The Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP): An outreach and education experiment in Nebraska

Funded by a $1,342,000 grant from the National Science FoundationTeacher Enhancement Program and High Energy Physics

A high school based Pierre Auger Observatory

State of Nebraska

Pierre Auger northern hemisphere

site in Utah

Where isNebraska?

FermilabBatavia, Illinois

CROP Project Goals

EducationalPrepare teams of high school teachers and students to get involved in studies of extended cosmic ray showers using modern research techniques.

• 4-week summer intensive training program at UNL• Biweekly phone conferences or chat rooms• Two 1-day meetings every year• Web-based help pages

ScientificBuild a statewide network of cosmic ray detectors.

• Retired CASA detectors in weather-proof enclosures on roof• GPS receiver gives local time stamp for shower arrival• PC inside school takes data through a DAQ card at each site• Student teams share data over Internet searching for time coincidences

Search for the sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays.

CROP Personnel at UNL, 2003

CROP staff at University of Nebraska• Faculty: Dan Claes and Greg Snow• Educational evaluator: Dr. Duane Shell• Physics graduate student: Aidyl Galafa

• September 2002, Computer Science graduate students:

Steve Becker: Programming of DAQ card

Jared Kite: LabView control screen for DAQ card

Cory Strope: Computer simulations of cosmic ray air showers

• January 2003 Secondary science ed graduate student: Tracie Evans

• Undergraduate research assistants: M. Dennsberger, M. Everett, A. Fuchser, P. Jacobson, A. Kubik, D. Larsen, S. Mahoney• Administrative Secretary: Marilyn McDowell• Lab manager: High school teacher, John Rogers

Summer 2003

CROP article in Lincoln Journal Star, 7 August 2003

CROP schools enlisted in 2000 2001 2002 2003

250 miles

450 miles

The Cosmic Ray Observatory ProjectA grid of cosmic ray research stations

expanding across the state

Coleridge

McPherson

MullenLoup

Spalding

High school teams attend a 4-week summerworkshop at UNL with class and lab activities

2000: Lincoln Zoo, Lincoln Northeast, Mt. Michael,Marian, Norfolk

2001: Lincoln Lutheran, Lincoln High, Omaha Westside,Anselmo-Merna, Osceola, Wayne State College

… and new schoolswill be

enlisted in CROP

each year

2002: Fairbury, Wayne, Roncalli Catholic,Bancroft-Rosalie, Waterloo

2003: Coleridge, Loup, McPherson, Mullen, Spalding,

The Chicago Air Shower ArrayThe Chicago Air Shower Array

• CROP uses retired detectors from the Chicago Air Shower Array• 1089 boxes each with:

• 4 scintillators and photomultiplier tubes (PMT)• 1 high voltage and 1 low voltage power supply

• Two removal trips (September 1999, May 2001) yielded over 2000 scintillator panels, 2000 PMTs, 500 low and power supplies• Sufficient hardware for all Nebraska high schools

U.S. Army PhotoSeptember 30,

1999

The CROP team at Chicago Air Shower Array (CASA) site

Equipment recovery trip to Dugway, Utah, May 2001

The Science of CROP

• Each school records building-sized showers -- plenty of rate.• 2500 ft2 shower (1014 eV )

• Neighboring schools in same city (Lincoln, Omaha) see coincidences from highest-energy showers -- low rate.

• 10 sq.mi shower ~1019 eV• 50 sq.mi shower ~1020 eV

• Nebraska is 450 x 250 square miles -- schools separated by very large distances explore whether showers come in large, correlated bursts

That is, does the whole state of Nebraska ever light up?

The Cosmic Ray Energy Spectrum

(1 particle per m2 per sec)

(1 particle per m2 per year)

(1 particle per km2 per year)

Cosmic Ray Flux

Energy (eV)

Building-sizedshowers

City-sizedshowers

The Science Reachof CROP

250 miles

450 miles

CROP can also search for coincidencesover large distances

Does the whole state ever light up at once?

Size of Pierre Auger site, 1600 detectors

Possible Source of Coincident,Widely-Separated Showers

The GZ Effect (Gerasimova-Zatsepin)

Cosmic ray iron nucleus

Optical photon from the sun

Earth’s Surface

Nuclear fragments from photo-disintegration

• Watson and Medina-Tanco revisit this 1960-predicted phenomenon in astro-ph/9808033

• Calculation for 6 × 1017 eV Fe Mn + proton

• Shower separations of 100’s to 1000’s of kilometers possible, dominated by deflections by interplanetary magnetic fields

• Rates not encouraging

Lab Curriculum• Polishing, cleaning scintillator• Gluing PMT and wrapping scintillator• Assembling high-voltage supply• Oscilloscope lesson• Turning on counters, source tests, finding/fixing light leaks• Measure counter efficiency, high voltage plateau

Class Curriculum• History of cosmic rays• Interaction of charged particles with matter• Scintillators and photomultiplier tubes• Cosmic ray energy spectrum• Julian calendar, UTM, galactic coordinates• Global positioning system• Ionizing particle detectors• Calorimeters and showering• Particle zoo and the Standard Model• Tour of high-energy particle accelerators• Random events, probability• Monte Carlo simulations• Lightning protection

Curriculum Topics

Available

What we expectto accomplish

in 4 weeks

Preparingdetectors totake to your

schools,experimentaltechniques

Learningthe physicsof cosmicrays andparticle

detectors

Photomultiplier Tubes

Schematic drawing of a photomultiplier tube

Photons eject electrons via photoelectric effect

Photocathode

Each incidentelectron ejectsabout 4 newelectrons at eachdynode stage

Vacuum inside tube

“Multiplied” signalcomes out here

An applied voltagedifference betweendynodes makeselectrons acceleratefrom stage to stage

Incident light from scintillator

CROP teachers and students gain valuablehands-on experience in bona fide research

Student team at Lincoln’sZoo School with their detectors

Marian High School’s measurementof cosmic ray rate vs. barometric

pressureStudents present results in

conference-style meetings at UNL

Students refurbish and assemble their own

detectors before installing them at school

Participants learn oscilloscope useand build electronics

Increasing barometric pressure

Nu

mb

er

of

cosm

ic r

ays d

ete

cte

d

Endless scraping, polishing, and soldering

Endless wrapping, taping, and observing

Endless cabling and adjusting

Pre-workshop and Post-workshop testing

Positive outcomes-assessment results from professional evaluator

Detectors in a vertical“telescope”

Mini-experiments

• Coincidence rate vs. barometric pressure• Day-night variation of cosmic ray rate• Coincidence rate vs. angle of incidence• Coincidence rate vs. vertical separation

Electronics Configuration for Telescope

Detector set-ups at schools

“Telescope” set-ups forindoor experiments

Barometric Pressure (mmHg)727 747

4-F

old

Coi

ncid

ence

s / 2

hou

rs

3000

4200

• Statistical error bars shown• 1.3% decrease per mmHg

Marian High School’s Measurementof Cosmic Ray Rate vs. Barometric Pressure

Mount Michael High School “The Science Teacher”, November 2001

5 VoltDC power

To PCserial port

Four analogPMT inputs

Discriminatorthreshold

adjust

GPS receiverinput

Eventcounter

Programmablelogic device

Time-to-digitalconverters

CROP data acquisition electronics card

Developed by Univ. Nebraska, Fermilab (Quarknet), Univ. Washington

• 43 Mhz (24 nsec) clock interpolates between 1 pps GPS ticks for trigger time• TDC’s give relative times of 4 inputs with 75 psec resolution

User-friendly, LabView-based control and monitoring GUI

Two detectorsfiring at thesame time

Data streamfor eachevent

Eventcounter

Elapsedrun

time

Students familiarizing themselves with data-acquisition card and PC

Students familiarizing themselves with data-acquisition card and PC

Rooftop mini-experiments for CROP Schools

1

11

3

2

2 2

3 3

With counters spread out in horizontal plane• 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 coincidence rates vs. detector separation• Different configurations (square, triangle as shown)• Optimization of counter geometry on school rooftop• Singles rates vs. rainfall• Simultaneous data taking with other schools

Coincidence Rates vs. Separation ExperimentOctober – December 2002

Installation on Physics Department roof, February 2002

4 detectors on corners of a square

15 meter(45 feet)

separation shown

15 m15 m

15 m

4-fold Coincidence Ratesvs. Separation

4fold/hour vs Tstart

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

4 14 24 34 44 54 64 74 84 94

Day in October

4fo

ld/h

ou

r

4fold/DelT

4fold/DelT, 15 feet

4fold/DelT, 15 feet, 1 lead sheet

4fold/DelT, 15 feet, 2 lead sheets

4fold/DelT, 30 feet

4fold/DelT, 45 feet

Days since October 1, 2002

4-fo

ld c

ount

s/ h

our

Touching

15 ft

15 ft, 1 lead

15 ft, 2 lead

30 ft

45 ft

Rates high enough to sustain student interest

Lincoln High School rooftop

Presently taking data simultaneously at 3 sites

• 21 schools received data-acquisition cards at September 27 meeting at UNL

• All schools start taking data this semester

CROP

Pierre Auger northern hemisphere site in Utah

SCRODSALTA

CHICOS

WALTA ALTA

NALTAThe North American Large-Scale Time-Coincidence

Array

http://csr.phys.ualberta.ca/nalta/• Includes links to individual project Web pages

Colorado• Aspen High School, Aspen, CO

• Basalt High School, Basalt, CO

• Roaring Fork Valley High School, Carbondale, CO

• Lake County High School, Leadville, CO The highest-elevation school in the U.S. -- 10,152 feet ASL Illinois• Wheaton North High School, Wheaton, IL

SALTA: Snowmass Area Large Time-Coincidence Array

Initiated during Snowmass 2001Future of HEP Conference

Replica of Replica of Hess’ ElectroscopeHess’ Electroscope

Portable GeigerPortable GeigerCounters Counters

Wilkes inWilkes inHessianHessianOutfitOutfit

Lift off !

Data transmitted liveto ground via radio

Crowd gathersto watch

Victor Hessflight reenactment

Unicorn Balloon Company, Snowmass, CO

Snowmass Balloon Flight 2001

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

105

110

70008000

900010000

11000

12000

13000

Altitude (feet)

Co

un

ts/m

inu

te

July 7 flight

July 8 flight

Ground level at Snowmass

• Two flights with consistent results

• Hovered at 1000 ft increments in altitude for 5 minutes

• Cosmic ray rates measured with portable Geiger counters

• Same effects observed by Victor Hess

• See FermiNews, July 27, 2001

The Washington-Area Large-ScaleTime-Coincidence Array

http://www.phys.washington.edu/~waltahttp://www.phys.washington.edu/~walta

Seattle area map showing schools

• CROP’s closest relative• Run by University of Washington, Seattle Jeff Wilkes, et al.• WALTA also uses refurbished CASA detectors

Institutions• LA area schools• California Institute of Technology• California State University, Northridge• University of California, Irvine

Funding• Caltech• NSF Nuclear Physics

Los Angeles Area Schools

(Animation by L.A. school teacher)

• 164 detector stations recovered

• 2 detectors per school foreseen

• About 39 schools in process of being outfitted

Conclusions on CROP

* CROP, in its 4th year, will soon reach a major milestone: Simultaneous data-taking at all schools, offline searches for extensive air shower coincidences

* Other emerging efforts will enable the NALTA consortium to search for very long-range correlations

* Curriculum, hardware, software has been developed to facilitate the start-up of new efforts

• Nationwide program which links high energy physicists with teams of local high school physics teachers to engage in active research projects

• Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, project office at Fermilab

• In its 5th year, QuarkNet centers established in 29 states involving over 400 teachers and their students

QuarkNet continues to grow in the U.S.http://quarknet.fnal.gov

• Wide range of ongoing activities, examples:• Hardware: CMS hadron calorimeter optical decoder units, PMT testing and database• Analysis: Using distilled Tevatron data, Z mass peak reconstruction, top quark decay kinematics

• Growing emphasis on local cosmic ray studies with various techniques: scintillators, Geiger counters, proportional tubes

• Ongoing work to disseminate activities developed at a given site to all QuarkNet participants

U.S. QuarkNet sites

Some QuarkNet Activities

CMS phototube test setup (Univ. Iowa)

Counting cosmic ray muons on top of SearsTower in Chicago (Univ. Illinois, Chicago)

Extensive air shower array at University of Washington

CROP, QuarkNet, and many other U.S. Education/Outreach programs are summarized in the booklet

“Particle Physics Education and Outreach 2001”

Available at http://www-ed.fnal.gov/hep/home.html

Education/Outreach Committee of the American Physical Society’sDivision of Particles and Fields (formed 2003)

Members: Liz Simmons (chair), Michael Barnett, Marcela Carena,Judy Jackson, Harrison Prosper, Randy Ruchti, Jim Siegrist, Greg Snow

Activities:• Feed info on EPO efforts to Interactions.org web site

coordinated by all HEP labs worldwide

• Advocate for EPO plenary talks at future DPF meetings to educate wider community and get more people involved

• Coordinate widely dispersed EPO efforts of each HEP experiment to establish communication, avoid duplication of materials and activities development

• Provide guidance and “best practices” to investigators writing the now-required EPO part of their NSF and DoE base funding proposals

• Contribute to planning of U.S. activities in 2005 World Year of Physics

World Year of Physics 2005in the United States

“Einstein in the 21st Century”

• Planned Projects

• Poster Contest • Interactive Website

• PhysicsQuest • Public Lectures

• Physics on the Road • APS Meeting Events

• Distributed Computing Project

Planned Projects: Poster Contest

• Nationwide poster contest aimed at U.S. 5th graders (generally aged 10). There are ~4,000,000 U.S. students.

• Theme: “Einstein in Everyday Life” contest instructions will be accompanied by lessons and activities that fit in with national science and history guidelines for U.S. 5th graders.

• Winning poster nationwide will be made into a promotional poster for WYP2005; distributed to U.S. schools.

Planned Projects: PhysicsQuest

• Fictional physics “mystery” aimed at U.S. middle school students (generally aged 11-13). There are ~12,000,000 such students.

• Students will receive an “evidence kit” they will use to solve the mystery.

• “Clues” will be available online.

• Involves students in the process of using science to solve problems.

Planned Projects: Physics on the Road

• “Branding” existing traveling programs usually run by university/college physics department personnel (approximately 25 programs).

• Some are demonstration based, others are “hands-on” experiments that travel to primary and secondary schools exposing the students to physics.

• Developing one or two 2005-related physics demos to be used by all POTR teams.

Planned Projects: Interactive Websitehttp://www.physics2005.org

• Website will include:

• Searchable database of Nationwide events

• Kits on how to plan your own 2005 event

• Puzzles and activities for teachers and students

• Contest information (Poster contest, PhysicsQuest and others)

• Einstein History in collaboration with AIP’s Center for the History of Physics

Planned Projects: Public Lectures

• We will encourage physics departments across the country to host public lectures focusing on physics.

• Our Topical Group on Gravitation can help us create a Speakers List for physics departments to use.

Planned Projects: APS Meeting Events

• The American Physical Society has ~ 20 national, topical and regional meetings annually.

• We plan to have special exhibits/displays at many of the APS meetings.

• Larger meetings could have special “Physics Expositions” designed especially for the public.

Planned Projects:Distributed Computing Project

• A grass-roots, distributed computing search that would be similar to SETI@home screen-saver, which utilizes CPU time of idle computers to analyze radio antennae data for signs of extra-terrestrial life. In this project, participants would aid in the search for gravitational wave signals in data collected by the LIGO Observatory.

Collaborations

Although the American Physical Society is spearheading the U.S. efforts to celebrate the World Year of Physics, it is collaborating with many other organizations.

• American Association of Physics Teachers

• American Institute of Physics

• Society of Physics Students

• National Science Foundation

• U.S. Department of Energy

• NASA

• U.S. Science Museums

Vinaya K. Sathyasheelappa

U.S. WYP2005 Project Coordinator

physics2005@aps.org

(301) 209-3217