arXiv subjects

J. S. Shahi

Publications and source records attributed to J. S. Shahi.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Elemental Analysis of Glass and Bakelite Electrodes Using PIXE Facility

The evolution of particle detectors dates back to the discovery of X-rays and radioactivity in 1890s. In detector history, the Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) are introduced in early 1980s. An RPC is a gaseous detector made up of two parallel electrodes having high resistivity like that of glass and bakelite. Currently several high energy physics experiments are using RPC-based detector system due to robustness and simplicity of construction. In each and every experiment, RPCs have to run continuously for several years. So, it demands an in-depth characterization of the electrode materials. In the present study, an elemental analysis of locally available glass and bakelite samples is done using PIXE facility available at Panjab University Cyclotron, Chandigarh. PIXE measurements are done using 2.7 MeV proton beam incident on the electrode sample target. The constituent elements present in these electrode samples are reported.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Physics Potential of the ICAL detector at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO)

The upcoming 50 kt magnetized iron calorimeter (ICAL) detector at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is designed to study the atmospheric neutrinos and antineutrinos separately over a wide range of energies and path lengths. The primary focus of this experiment is to explore the Earth matter effects by observing the energy and zenith angle dependence of the atmospheric neutrinos in the multi-GeV range. This study will be crucial to address some of the outstanding issues in neutrino oscillation physics, including the fundamental issue of neutrino mass hierarchy. In this document, we present the physics potential of the detector as obtained from realistic detector simulations. We describe the simulation framework, the neutrino interactions in the detector, and the expected response of the detector to particles traversing it. The ICAL detector can determine the energy and direction of the muons to a high precision, and in addition, its sensitivity to multi-GeV hadrons increases its physics reach substantially. Its charge identification capability, and hence its ability to distinguish neutrinos from antineutrinos, makes it an efficient detector for determining the neutrino mass hierarchy. In this report, we outline the analyses carried out for the determination of neutrino mass hierarchy and precision measurements of atmospheric neutrino mixing parameters at ICAL, and give the expected physics reach of the detector with 10 years of runtime. We also explore the potential of ICAL for probing new physics scenarios like CPT violation and the presence of magnetic monopoles.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

Development and characterization of single gap glass RPC

India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) facility is going to have a 50 kton magnetized Iron CALorimeter (ICAL) detector for precision measurements of neutrino oscillations using atmospheric neutrinos. The proposed ICAL detector will be a stack of magnetized iron plates (acting as target material) interleaved with glass Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) as the active detector elements. An RPC is a gaseous detector made up of two parallel electrode plates having high bulk resistivity like that of float glass and bakelite. For the ICAL detector, glass is preferred over bakelite as it does not need any kind of surface treatment to achieve better surface uniformity and also the cost of associated electronics is reduced. Under the detector R&D efforts for the proposed glass RPC detector, a few glass RPCs of 1m X 1m dimension are fabricated procuring glass of ~ 2 mm thickness from one of the Indian glass manufacturers (Asahi). In the present paper, we report the characterization of RPC based on leakage current study, muon detection efficiency and noise rate studies with varying gas compositions.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

Study of Glass and Bakelite properties as electrodes in RPCs

India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) collaboration is planning to build a magnetized Iron-CALorimeter detector (ICAL) for the study of atmospheric neutrinos. ICAL detector will be a stack of 151 layers of magnetized iron plates interleaved with Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) as active detector elements with a total mass of 50 kton. Resistive Plate Chambers are gaseous detectors made up of two parallel electrodes of high bulk resistivity like float glass and bakelite. These detectors are extensively used in several high energy physics experiments since 1980s because of high count rate, excellent time as well as spatial resolutions, simple to fabricate and operate. Due to detector aging issue, it is necessary to characterize electrode material so as to select appropriate electrode material before fabricating the detector. In the present studies, we measured bulk resistivity and surface current of glass as well as bakelite. Bulk resistivity of bakelite is ~ 100 times less than that of glass and surface current of bakelite is higher than that of glass. Also glass does not need any kind of surface treatment to achieve better surface uniformity. Therefore, glass electrodes are preferred over bakelite electrodes in most of the cases. Locally manufactured Asahi glass of ~2 mm thickness and bakelite sheets were tested during the studies as reported in this paper before the various stages of detector fabrication.

physics.ins-det↗