Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP) at University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) QuarkNet Center
Submitted by kcecire
on Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 04:37
The Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP) is an organized research unit within the University of California system. SCIPP's scientific and technical staff are and have been involved in several cutting edge research projects for more than 25 years. The primary focus is experimental and theoretical particle physics and particle astrophysics, including the development of technologies needed to advance that research. SCIPP is also pursuing the application of those technologies to other scientific fields such as neuroscience and biomedicine. The Institute is recognized as a leader in the development of custom readout electronics and silicon micro-strip sensors for state-of-the-art particle detection systems.
Description
Students, teachers, and physicists collaborating in QuarkNet.
UCSC Abstract 2014 - The Solar Wind's Effect on Muon Flux
D. Rathmann-Bloch
This experiment sought to evaluate the impact of the solar wind on the amount of muons coming in by correlating the rate of muon flux detected in a Quarknet 6000-series Scintillator detector with a) the natural day-night cycle an b) the dynamic solar wind data from NASA's SOHO satellite.
Using two different experimental setups (each running for 64 hours), the experimenter observed no statistically significant correlation between the day-night cycle and the rate of muon flux. He did, however, observe a seemingly statistically significant positive correlation between the muon flux and the real-time solar wind data; nevertheless, that correlation was neither linear nor completely supported by the data. On the setup with the detectors stacked atop one another and pointing directly up at the sky, a stronger visual correlation was observed (71% of data points within one standard deviation; 94% within two). When the Pearson Equation was used to find a correlation, it gave a value of about 0.44 (2 significant figures), which shows a mild positive correlation. On the setup with the detectors separated by a box and pointed toward the ecliptic, the visual correlation was not well shown (65% within one standard deviation; 88% within two). The Pearson value on the second data run showed a very, very weak negative correlation of -0.12.
Thus, this experiment showed no visible correlation between the day/night cycle and the muon flux. Using all four detectors stacked directly atop one another, it showed a mild positive correlation between the solar wind density and the measured muon flux. Using all four detectors, pointed toward the ecliptic, with a box in between them, the experiment showed no statistically significant correlation.
2014 Annual Report - SCIPP/UC Santa Cruz
2014 QuarkNet Activities at SCIPP/UC Santa Cruz
(A QuarkNet Center since inception)
The 2014 program focused on our flagship activity, the QuarkNet Summer High School Student Internship Program. The Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz continues a tradition of strong support for the QuarkNet program, providing administrative support (Vicki Johnson and Tanmayi Sai) and additional funding to enable the activities.
QuarkNet High School Internship
The High School Internship, July 7 – August 1, brought an outstanding group of six students from schools located in the Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley area to work full time on the QuarkNet cosmic ray muon detectors. Research teacher Stuart Briber, who has been with the UCSC QuarkNet center for many years, led the students again in their four-week program. Faculty member and SCIPP Associate Director Jason Nielsen served as faculty mentor. UCSC physics graduate student Brendan Wells also volunteered large amounts of his time to help mentor the students.
The summer interns developed three experiments using the CRMD’s. The first experiment evaluated the impact of the solar wind on the muon flux at the earth’s surface. This data analysis required correlating the CMRD flux with data from NASA’s SOHO satellite. The second experiment used the high-precision CRMD clock to measure the muon velocities in cosmic rays. The students performing this experiment learned a great deal about the CRMD timing system and output. The third experiment investigated the effect of lead shielding on the measured muon flux. All of the interns produced and presented oral final reports on the design and results of their experiments. The final presentations were attended by SCIPP faculty and staff as well as parents.
An important feature of our summer program is the strong involvement of SCIPP faculty and researchers. Students learned about a wide range of particle physics topics in a small-group seminar format. The following UCSC/SCIPP faculty and staff worked with students in the small-group discussion sessions: David Smith (terrestrial gamma-ray Flashes), Jason Nielsen (Higgs boson discovery at the LHC), Ryan Reece (cosmic rays and special relativity), David Williams (ground-based gamma-ray astrophysics), Bill Atwood (gamma rays in astrophysics), Joel Primack (galactic simulations), Stefano Profumo (dark matter), Tesla Jeltema (history of the cosmos), and Sasha Sher (investigation of neural circuits with multielectrode recordings). All of the scientists spent considerable time developing presentations that engaged the students.
As usual, the students and the program also benefited from other activities at UCSC. They participated in a laboratory safety-training course and a tour of the Cosmology 3D visualization lab.
In addition to the standard QuarkNet assessments, we ask the students to use our own evaluation form, which we have been using since 2011. We used last year’s responses and experiences to make adjustments to this year’s program, which was again very successful. Because of positive experiences from past years, word of mouth of the program is spreading very effectively in area schools: our applicant pool this year was again very strong, with good representation from historically underrepresented groups. All of the students were fully engaged, and they developed creative uses for the CRMD’s, solved problems as they arose, assessed experimental uncertainties, and completed their experiments and reports. Their presentations were carefully prepared and well executed. The students developed skills including how to think on their feet, critically assess their own results, and answer open-ended questions. Most of this year’s interns declared that they were very interested in applying to universities to continue studies in physics or astrophysics.
Welcome to UCSC QuarkNet
Welcome to the Santa Cruz QuarkNet Center group. To start, here are three things you can do right now:
Create/edit your site profile (please do ASAP!)
1. In the top menu, roll over "My stuff"
2. Choose "My profile"
3. Under your group name, choose the "About" button
4. Find and choose "Edit my profile"
5. In the "Account" page, you can change your password and upload an avatar image
6. In the "Personal information" page, you can add whether you are a QN teacher, your contact info, etc.
Add a post like this one
1. In the top menu, roll over "My stuff"
2. Choose "My groups"
3. Choose "Iowa QuarkNet Center"
4. At the top of the right sidebar, choose "Document" or “Post” from the drop-down list; choose "Create"
5. Start typing
6. Edit
7. Choose the "Save" button at the bottom left when it is time.
Comment on this post
1. Choose the "Comment" button at the bottom of this post
2. Type away.