ABSTRACT

To find the range of Muon in Pi-Mu event

Sunil Kumar
Sumit Kumar
Sukhpreet Singh

- EVENT
Study using Nuclear Emulsion

The top of earth's atmosphere is constantly bombarded by extremely high energy

particles produced in other parts of the universe by mechanisms that are not yet
fully understood, many with energies of the order of tens of billions of electron
volts and some with much greater energies. These are the so-called "primary
cosmic rays". The composition of these "primary cosmic rays" is somewhat energy
dependent but a useful approximation is that 98% of these particles are protons or
heavier nuclei and 2% are electrons. Of the protons and nuclei, about 87% are
protons, 12% helium nuclei and the balance are still heavier nuclei that are the end
products of stellar nucleosynthesis. The primary cosmic rays collide with the
nuclei of air molecules and produce a shower of particles that include protons,
neutrons, pions (both charged and neutral), kaons, photons, electrons and positrons.
The effects of the radiations may be detected at sea level, but the intensity of the
secondary particles rapidly increases with altitude so It Is desirable to have some
means available whereby these effects may be detected and recorded at high
altitudes.
Two devices are commonly employed to accomplish this. One is the Wilson cloud
chamber; the other is the nuclear emulsion. We shall be concerned here only with
the nuclear emulsion technique.
It has long been known that a charged particle passing through a photographic
emulsion causes the grains along the track to become developable. Thus, it
becomes possible to obtain a record of nuclear phenomena merely by exposing a
nuclear emulsion to high-energy particles.

About Nuclear Emulsion

Introduction
Nuclear research emulsions were first developed in the1940s to meet the needs of
physicists engaged in research on cosmic radiation. Nuclear emulsion is a versatile
instrument to detect the charged particle. It is not only capable of counting charged
particles, but also provides information regarding the mass, energies of particles
and their modes of collisions. It also allows studies of angular distribution of all
out coming charged particles of the individual events in space with higher accuracy
and in 4 geometry, although with rather limited statistics. The nuclear emulsion
has high stopping power. Its stopping power is approximately 1700 times the
stopping power of standard air. After development, the stacks of nuclear emulsion
are kept under specific conditions. Thus photographed events can be preserved for
many years.
Formation of Nuclear Emulsion
The basic components are a gel, usually obtained from animal body tissues, and
silver halides, among which AgBr is the most common choice. The main
differences of nuclear emulsions from products for more common photographic
applications are the quantity and size of AgBr crystals. Such emulsions are mostly
used as tracking devices with very high spatial precision and resolution; large-scale
batches have been produced with crystals smaller than 0.3 m, but it is also
possible to produce emulsions with even smaller crystals (0.1 m and less).
Emulsion films are normally deposed on a transparent plastic support, coating one
or both sides. The emulsion basically consists of the following components
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Silver Halides, mainly bromides with small admixture of iodine

Gelatin and Glycerin
Water
Nuclei of CNO group

The glycerin works as plasticizer for preventing nuclear emulsion stack from
breaking. It may be pointed out that about 71% of interactions occur with heavy
emulsion nuclei (AgBr), approximately 25% due to light emulsion nuclei, i.e.

Carbon, Nitrogen & Oxygen (CNO) and only 4% with hydrogen nuclei. However
the cross-section of reactions with heavy, light and hydrogen nuclei depends on the
mass and energy of projectile. It is well known that the nuclei of nuclear emulsion
having average atomic mass <A>=73, mainly consist of CNO group with <A>=14,
the AgBr group <A>=94 and hydrogen <A>=1.
Formation of the latent image
When a charged particle passes through nuclear emulsion with the AgBr crystals
suspended, it loses its energy by electromagnetic interactions. The energy lost by
the charged particle is transferred to the electrons of the atoms. As result of this,
the later goes to an excited state. If the energy transferred to the electron is greater
than the ionization potential of the atom, the electron is free to move from atom
and the atom is said to be ionized. It may be mentioned that the most important
mode of energy loss of a charged particle is the ionization and it depends on the
charge and velocity of the particle. The characteristics of the track depend on the
nature and velocity of charged particle. Higher the velocity of the charged particle,
rarer will be grain formed by it and vice versa. Sometimes it happens that the
electron receives energy, which is quite enough for further ionization and thus
secondary tracks are observed projecting out of the primary track of the particle.
These secondary tracks are termed as -rays. The number of -rays coming out
also depends upon the charge and velocity of the particle. As the particle traverses,
the direction of its track also fluctuates along its length due to statistical
combination of coulomb-scattering.
When a silver halide crystal absorbs light or ionizing radiation, it has the effect of
liberating mobile electrons and electron deficient bromine atoms. Transfer of an
electron from an adjacent bromine ion, which in turn creates an electron
deficiency, can overcome the electron deficiency of the bromine atom. In this way,
a positive hole can move through the crystal lattice. This electron deficiency may
also be known as a positive hole.
It is important for latent image formation that a significant proportion of electrons
and positive holes are trapped separately, otherwise they could recombine and
regenerate halide ions. The silver halide crystal contains free (interstitial) silver
ions, which can move through the lattice. When an interstitial silver ion encounters

a trapped electron, the charges are neutralized and an atom of metallic silver is
formed. The single atom of silver is unstable but, while it exists, it increases the
efficiency of the site as an electron trap. In this way a stable nucleus of four or
more atoms of silver can be built up. The site is then known as a latent image
centre, and that entire crystal may be reduced to metallic silver on development.
Development
Photographic development is the process by which the latent image contained in an
emulsion is made visible by the reduction of silver ions in the silver halide crystal
to metallic silver.
When developing nuclear emulsions, a developer is usually chosen which reduces
those crystals containing a latent image centre completely and leaves those not
containing a centre unchanged. The development time used for processing material
should be sufficient for those crystals with a latent image centre to be reduced
completely, but not so long that unexposed crystals are developed. In practice, a
certain number of crystals will be developed even though they do not contain a
latent image centre. These grains, when developed, constitute what is known as fog
or background.
Developing agents may be divided into two main groups, depending on the source
of silver ions for reduction. In practice, most developers give a combination of the
two sorts of development.
The first group is known as physical developing agents. In physical development,
silver ions are provided from the solution in the form of a soluble complex. These
are deposited on the latent image centre and are reduced to metallic silver. This
produces spherical particles, the precise shape of which is affected by pH.
Chemical developing agents make up the second group and are more usually
chosen when processing nuclear emulsions. However, the choice between a
physical developer and a chemical developer will largely depend on the grain
structure required in the processed image. In chemical development, silver ions are
provided from the silver halide crystal containing the latent image centre. The
action of a chemical developer produces a mass of filaments bearing little
resemblance to the original crystal.

If silver halide solvents such as sulphite are present in a chemical developer, an

opportunity exists for some physical development to occur. In this case, the
filaments in the processed plate will be shorter and thicker.
Fixation
The purpose of fixation is to remove all the residual silver halide, leaving the
metallic silver to form the image. If the silver halide was left in the emulsion, it
would slowly go brown and degrade the image. The fixing agents most widely
used are sodium or ammonium thiosulphate, which form thiosulphate complexes
with the silver halide. Silver thiosulphate is soluble in water and so may be
removed from the emulsion by washing.
Effects and Corrections
The three main effects that alter the position and slopes of microtracks in nuclear
emulsions are Shrinkage, Linear Distortion & Parabolic Distortions which are
shown in fig.

a) Shrinkage: grains are displaced

vertically as a result of the thickness
reduction of the emulsion layer.
Microtracks slopes are altered by a
constant multiplicative factor.
b) Linear distortion: a stress applied
on the surface, as would be for
example the friction caused by the
drying air flow, causes a constant
viscous shear in the emulsion
thickness. The plane in contact with
the support (bottom) is not displaced;
the plane of the free surface (top) has
maximum displacement. As a result,
microtrack slopes are altered by an
additive constant.
c) Parabolic distortion: if a stress
arises at the support surface (bottom),
and no stress is applied externally,
the stress field has to decrease from
inside outwards. The simplest
approximation is a linear decrease of
the stress, which produces a constant
gradient of viscous shear

a) Shrinkage:
The fixing stage stops the growth of filaments, and residual Ag and Br and
other chemicals are then washed away, leaving only the gel with the
developed grains. The reduction in mass usually produces also a shrinkage
of the emulsion film (normally in the range 20% to 50%), which can be
compensated if needed by the addition of glycerin.
b) Linear Distortions:
After washing and drying, mechanical tensions on the plastic support or at
the surface may produce linear shifts in the position of grains. Such effects
can produce linear distortion, which is due to constant stress field on the
emulsion medium.
c) Parabolic Distortion:
During all the procedures, if a stress arises at the support surface (bottom),
and no stress is applied externally, the stress field has to decrease from
inside outwards. The simplest approximation is a linear decrease of the
stress, which produces a constant gradient of viscous shear and parabolic
distortion altering the originally straight path of an ionizing particle.
Because of shrinkage and distortion, microtracks detected by human operators or
by automatic systems need to be corrected.
Scanning
The process of searching the position of the events caused by the collision of the
projectile and emulsion nuclei in nuclear emulsion is known as scanning of events.
There are two types of scanning:
i.
ii.

Area scanning
Line scanning

Area scanning is used in the present experiment. In case of area scanning, the full
depth of the pellicle is examined by rolling the fine focus of the control Z of the
microscope. While observing the layers of nuclear emulsion one continuously goes
on looking for the disintegrations present in the field of view and before shifting

the field more than one traverse must be made along the Z-motion. The field of
view is shifted along the X-motion of the microscope only when the whole X-strip
of the pellicle is computed. On computing the X-strip one should switch on to the
next X-strip by giving the displacement in Y-direction equal to or less than one
field of view. Similarly, the whole area of the pellicle is scanned out.
Methods for measurement of track parameters
The commonly used observable properties of a track in emulsions are
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Range
Ionization
Scattering
Multiplicity

Measurement of these quantities can provide information about the mass, charge
and energy of the particle forming track. In this particular experiment, we are
concerned with the range of in nuclear emulsion. So we will discuss only the
method for range measurement.
Measurement of Range

The range of a charged particle is the average distance traversed by a particle in

unprocessed emulsion before its kinetic energy reduces to zero. While computing
actual value of the range we must take the shrinkage and other distortions into
account which the emulsion undergoes during its processing. These factors affect
the range of the particle.
As the track of the particle is usually not straight due to the various scattering, the
projected track length is measured in the plane of emulsion and perpendicular to it.
The former is called the projected range I while the latter one is termed as the
dip, Z. thus for measuring the range, the whole track is divided into n small
straight segments. The value of I and Z for each segment are measured. The
measured Z is then corrected for emulsion shrinkage. It may be pointed out that
in the case of unmounted pellicles both lateral and vertical shrinkage may take
place.

- Event
These secondary particles then undergo electromagnetic and nuclear interactions to
produce yet additional particles in a cascade process. Figure 1 indicates the general
idea. Of particular interest is the fate of the charged pions produced in the cascade.
Some of these will interact via the strong force with air molecule nuclei but others
will spontaneously decay (indicated by the arrow) via the weak force into a muon
plus a neutrino or antineutrino:
+ + +
+
The muon does not interact with matter via the strong force but only through the
weak and electromagnetic forces. It travels a relatively long instance while losing
its kinetic energy and decays by the weak force into an electron plus a neutrino and
antineutrino. We will detect the decays of some of the muons produced in the
cascade. (Our detection efficiency for the neutrinos and antineutrinos is utterly
negligible.)
+ + + +
+ +
The event was first discovered and analyzed by C. F. Powell of Bristol in 1947, for
which accomplishment he was awarded the Nobel Prize. In analyzing the event he
discovered the positive pi-meson which has a mass of approximately 272 electron
masses.
Notice the track of the pi-meson has increasing grain density and increasing
scattering as one proceeds along the track toward the first decay process. This is an
indication of the energy loss of the particle as it proceeds through the emulsion. In
the first decay process the pi-meson decays into a mu-meson and a neutrino. There
is no explicit experimental evidence for the existence of the neutrino here,
however, it must be postulated in order to conserve momentum. Note the sudden
change in grain density at the point of decay; evidently a new charged particle, the
mu-meson, has been formed in the decay process since the grain density suddenly

Fig: Carried by History: Cesar Lattes, Nuclear Emulsions, and the Discovery of the Pi-meson,
Physics in Perspective, ISSN 1422-6944, Volume 16 Number 1

becomes less. The mu-meson has a mass of approximately 210 electron masses.
Notice the increasing grain density and increasing scattering of the track of the mumeson; this is again evidence of the energy loss. At the end of the track of the meson another decay process occurs with the resulting production of a positron.
Notice that the track of the positron is much lighter than the tracks of either of the
two mesons which is an indication of the much smaller mass of the positron.

Characteristic Properties of Pions and Muons

a) Pions
Rest mass m = 139, 56995 MeV/c2
Charge: q = 1.602 x 1019 C
Mean life: = 2.6033 0.0005) x 108s
Spin: s = 0
Rest mass m0 = (134.9764 0.0006) MeV/c2
Mean life: 0 = (8.4 0.6) x 10-17 s
Spin: s = 0
b) Muons
Rest mass: m = 105.658389 MeV/c2
Charge: q = 1.602 x 1019 C
Spin: s =
Mean life: = (2.19703 0.00004) x 106 s
The decay processes of muons are a three-body decay, which means that the
spectra of decay electrons are continuous in a similar way as the decay spectra of
electrons in nuclear beta decay. The maximum transferable energy to the electron
Ee,max is approximately half the rest mass of the muon corresponding to 53MeV.
The electron spectrum of muon decay at rest is shown in Fig.

Fig:- The continuum of energy of electron in decay

(Courtesy: Measurement of the Lifetime of Muons and Pions, Advanced Laboratory
Experiments, Universitt Siegen, Lecture Notes by Prof. Dr. I. Fleck)

It has been verified experimentally that the energy of the mu-meson in this event is
characteristic, i.e. 4.1 MeV. When one finds an event like this in an emulsion It Is
very convenient because It makes possible the calibration of the emulsion as to
range energy relationships. The average range of the mu-meson produced in this
reaction is 590 microns in the Ilford G-5 emulsion. The range energy relationship
will vary somewhat for individual plates of the same type, however, 80 that the
occurrence of this event on a plate being scanned makes possible an internal rangeenergy calibration.
This event also gives a cross check on the spin of the pi-meson. From beta-ray
theory, the spin of the neutrino is one-half and the spin of the mu-meson is also
one-half. Then the spin of the pi-meson must be either 0 or 1. Independent
experimental evidence indicates that the spin of the pi-meson is actually 0.

Procedure
1. Calibrate the software (Scopeimage 9.0) to measure the range of muon
correctly (i.e. 1:100m).
2. Locate the pi mu event in the given emulsion plate on the computer screen
with the help of the microscope.
3. Use 10x lens for the better visibility of the event.
4. Keep the event in the center of the field view of microscope.
5. Now measure the range of muon.
6. Find the projection of track in x-y plane (Lp). Divide the whole range into
straight line segments and sum them.
7. Now find the depth of the track (d). Focus the microscope with the help of
the z-adjustment knob, 1st at the start of the straight segment and then at the
end. Find out z.
8. Now calculate the total length of the track.
9. Now see the energy and momentum values from the calibration graph
corresponding to the range of muon, hence find mass of neutrino.

Experimental Data :
Record :
Shrinkage factor of the emulsion plate = 2.5
Least count of the Z-scale = 2.34 m
Mass of = 139.567 MeV
Mass of = 105.559 Mev

Lp = Actual length of the muon track

Lp

Lp = Projection of muon track in xy-plane

d = Depth of the muon track in emulsion

Lp

Observation Table
Z1

Z2

d=Z

d*2.34=d'
(x10-6m)

d''=d'*2.5
(x10-6m)

(d'')2

Lp
(x10-6m)

Lp'2

Lp
(x10-6m)

72

70

-2

-4.68

-11.70

1.37E-10

26

6.76E-10

28.51

70

72

4.68

11.70

1.37E-10

124

1.54E-08

124.55

72

74

4.68

11.70

1.37E-10

103

1.06E-08

103.66

74

74

0.00

62

3.84E-09

62.00

74

72

-2

-4.68

-11.70

1.37E-10

86

7.40E-09

86.79

72

74

4.68

11.70

1.37E-10

122

1.49E-08

122.56

74

70

-4

-9.36

-23.40

5.48E-10

96

9.22E-09

98.81

70

70

0.00

11

1.21E-10

11.00

70

70

0.00

25

6.25E-10

25.00

Calibration Graph

Calculations :
Range of meson = 663m
For this range energy obtained from the Callibration graph, T = 6.5 MeV
From the energy conservation law
E = E + E

E = M - ( T + M )
E = 139.567 (6.5 + 105.659)
E = 27.408 Mev
For this range energy obtained from the Callibration graph, P = 66 Mev/c
P = -P

Mass of Neutrino
= 2 2
= (27.408)2 + (65)2
= 3473.8
= 58.3 MeV

References
1. Automatic microscopes for nuclear emulsion readout in highenergy and particle physics, Current Microscopy Contributions to Advances in
Science and Technology (A. Mndez-Vilas, Ed.), C. Bozza, T. Nakano, 2012
2. Measurement of the Lifetime of Muons and Pions, Advanced Laboratory
Experiments, Universitt Siegen, lecture notes by Prof. Dr. I. Fleck, 2009

3. Nuclei and Particles

Second Edition,1977
Emlio Segre
W. A. Benjamin, Inc.

4. Cosmic Ray Events Observed in Nuclear Emulsions Exposed at

100,000 Feet, Zack Osborne, Philip Fitzpatrick & R. A. Howarb, Academy Of
Science, 1955