Notre Dame QuarkNet Center
Submitted by kcecire
on Monday, May 6, 2013 - 09:22
Welcome to the Notre Dame QuarkNet Center (NDQC). We are located at 929 North Eddy Street in South Bend, Indiana, and are part of the University of Notre Dame, one of the parent institutions of the QuarkNet program. We hold teacher meetings every Monday during the school year, holidays excepted, and we have a very active summer research program for teachers and students.
Description
The Notre Dame QuarkNet Center is the home to QuarkNet efforts at the University of Notre Dame and in Michiana.
The Use of Cosmic Ray Detectors for Imaging Large Objects
When charged particles from outside Earth’s atmosphere reach Earth, the particles collide with the atoms in the atmosphere and separate into subatomic particles, such as muons. Muons can be detected with Cosmic Ray Detectors (CRDs). Muons can be used to detect the presence, shape, or thickness of certain materials in a method similar to X-Ray machines. In this study, muons and CRDs were utilized in an attempt to create an image of a monument composed of materials one may find in an archaeological inquiry. A stone fountain was analyzed.
Particle Physics preparation for Notre Dame QuarkNet students
Hello students!
Whether you are working on QuarkNet summer research or will do an intensive two weeks of particle physics in the International Summer Physics Institute (iSPI), these resources will help you to learn more about the work you will be doing and the excitement of particle physics.
Read and experience:
- The Particle Adventure. This is one of the best-known and most-used sites for learning about particle physics. Pick any one of the pathways (there are five in the English version) and take it as far as you like!
- Cosmic Extremes. This is the PDF of a very useful booklet on cosmic rays.
- The QuarkNet Cosmic Ray e-Lab. Log in as a guest to the Student Home and you will be directed to the Project Map (it looks a little like a metro system map). Choose the light blue dots in the "Get Started" section and follow the resource links. Also try out the orange Cool Science dot!
- The QuarkNet CMS e-Lab. Log in as a guest to the Student Home and you will be directed to the Project Map (it looks a little like a metro system map). Choose the light blue dots in the "Get Started" section and follow the resource links. Also try out the orange Cool Science dot!
Watch the videos:
The Standard Model (Don Lincoln) |
The Higgs Boson (Don Lincoln) |
Statistics Explained (Don Lincoln) |
The LHC Experiments (Don Lincoln) |
Eintein's Clocks (Don Lincoln) |
Large Hadron Rap (Alpine Kat) |
Calculating Pi with Darts (Physics Girl) |
Cosmic Rays - Veronica Bindi |
Gravitational Waves Explained (PhD Comics) |
Find more videos by:
Ask us stuff!
Notre Dame QuarkNet Annual Report 2015
NDQC Digital Visualization Theater Project
Kenneth Andert (LaLumiere School), Ed Fidler (New Buffalo High School), Jeff Marchant (UND QuarkNet Staff), M. Buckleitner (Lakeshore HS), N. Cramer (Trinity School), Ryan Lawlor (Elkhart Memorial HS)
The DVT (Digital Visualization Theater) is an immersion theater located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in the Jordan Hall Science. It features a 50-foot-diameter dome that utilizes a pair of Sony SRX-S110 projectors and ten computers for real-time rendering of 3D objects. This state of the art theater envelops the audience with a 360-degree visual experience. The Notre Dame QuarkNet Center began the DVT project during the summer of 2008 shortly after the completion of the theater on campus. The project has continued every summer since and into the academic year. The first summer one high school teacher was assigned to the project. In 2009, two high school teachers and two high school students worked on it. It is a continuing project and has had, including summer 2015, a total of two high school teachers, 16 high school students and two undergrads contributing to it, in addition to one staff person.
The project has harnessed the DVT’s ability to display custom 3D models. While photographs and models of the various experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are readily available, it can be difficult to envision the proper size and scale of these detectors or the overall size of the LHC itself. This project has provided a new avenue for exploring the size and structure of the LHC and the detectors within it, using the DVT. This was accomplished by using a professional software package called LightWave 3D by Newtek. LightWave is a 3D modeling and rendering software package used by motion picture and television studios for creation of computer graphics and effects. Teachers, students and staff over the years have created models of the LHC ring, detectors and size comparison objects. The project started has a means of displaying these custom models. It has moved beyond that with the creation of a complete show. Because it is a “live” show it can be custom tailored for the audience. The audience can be undergrads, high school teachers, middle/high school students or the general public. Spoken dialogue has been written with an overview of the LHC, its particle detectors and an explanation of what particle physics is and why we do it. New and exciting additions include the ability to display actual data from the LHC and show the structure matter at the atomic and subatomic levels. Events from the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) detector have been imported into the DVT and animated inside the 3D model of it. While the show was designed for Notre Dame’s DVT, where it has been presented numerous times over the years, it could be used in any similar facility around the world. The show has been presented at LIPS (Live Interactive Planetarium Symposium) in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Future plans include continual refinements, showings on campus and sharing our LHC show with other facilities. Contact people for this project are Dan Karmgard (Karmgard.1@nd.edu) and Jeff Marchant (Marchant.1@nd.edu).
NDQC CMS Upgrade
Brian Dolezal (St. Joseph's High School), John Taylor (Elkhart Memorial High School), C. Mohs (St. Joseph's High School), N. Siwietz (LaLumiere School)
When Crime Scene Investigators look at a room void of evidence, they are able to use a nearly invisible UV flashlight to “turn on” the room to reveal a myriad of invisible clues. In a similar way, our device contains exotic scintillating materials that light up, illuminating a quartz capillary tube. They scream out “over here” – a hidden sub atomic particle came this way. These Shashlik (Russian for shish-ka-bob) detectors, full of dense tungsten, LISO tiles, and quartz capillary tubes (containing wave-shifting fluid) are being considered as a viable option for use at CERN in the CMS detector. We predict that the capillary tubes in these devices can be tailored to produce a uniform output signal, despite where they catch an event along their length. Our research suggests that when constructed with a painted TiO2 bulb end, they perform consistently, if not better as long as voids are centrifuged to the bulb end. Further research suggests that even after large dosages of radiation, intensity of light output is reduced but mixing performance is very good or improved. Three test areas with sophisticated set-ups incorporating P/N diodes and CCD imaging were utilized, with data gathered in multiple ways to better understand our device. These devices may prove ideal for situations detecting electrons, positrons, and photons in the ECAL regions while providing information useful for the HCAL regions of the Compact Muon Solenoid detector at CERN leading to future discoveries in high-energy physics.
New CMS Android App: Message from Dan
Dear QuarkNet teachers & mentors,
I've been working on a project that is coming to fruition: displaying CMS Public Data on your phone. I have written an app for Android devices (versions 4 & 5) which can access, display, animate, and detail publicly released events from CMS Run 1. (You might recognize some of these events from the CMS MasterClass, in which you should really participate in this coming spring.)
The app is working but not quite ready for the Google Play Store. This is where you come in. If you have a recent android device I'd appreciate your help in testing the new app. If you're willing, please take a look at the QuickStart guide (available here QuickStart Guide), which has instructions for getting and installing the app. In the same web directory is the full user guide featuring all the details. If you're more code-headed, you can also find the source code there. Kick the tires, take it for a spin, and let me know what you think. If it works (or doesn't) send me a quick e-mail at karmgard.1@nd.edu and let me know what kind of phone you've got and how it went.
Thanks in advance. With your help, we'll get the app tested and into the Play Store for geeks everywhere to enjoy, and then get on with producing a version for the iPhone.
Dan Karmgard
NDQC CMS Data Group
Patrick Mooney (Trinity School), Jill Ziegler (Hamilton West HS), M. Gillen (LaLumiere School), N. Schrock (Bethany Christian)
This summer the Notre Dame QuarkNet Center’s CMS Data Group continued its analysis of CMS data. In particular, we continued our analysis of 500K high Pt isolated muon events begun last summer. We looked for evidence of ttbar systems that decay semileptonicly. We created tri-jet invariant mass plots and investigated the impact of a variety of cuts on signal/background. Among the cuts we tried were high missing Pt in the event and the likelihood that one or more of the jets were b quarks. The number of entries in the tri-jet invariant mass plot was relatively small so even non-aggressive cuts eliminated most of the signal. We will continue our studies next summer.
NDQC Astrophysics Group
NDQC Biocomplexity
NDQC - The Use of Cosmic Ray Detectors and the Effect of Elevation on Total Muon Counts
Cosmic Ray Detectors
Ben Mullins (Marian High School), Jeff Chorny (Lakeshore High School), K. Anderson (Bremen High School), C. Peterson (home school)
When charged particles from outside Earth’s atmosphere reach Earth, the particles collide with the atoms found in Earth’s atmosphere and separate into subatomic particles, such as muons. Despite having an average lifetime of only 2.2 microseconds, muons can reach the surface of Earth. Muons can be detected with certain counters, photomultiplier tubes, and a detector. In this study, cosmic ray detectors were used to observe the effect elevation has on total muon activity. When detectors are placed at low points of natural elevation, high points of natural elevation, and taken on airplane flights, muon activity changes. Less activity was recorded near a local riverbank than on an elevated hilltop. The greatest change in muon activity was observed when detecting rates during an airplane trip. As expected, the results showed a significance increase in muon activity at the highest elevation.