Determination of zenith angle dependence of incoherent cosmic ray muon flux using smartphones of the CREDO Project
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Authors
Micha\l Karbowiak
Tadeusz Wibig
David Alvarez Castillo
Dmitriy Beznosko
Alan R Duffy
Piotr Homola
Marcin Kasztelan
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Journal Article, Academic Journal
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Abstract
The Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) was established to detectand study ultra high-energy cosmic ray particles. In addition to making use of traditional methodsfor finding rare and extended cosmic ray events such as professional-grade Extensive Air Shower(EAS) arrays, as well as educational ‘class-room’ detectors, CREDO also makes use of cameras insmartphones as particle detectors. Beyond the primary scientific goal of the CREDO project, to detectCosmic Ray Ensembles, is the equally important educational goal of the project. To use smartphonesfor EAS detection, it is necessary to demonstrate that they are capable of effectively registeringrelativistic charged particles. In this article, we show that the events recorded in the CREDO projectdatabase are indeed tracing incoherent cosmic ray muons. The specific observed distribution ofzenith angle of charged particle direction corresponds to that expected for muons. It is difficult, ifnot impossible, to imagine different mechanisms leading to such a distribution, and we believe itclearly demonstrates the suitability of smartphone-based detectors in supporting the more traditionalcosmic ray detectors.