Measurement of Space Charge Effects in the MicroBooNE LArTPC Using Cosmic Muons

Blake, A. and Devitt, D. and Nowak, J. and Thorpe, C. (2020) Measurement of Space Charge Effects in the MicroBooNE LArTPC Using Cosmic Muons. Journal of Instrumentation, 15: P12037. ISSN 1748-0221

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Abstract

Large liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs), especially those operating near the surface, are susceptible to space charge effects. In the context of LArTPCs, the space charge effect is the build-up of slow-moving positive ions in the detector primarily due to ionization from cosmic rays, leading to a distortion of the electric field within the detector. This effect leads to a displacement in the reconstructed position of signal ionization electrons in LArTPC detectors ("spatial distortions"), as well as to variations in the amount of electron-ion recombination experienced by ionization throughout the volume of the TPC. We present techniques that can be used to measure and correct for space charge effects in large LArTPCs by making use of cosmic muons, including the use of track pairs to unambiguously pin down spatial distortions in three dimensions. The performance of these calibration techniques are studied using both Monte Carlo simulation and MicroBooNE data, utilizing a UV laser system as a means to estimate the systematic bias associated with the calibration methodology.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Instrumentation
Additional Information:
This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication/published in Journal of Instrumentation. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at doi:10.1088/1748-0221/15/12/P12037
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3100/3105
Subjects:
?? physics.ins-dethep-exinstrumentationmathematical physics ??
ID Code:
148924
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
10 Nov 2020 14:06
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
04 Sep 2024 00:07