Water Cherenkov detectors with fiber enhanced PMT for cosmic ray observation

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sun, H., Huang, Z., Wang, B., Liu, D., Ji, S., Feng, C.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866929731286335488
author Sun, H.
Huang, Z.
Wang, B.
Liu, D.
Ji, S.
Feng, C.
author_facet Sun, H.
Huang, Z.
Wang, B.
Liu, D.
Ji, S.
Feng, C.
contents Water Cherenkov detectors (WCDs) have been widely used in cosmic ray observations. This paper presents, for the first time, a cost-effective WCD design integrating a small photomultiplier tube (PMT) with wavelength-shifting fiber (WLS fiber) bundles. A WCD prototype was constructed in our laboratory, utilizing a fiber-PMT photosensor composed of a small PMT optically coupled with a WLS fiber bundle. This work details the structure of the fiber-PMT and the WCD. Measurements show the photosensor's time shift is 6.71 ns. Using cosmic ray muons, the WCD prototype demonstrated a light yield up to 30 photoelectrons with 2.3 ns time resolution under optimal conditions. Furthermore, tests under different trigger configurations indicate good performance uniformity. These findings validate the feasibility of the proposed design. A comparative analysis between a WCD using a standalone PMT and one equipped with the fiber-PMT shows that the fiber-PMT achieves nearly a 200\% improvement in light yield, albeit with a slight reduction in time performance.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_18027
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Water Cherenkov detectors with fiber enhanced PMT for cosmic ray observation
Sun, H.
Huang, Z.
Wang, B.
Liu, D.
Ji, S.
Feng, C.
Instrumentation and Detectors
Water Cherenkov detectors (WCDs) have been widely used in cosmic ray observations. This paper presents, for the first time, a cost-effective WCD design integrating a small photomultiplier tube (PMT) with wavelength-shifting fiber (WLS fiber) bundles. A WCD prototype was constructed in our laboratory, utilizing a fiber-PMT photosensor composed of a small PMT optically coupled with a WLS fiber bundle. This work details the structure of the fiber-PMT and the WCD. Measurements show the photosensor's time shift is 6.71 ns. Using cosmic ray muons, the WCD prototype demonstrated a light yield up to 30 photoelectrons with 2.3 ns time resolution under optimal conditions. Furthermore, tests under different trigger configurations indicate good performance uniformity. These findings validate the feasibility of the proposed design. A comparative analysis between a WCD using a standalone PMT and one equipped with the fiber-PMT shows that the fiber-PMT achieves nearly a 200\% improvement in light yield, albeit with a slight reduction in time performance.
title Water Cherenkov detectors with fiber enhanced PMT for cosmic ray observation
topic Instrumentation and Detectors
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.18027