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W. Miller

Publications and source records attributed to W. Miller.

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The Design and Construction of the Chips Water Cherenkov Neutrino Detector

CHIPS (CHerenkov detectors In mine PitS) was a prototype large-scale water Cherenkov detector located in northern Minnesota. The main aim of the R&D project was to demonstrate that construction costs of neutrino oscillation detectors could be reduced by at least an order of magnitude compared to other equivalent experiments. This article presents design features of the CHIPS detector along with details of the implementation and deployment of the prototype. While issues during and after the deployment of the detector prevented data taking, a number of key concepts and designs were successfully demonstrated.

physics.ins-det

MINERvA neutrino detector response measured with test beam data

The MINERvA collaboration operated a scaled-down replica of the solid scintillator tracking and sampling calorimeter regions of the MINERvA detector in a hadron test beam at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility. This article reports measurements with samples of protons, pions, and electrons from 0.35 to 2.0 GeV/c momentum. The calorimetric response to protons, pions, and electrons are obtained from these data. A measurement of the parameter in Birks' law and an estimate of the tracking efficiency are extracted from the proton sample. Overall the data are well described by a Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulation of the detector and particle interactions with agreements better than 4%, though some features of the data are not precisely modeled. These measurements are used to tune the MINERvA detector simulation and evaluate systematic uncertainties in support of the MINERvA neutrino cross section measurement program.

physics.ins-det

CHerenkov detectors In mine PitS (CHIPS) Letter of Intent to FNAL

This Letter of Intent outlines a proposal to build a large, yet cost-effective, 100 kton fiducial mass water Cherenkov detector that will initially run in the NuMI beam line. The CHIPS detector (CHerenkov detector In Mine PitS) will be deployed in a flooded mine pit, removing the necessity and expense of a substantial external structure capable of supporting a large detector mass. There are a number of mine pits in northern Minnesota along the NuMI beam that could be used to deploy such a detector. In particular, the Wentworth Pit 2W is at the ideal off-axis angle to contribute to the measurement of the CP violating phase. The detector is designed so that it can be moved to a mine pit in the LBNE beam line once that becomes operational.

physics.ins-det

Optical Relative Calibration and Stability Monitoring for the Auger Fluorescence Detector

The stability of the fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory is monitored with the optical relative calibration setup. Optical fibers distribute light pulses to three different diffuser groups within the optical system. The total charge per pulse is measured for each pixel and compared with reference calibration measurements. This allows monitoring the short and long term stability with respect of the relative timing between pixels and the relative gain for each pixel. The designs of the LED calibration unit (LCU) and of the Xenon flash lamp used for relative calibration, are described and their capabilities to monitor the stability of the telescope performances are studied. We report the analysis of relative calibration data recorded during 2004. Fluctuations in the relative calibration constants provide a measure of the stability of the FD.

astro-ph

On the evolution of ejecta fragments in compact supernova remnants

We examine the evolution of inhomogeneities (fragments) of supernova ejecta in compact supernova remnants by means of hydrodynamical modeling and simplified analytical calculations. Under the influence of intense post-shock cooling the fragments become strongly compressed as they traverse the hot shocked region between the reverse and outer shocks of the remnant. We find that the most likely outcome of the interaction of fragments with the reverse shock and the hot shocked region is their disruption resulting in generation of secondary fragments. Secondary fragments arriving at the thin and dense outer shell of the remnant give rise to brief X-ray flashes. Under suitable conditions the primary fragments may traverse the hot shocked region without being completely destroyed, to eventually reach the outer shell as dense, elongated structures. Collisions of such fragments with the shell are likely to give rise to powerful X-ray flares.

astro-ph

Flow in the Driven Cavity Calculated by the Lattice Boltzmann Method

The lattice Boltzmann method with enhanced collisions and rest particles is used to calculate the flow in a two-dimensional lid-driven cavity. The abilitity of this method to compute the velocity and the pressure of an incompressible fluid in a geometry with Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions is verified by calculating a test-problem where the analytical solution is known. Different parameter configurations have been tested for Reynolds numbers from $Re=10$ to $Re=2000$. The vortex structure for a more generalized lid-driven cavity problem with a non-uniform top speed has been studied for various acpect ratios.

comp-gas