Measurement of the cosmic muon flux at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We report the first measurement of the underground cosmic muon flux at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory. The measurement uses eight EJ200 plastic scintillator panels, equipped with Hamamatsu R13089 PMT pairs at the ends, which are the primary components of the muon veto system for the upcoming SABRE South experiment. This study uses approximately 236 days of data collected between 2024 and 2025, with the muon veto system arranged in a telescopic configuration. SUPL, located 1025 metres below ground at the Stawell Gold Mine in Victoria, Australia, has a flat overburden of approximately 2.8 km of water equivalent, which significantly reduces the muon flux. The overburden is well characterised through data collected by the mining company, allowing tight constraints on systematic uncertainties. The measured muon flux is f=(6.33±0.04stat±0.35sys)×10−8[s−1×cm−2]. This measurement is in excellent agreement with simulations, with a relative uncertainty an order of magnitude smaller than the modelling uncertainty.
Source: Astroparticle Physics
Authors: G. Fu, M. Mews, F. Scutti, P. Urquijo, E. Barberio, V. Bashu, L.J. Bignell, I. Bolognino, A. Cools, F. Dastgiri, A.R. Duffy, L. Einfalt, M. Froehlich, T. Fruth, M. Gerathy, M. Hancock, R. James, S. Kapoor, S. Krishnan, G.J. Lane, K.T. Leaver, D. Marcantonio, P. McGee, J. McKenzie, L. McKie, M.A. McLean, P.C. McNamara, L.J. Milligan, K.J. Rule, Z. Slavkovská, O. Stanley, A.E. Stuchbery, B. Suerfu, G.N. Taylor, E. van der Velden, A.G. Williams, Y. Xing, Y.Y. Zhong
Language: English
Topic: Neutrino Physics Research
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,920
Awards: G1428580602, Construction of SABRE, Australia's first full-scale dark matter detector, Detector system for the First Australian Experiment on Dark Matter, Full scale detector system for dark matter, G5062110378, Australia’s first direct-detection dark matter search, at Stawell Gold Mine, Measuring critical background in the Australian search for dark matter, Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory: Dark matter detector development, Construction of the SABRE South full-scale dark matter detector, ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics
OpenAlex ID: W7147060221