A new pulse shape description for $\alpha$ particle pulses in a highly-sensitive sub-Kelvin bolometer

The next generation of cosmology space missions will be sensitive to parasitic signals arising from cosmic rays. Using a composite bolometer, we have investigated pulses produced by α particles in order to understand the movement of energy produced by ionising radiation. Using a series of measurements at 100 mK, we have compared the typical fitting algorithm (a mathematical model) with a second method of pulse interpretation by convolving the detector’s thermal response function with a starting profile of thermalised athermal phonons, taking into account the effects of heat propagation. Using this new fitting method, we have eliminated the need for a non-physical quadratic nonlinearity factor produced using more common methods, and we find a pulse form in good agreement with known aspects of thermal physics. This work is carried forward in the effort to produce a physical model for energy deposition in this detector. The modelling is motivated by the reproduction of statistical features in the experimental dataset, and the new interpretation of α pulse shapes represents an improvement in the current understanding of the energy propagation mechanisms in this detector.