Measurement of the muon flux in the bunker of Monte Soratte with the CRC detector

ABSTRACT

The Cosmic Ray Cube is a portable tracking device conceived for outreach activities allowing a direct scientific experience for secondary school students. In the context of the PTOLEMY project, the detector was used to measure the differential muon flux inside the bunker of Monte Soratte, a suitable location at about 50 km north of Rome (Italy). Its simple operation was crucial to finalise the measurements, carried out during the Covid-19 lockdown in a site devoid of scientific equipment. The fine scanning of the differential muon rate highlights the details of the mountain above the bunker providing a map of the thickness of the rock which surrounds the detector. The result shows a muon flux at the Soratte hypogeum of about two orders of magnitude lower than the one observed on the surface. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.