Speaker
Description
DEAP-3600 is an underground dark matter detector located in Sudbury, ON. Cosmic muons are subatomic particles created in the upper atmosphere via cosmic ray interactions with air molecules. These particles can then penetrate more than 2 km (6000 m.w.e.) through solid rock to the position of the detector and be seen. An annual modulation is expected in the measurement of weekly average muon flux over the 3-year dataset. This would correlate to atmospheric temperature variations occurring seasonally, which impact muon production. Various studies have been done at other underground detectors to quantify the correlation between muon flux and atmospheric temperature, though all have been at significantly shallower depths. The results from this analysis will be the first measurement of this relationship below a depth of about 3500 m.w.e., and additionally this study is useful for understanding cosmogenic backgrounds in the ongoing dark matter search.
