Kenneth Ragan | Searcharxiv

arXiv2025

Future Collider Measurements for Cosmic Ray Induced Air Shower Modelling

The identification of gamma-ray induced air showers with Cherenkov telescopes suffers from contamination with a specific class of cosmic ray induced air showers. The predictions for this background show strong discrepancies between the available event generators. In this study, we identify collision events of cosmic rays with atmospheric nuclei in which a large fraction of the original beam energy is transmitted to the electromagnetic part of the shower as the main source for this background. Consequently, we define a pseudorapidity region of interest for hadron collider experiments that corresponds to this background, taking into account the center-of-mass energy. This region of interest is compared with the available datasets and the pseudorapidity coverage of the detectors that recorded it. We find that the LHCf and RHICf detectors are the only ones covering substantial parts of this region of interest and suggest a measurement of the energy spectra of reconstructed neutral pions to be made with this data. Such results could serve as valuable constraints for a future parameter tuning of the event generators to improve the background estimation uncertainties for gamma-ray induced air shower identification.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Assessing Students' Understanding of Uncertainty in Undergraduate Physics Laboratory Courses at a Major Canadian University

Over the last five years, the McGill University Office of Science Education (OSE) has partnered with faculty members from the Department of Physics to form an education research group with the aim of charting the progression of student conceptual understanding of uncertainties across their undergraduate degree. The research conducted by this group seeks to provide further insight into the experimental skillset that students gain through undergraduate laboratory courses and noticeable gaps in student understanding that the department could address. In this paper, we evaluate the conceptual understanding of uncertainty using the Concise Data Processing Assessment (CDPA) test. First, we characterize the physics laboratory curriculum at McGill University by evaluating the evolution of CDPA scores across consecutive laboratory courses, and further propose the utilization of this tool for identifying gaps in student understanding. Following the analysis of student responses (N = 2023), we specifically investigate data collected in second-year courses to better understand what student errors reveal about common misconceptions in experimental physics. This more in-depth analysis focuses on data collected from students at the beginning and end of two consecutive experimental laboratory courses that build on each other. By the end of the second course, students have engaged with all the material covered in the CDPA test. Overall results show an upward shift in student understanding of uncertainties over time. Interestingly, we did not observe any change in CDPA scores comparing throughout and post-pandemic scores. Despite the upward shift, many students continue to struggle with uncertainties, basic data analysis, and curve fitting.

physics.ed-ph↗