RUI: Testing and Characterization of Cryogenic Magnetic Shielding for Photomultiplier Tubes at Liquid Argon Temperatures, and Preparation for Photomultiplier Tube Deployment in the

Saint Mary'S University Of Minnesota, Winona MN

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides equipment funds and summer support for two undergraduate students from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota for ten weeks in each of the summers of 2010-2012, to be engaged (a) in testing a new approach to magnetic shielding for large (eight-inch) diameter photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) in the MicroBooNE (Fermilab E974) detector, a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) that will run in the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) line at Fermilab; and (b) in parameterizing shielded tube performance characteristics (timing, gain, angular response, etc.) prior to installation and in situ in the detector. The broader impact includes providing an extraordinary and well-focused physics research experience for undergraduate students to work as part of an ongoing experiment at a major national laboratory as well as enabling Professor Nienaber to work with the undergraduate students to prepare neutrino physics outreach talks that the students can deliver to members of the Saint Mary's University and wider Winona, MN communities. It is anticipated that this project would have direct impact on the strength of the undergraduate research component of Saint Mary's Physics Department's major programs, and would indirectly improve participating students' ability to contribute to department offerings in modern physics, quantum mechanics, and upper-division laboratory courses.