CRAnE: A JAS-based Data CRAnE: A JAS-based Data Acquisition System for Cosmic RaysAcquisition System for Cosmic Rays

Jennifer Docktor & Manuel ReyesMentors Tom Glanzman & Willy Langeveld

August 13, 2003

Department of Energy Office of Science

Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI)

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Cosmic RaysCosmic Rays• High-energy protons collide

with atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere

• Air shower particles with sufficient energy to reach the surface (mostly muons) are recorded as cosmic ray events by ground detectors

• Origin of high energy cosmic rays is not fully understood; the prevailing theory suggests extensive B-fields surrounding supernova remnants accelerate protons in space to near-light speeds.

http://itss.raytheon.com/cafe/qadir/q2953.html

• Endeavor supported by the National Science Foundation

• Educate high school students and teachers about high-energy physics and involve them in research

• SLAC workshop June 19 – July 3, 2003– Built 10 cosmic ray telescopes (CRTs) that will be used to conduct experiments

in their classrooms

QuarkNet

CRT DesignCRT Design

CRT designCRT design• Scintillator panels

• Plastic produces a small flash of light when a charged particle passes through it

Scintillator panelsLight guides

• Polished Lucite “light guides”

• Opaque materials for light shielding

CRT design

CRT designCRT design

• Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs)• Convert light pulses into amplified electrical pulses

PMT

• Voltage converters (base)• Converts low voltage (5V DC) from the logic board to high

voltage for the PMT

CRT designCRT design

CRT designCRT design

•QuarkNet logic board version 2.0•GPS unit

CRT Construction Week(June 23 – 27, 2003)

MannyJen

CRTCRT ExperimentsExperiments(Only a very few examples)(Only a very few examples)

1. Measure angular distribution of cosmic ray flux through the paddles.

2. Muon flux experiments, such as by varying altitude or indoor/outdoor.

3. Air shower experiments (requires collaboration with other schools)

determine frequency, patterns, direction, and characteristics of air showers

Why CRAnE?Why CRAnE?

• Data from the logic board is not easy to work with.

• For the purpose of a high school classroom, graphical data is more accessible.

• CRAnE (Cosmic Ray Analysis Environment) acts as a bridge between the raw output of the board and the needs of a classroom.

Raw Data FormatRaw Data Format

CRAnE InterfaceCRAnE Interface

CRAnE in Action!CRAnE in Action!

Java Analysis Studio (JAS)Java Analysis Studio (JAS)

• Java – platform independent, relatively portable

• Java Analysis Studio (JAS) is a freely available data analysis package that provides graphing capabilities.

• http://jas.freehep.org

• CRAnE acts as a plug-in to JAS, extending its operation to include cosmic ray data processing.

Features of CRAnEFeatures of CRAnE

• Reads serial port output of CRT logic board

• Collects and saves relevant cosmic ray event data

• Maintains plots of cosmic ray rates in real-time

• CRAnE currently provides users with two graphs presenting information on the observed cosmic ray rate

Plot 1: CR rate vs. TimePlot 1: CR rate vs. Time• The first graph displays the cosmic ray rate observed in n-

minute intervals over time

Plot 2: Time interval histogramPlot 2: Time interval histogram• The second graph is a histogram of the time elapsed between

consecutive cosmic ray events detected by the CRT

The Future of CRAnEThe Future of CRAnE

• Currently, the plan is to distribute CRAnE software along with the CRTs to the high schools interested in carrying out experiments

• CRAnE will also be made freely available for download on the Internet

• http://www.slac.stanford.edu/quarknet/crane (Under Construction)

Suggested ImprovementsSuggested Improvements

• CRAnE currently uses the internal clock time of the user’s computer for graph data. Future versions will hopefully parse the GPS time data from the logic board.

• More graphical representations of the data should be supplied to users.

• CRAnE should also be able to recreate a graph from saved data files.

AcknowledgmentsAcknowledgments

• SULI and the DOE Office of Science

• Tom Glanzman and Willy Langeveld• Project mentors

• Tony Johnson and Max Turri• JAS developers

Questions?Questions?