D.J. Jankowski

The SOUDAN 2 detector: The design and construction of the tracking calorimeter modules

SOUDAN 2 is a 960-ton tracking calorimeter which has been constructed to search for nucleon decay and other phenomena. The full detector consists of 224 calorimeter modules each weighing 4.3 tons. The design and construction of the modules are described. The modules consist of finely segmented iron instrumented with 1 m long drift tubes of 15 mm internal diameter. The tubes enable three spatial coordinates and dE/dx to be recorded for charged particles traversing the tubes.

The observation of underground muons from the direction of Cygnus X-3 during the January 1991 radio flare

Abstract Muons recorded in the Soudan 2 underground nucleon decay detector from January 1989 to February 1991 have been examined for any correlation with the radio flares of Cygnus X-3 observed during this period. On two nearby days during the radio flare of January 1991 a total of 32 muons within 2.0° of the Cygnus X-3 direction were observed when 11.4 were expected.

First results from the Soudan 2 proton decay experiment

First results on contained neutrino interactions are presented from the Soudan 2 proton decay experiment. 20 neutrino events have been found in a fiducial exposure of 0.29 kton years.

Simultaneous Air Shower and Deep Muon Observations at Soudan

Recently, a few groups1 have made attempts to simultaneously measure the electromagnetic and deep underground muon components of cosmic ray showers. This is one such experiment, using a small proportional tube surface air shower detector in coincidence with the Soudan 2 nucleon decay detector. It has run since June, 1991, and some 22 000 events which triggered both detectors have been recorded. This body of data may provide insight into the composition of cosmic rays in the “knee” area of the cosmic ray spectrum.