Monitoring the tagging efficiency of the low-energy muon beamline through background analysis: Insights into the long-term performance of ultrathin carbon foils

The efficient tagging of individual muons, along with the stability of the involved ultrathin carbon foil, is critical for ensuring fast, reliable, and reproducible low-energy muon spin rotation measurements. At the Paul Scherrer Institute’s low-energy muon beamline, we developed a method to monitor...

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Main Authors: Gianluca Janka, Herman Ishchenko, Zaher Salman, Andreas Suter, Thomas Prokscha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2025-08-01
Series:Physical Review Accelerators and Beams
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/21tp-bccj
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author Gianluca Janka
Herman Ishchenko
Zaher Salman
Andreas Suter
Thomas Prokscha
author_facet Gianluca Janka
Herman Ishchenko
Zaher Salman
Andreas Suter
Thomas Prokscha
author_sort Gianluca Janka
collection DOAJ
description The efficient tagging of individual muons, along with the stability of the involved ultrathin carbon foil, is critical for ensuring fast, reliable, and reproducible low-energy muon spin rotation measurements. At the Paul Scherrer Institute’s low-energy muon beamline, we developed a method to monitor the tagging efficiency of the beamline using routinely collected muon decay histograms. This method leverages background comparison before and after the arrival time of the muons at the sample to extract the tagging efficiency, eliminating the need for additional detectors or measurements. By analyzing data collected between 2018 and 2024, we confirm the method’s reliability and validate its results using independent reference measurements. Furthermore, we establish a correlation between the tagging efficiency and foil thickness by investigating the impact of contamination and outgassing on the carbon foil, as well as the restoration effects of laser cleaning. The findings underscore the importance of monitoring the carbon foil’s condition to maintain consistent beamline performance and reproducibility. This method offers a practical approach for detector efficiency monitoring, applicable to other beamlines employing similar setups.
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series Physical Review Accelerators and Beams
spelling doaj-art-2a536cd08de64a1f8ba002ebe3336f382025-08-22T16:40:07ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Accelerators and Beams2469-98882025-08-0128808280210.1103/21tp-bccjMonitoring the tagging efficiency of the low-energy muon beamline through background analysis: Insights into the long-term performance of ultrathin carbon foilsGianluca JankaHerman IshchenkoZaher SalmanAndreas SuterThomas ProkschaThe efficient tagging of individual muons, along with the stability of the involved ultrathin carbon foil, is critical for ensuring fast, reliable, and reproducible low-energy muon spin rotation measurements. At the Paul Scherrer Institute’s low-energy muon beamline, we developed a method to monitor the tagging efficiency of the beamline using routinely collected muon decay histograms. This method leverages background comparison before and after the arrival time of the muons at the sample to extract the tagging efficiency, eliminating the need for additional detectors or measurements. By analyzing data collected between 2018 and 2024, we confirm the method’s reliability and validate its results using independent reference measurements. Furthermore, we establish a correlation between the tagging efficiency and foil thickness by investigating the impact of contamination and outgassing on the carbon foil, as well as the restoration effects of laser cleaning. The findings underscore the importance of monitoring the carbon foil’s condition to maintain consistent beamline performance and reproducibility. This method offers a practical approach for detector efficiency monitoring, applicable to other beamlines employing similar setups.http://doi.org/10.1103/21tp-bccj
spellingShingle Gianluca Janka
Herman Ishchenko
Zaher Salman
Andreas Suter
Thomas Prokscha
Monitoring the tagging efficiency of the low-energy muon beamline through background analysis: Insights into the long-term performance of ultrathin carbon foils
Physical Review Accelerators and Beams
title Monitoring the tagging efficiency of the low-energy muon beamline through background analysis: Insights into the long-term performance of ultrathin carbon foils
title_full Monitoring the tagging efficiency of the low-energy muon beamline through background analysis: Insights into the long-term performance of ultrathin carbon foils
title_fullStr Monitoring the tagging efficiency of the low-energy muon beamline through background analysis: Insights into the long-term performance of ultrathin carbon foils
title_full_unstemmed Monitoring the tagging efficiency of the low-energy muon beamline through background analysis: Insights into the long-term performance of ultrathin carbon foils
title_short Monitoring the tagging efficiency of the low-energy muon beamline through background analysis: Insights into the long-term performance of ultrathin carbon foils
title_sort monitoring the tagging efficiency of the low energy muon beamline through background analysis insights into the long term performance of ultrathin carbon foils
url http://doi.org/10.1103/21tp-bccj
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