshold, a machine learning pipeline utilizing pulse shape analysis was developed. A soft voting ensemble (Bagging, CatBoost, and MLP) achieved an accuracy of 0.816 and an AUC of 0.921. This hybrid scheme combines physics-based filtering with ML refinement, offering an interpretable and scalable solution for nuclear security, nonproliferation monitoring, and fundamental radiation research.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Muon Imaging of Hydrotreatment Reactors

This study presents the design and simulation-based validation of a muon imaging system tailored for potential applications in industrial hydrotreatment units. The system is built around a two-panel plastic scintillator hodoscope, equipped with silicon photomultipliers and read-out via a CAEN FERS-A5202 acquisition system. The detector was calibrated using a stepwise ``staircase'' method and characterized under open-sky and controlled conditions. We conducted muon flux attenuation measurements to validate its response using variable lead shielding. We found agreement with simulations generated using the MEIGA framework and realistic cosmic ray spectra from the ARTI simulation chain. With the detector response validated, we modelled muon transmission through a realistic 3D representation of a hydrotreatment tower, incorporating internal variations in catalyst bed density. By reconstructing angular muon fluxes and computing relative attenuation maps, we demonstrated the system's capability to detect internal density contrasts. Simulation results indicate that 20~hours of exposure to vertical muon flux is sufficient to retrieve structural information. In comparison, inclined configurations (30$^\circ$ and 60$^\circ$ from vertical) require extended exposure times--up to 8~days--yet remain feasible within industrial monitoring schedules. These findings highlight the feasibility of muography as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for complex industrial infrastructure. The proposed system shows strong potential for real-time monitoring of catalyst bed integrity and long-term structural analysis in high-pressure chemical reactors.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

The ARTI Framework: Cosmic Rays Atmospheric Background Simulations

ARTI is a complete framework designed to simulate the signals produced by the secondary particles emerging from the interaction of single, multiple and even, the complete flux of primary cosmic rays with the atmosphere. These signals are simulated for any particle detector located at any place (latitude, longitude and altitude), including the real-time atmospheric, geomagnetic and detector conditions. Formulated through a sequence of codes written in C++, Fortran, Bash and Perl, it provides an easy-to-use integration of three different simulation environments: magnetocosmic, CORSIKA and Geant4. These tools evaluate the geomagnetic field effects on the primary flux, the atmospheric showers of cosmic rays and the detectors' response to the secondary flux of particles. In this work, we exhibit the usage of the ARTI framework by calculating the total expected flux of signals at eight selected sites of the Latin American Giant Observatory, a cosmic ray Observatory located in Latin America covering a wide range altitudes, latitudes and geomagnetic rigidities. ARTI also calculates the flux of signals expected during the sudden occurrence of a gamma-ray burst or the flux of energetic photons originating in steady gamma sources. It also compares these fluxes with the expected background to detect these phenomena in a single water Cherenkov detector deployed in high altitude sites. Even more, by using ARTI, it is possible to calculate in a very precise way the expected flux of high energetic muons and other secondaries on the ground and to inject it over a geological structure for muography applications.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

Impact of Global Data Assimilation System atmospheric models on astroparticle showers

We present a methodology to simulate the impact of the atmospheric models in the background particle flux on ground detectors using the Global Data Assimilation System. The methodology was within the ARTI simulation framework developed by the Latin American Giant Observatory Collaboration. The ground level secondary flux simulations were performed with a tropical climate at the city of Bucaramanga, Colombia. To validate our methodology, we built monthly profiles over Malargüe between 2006 and 2011, comparing the maximum atmospheric depth, X$_\mathrm{max}$, with those calculated with the Auger atmospheric option in CORSIKA. The results show significant differences between the predefined CORSIKA atmospheres and their corresponding Global Data Assimilation System atmospheric profiles.

astro-ph.IM↗