GUT monopole detection with scintillator
1988
Searches for the monopoles predicted by Grand Unified Theories (GUTs)
have required new approaches, since these monopoles should be both slow
and highly penetrating. The ability of scintillator to respond to particles of
velocity < 10^(-3) c has been demonstrated, indicating that scintillator detectors
should be useful in GUT monopole searches. A small monopole detector prototype at the Earth's surface was operated
in an effort to understand the problems and possibilities of monopole
detection. The design philosophy, techniques, and the lessons learned from
the prototype detector could then be applied to much larger monopole detectors.
The prototype was not able to set new limits for the GUT monopole flux
in cosmic rays, but in a more general analysis it was found that new limits
could be set on the flux of lightly ionizing particles of mass ~ 10^(10) GeV. When GUT monopole detectors are scaled up to the size needed to challenge
astrophysical limits, it becomes more likely that a flux could be found.
This motivates a more careful examination of the scintillator counters, since
their signal should be clear and unambiguous for a monopole candidate. The
performance of the liquid scintillator counters for the MACRO (Monopole
And Cosmic Ray Observatory) experiment was given considerable scrutiny,
both to try to understand the observed behavior of these counters, and also
to improve them for monopole detection. The results of these tests indicate that MACRO should be able either to
establish a monopole flux or to limit it to a small fraction of the 'missing
mass' of the universe.
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