arXiv subjects

R. J. Wilkes

Publications and source records attributed to R. J. Wilkes.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2012

The T2K ND280 Off-Axis Pi-Zero Detector

The Pi-Zero detector (PØD) is one of the subdetectors that makes up the off-axis near detector for the Tokai-to-Kamioka (T2K) long baseline neutrino experiment. The primary goal for the PØD is to measure the relevant cross sections for neutrino interactions that generate pi-zero's, especially the cross section for neutral current pi-zero interactions, which are one of the dominant sources of background to the electron neutrino appearance signal in T2K. The PØD is composed of layers of plastic scintillator alternating with water bags and brass sheets or lead sheets and is one of the first detectors to use Multi-Pixel Photon Counters (MPPCs) on a large scale.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv1999

The Washington Large Area Time Coincidence Array

The number and density of schools in the Seattle area is convenient for the study of distributed particle showers produced at the top of the atmosphere by ultra-high energy (about $10^{20}$ eV) cosmic rays. We are forming a collaboration for the development of a distributed detector network to study air showers from such ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We call the cosmic ray measurement component WALTA (WAshington Large-area Time-coincidence Array). WALTA aims to provide teachers and students the opportunity to become active participants in forefront scientific projects. A cornerstone of the program will be to install a measurement module at each participating school.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1999

Emulsion Chamber Densitometry by Macroscopic Digital Imaging

Spot density is commonly used as an indication of shower energy in emulsion chambers. In a system originally developed for JACEE analysis, the optical density of a spot on x-ray film is estimated from macroscopic digital images. The spot's size is used to compensate for the lack of dynamic range obtainable with digital imaging hardware. These densities are compared to manually measured densities.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1999

GPS Time Synchronization System for K2K

The K2K (KEK E362) long-baseline neutrino oscillations experiment requires synchronization of clocks with ~100 nsec accuracy at the near and far detector sites (KEK and Super-Kamiokande, respectively), which are separated by 250 km. The Global Positioning System (GPS) provides a means for satisfying this requirement at very low cost. In addition to low-resolution time data (day of year, hour, minute, second), commercial GPS receivers output a 1 pulse per sec (1PPS) signal whose leading edge is synchronized with GPS seconds rollovers to well within the required accuracy. For each beam spill trigger at KEK, and each event trigger at Super-Kamiokande, 50 MHz free-running Local Time Clock (LTC) modules at each site provide fractional-second data with 20 nsec ticks. At each site, two GPS clocks run in parallel, providing hardware backup as well as data quality checks.

hep-ex↗

arXiv1997

A Search for Very High Energy Neutrinos from Active Galactic Nuclei

We report the results of a search for neutrino-induced particle cascades using a deep ocean water Cherenkov detector. The effective mass of the detector, a string of seven 40 cm diameter photomultipliers at 5.2 m spacing, is found through simulation analysis to be surprisingly large: greater than 1 megaton of water at incident neutrino energies of 1 PeV. We find no evidence for neutrino-induced cascades in 18.6 hours of observation. Although the limit implied by this observation is the strongest yet for predictions of active galatic nuclei (AGN) neutrinos at energies above 100 TeV, perhaps the more intriguing result is that the power of these techniques can be exploited to test these AGN models in a relatively short time.

astro-ph↗