1. Tanja Horn, CUA PHYS 575/675 Modern Detectors Course Intro Tanja Horn hornt@cua.edu Phys 575/675, Spring 2012

2. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Course Goals My goals ;-): −Provide an overview of experimental techniques used in nuclear, particle, astro, nano, biophysics −Develop understanding of detectors and experimental techniques −Convey basic statistical techniques and error analysis −Provide the tools and basics to start research: hardware, statistics, analysis, etc. Main focus are the experiments You will learn as much as you put into this course!

3. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Experiments You will complete at least two experiments in this course −Selecting one of them to be not your own research gives you a unique opportunity to learn about what’s going on in other fields! −There are eight parts to each experiment – most of them are very easy ;-) o Experiment discussion o Oral proposal o Performing the experiment o Mid-experiment progress-report o Experiment demonstration o Experiment tour o Rough draft and defense o Written paper Following these steps will also allow you to organize your work and manage your time efficiently These are the typical steps for a real research proposal!

4. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 (1) Experiment Discussion This is a 20 minute discussion of the experiment you have chosen −This will help you to identify the appropriate measurement goal The better you are prepared the more you will get out of the discussion −It is also an opportunity to ask questions and/or advice on how to get started −Reading the references and/or attending the appropriate lectures will help familiarize you with the options It is mandatory, but not graded

5. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 (2) Oral Proposal Supported by your lab notebook you will present a short discussion of the experiment you plan to do, e.g., −What the physics behind the experiment is You should already have begun to familiarize yourself with the setup of your experiment so that we can discuss in as much detail as possible −How and with what equipment you will perform the experiment −What the statistical design of the experiment is Starting an experiment can be the most difficult part of the course, so don’t be afraid to ask questions and for help!

6. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 (3) Performing the experiment Taking data is probably the fastest part of the experiments, and most of your time may be spent −Familiarizing yourself with the equipment To receive credit for doing the experiment, you must demonstrate and explain the working experiment to the instructor −Setting up your apparatus −Testing and calibrating equipment

7. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 (3) Performing the experiment Taking data is probably the fastest part of the experiments, and most of your time may be spent −Familiarizing yourself with the equipment To receive credit for doing the experiment, you must demonstrate and explain the working experiment to the instructor −Setting up your apparatus −Testing and calibrating equipment “Please CODA work…!” [First time data acquisition system setup…]

8. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 (4) Mid-experiment progress report The nature of the report depends on the experiment, but will, at least, consist of a review of your notebook −Progress reports will be scheduled on the calendar These are meant to help you!

9. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 (5) Experiment Demonstration You will demonstrate a working experiment to the instructor at a mutually agreed upon time −Showing how various components of the instrumentation work and how data are collected The demonstration can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour depending on your preparation The demonstration will consist of −Justifying the specific choice of instrumentation −Explaining the data and analysis

10. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 (6) Experiment Tour Near the end of each experiment you will give a qualitative explanation of your experiment to your classmates This exercise will give you an opportunity to explain what you are doing to others to benefit from your newfound knowledge! You should prepare a talk of 10-15 minutes If you can show live/real signals from your experiment

11. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 (7) Rough Draft and defense The rough draft is the chance for you to get feedback on what your final paper should look like. This step should help you spend you time more effectively −You should have figures, captions, and tables ready for this draft −An outline of your paper could be helpful The rough draft is not graded, but essential if your final paper is going to meet your expectations The defense is just the process of supporting your draft with your notebook as support for, e.g., calculations, figures, uncertainties

12. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 (8) Written Paper The final paper should include −A summary of the relevant theoretical background (few pages at most) Emphasis is on quality and validity of the work, not on getting the right results −Description of how the experiment was performed −Data and analysis −In-depth discussion of errors −Results −Conclusions Typed in manuscript style of an article for a journal of the American Institute of Physics Contained appropriately footnoted references

13. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Grades We need to give grades, but you should not worry about them. −Lectures and attendance on scheduled lab days (10%) Grades will be based on: −Experiment documentation (10%) −Experiments (70%) −Seminar (10%)

14. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Lectures (10%) Attendance for the first hour of the class scheduled time and for the last three hours of the lab session is mandatory. −Using equipment −Performing experiments −Statistical and error analysis −Writing papers Lectures will cover practical aspects of the work in the laboratory, for instance, −Preparing presentations This is a regular scheduled time where we have the opportunity to discuss your progress on the experiments!

15. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Experiment documentation (10%) You are required to keep a bound page-numbered notebook in which all your work on your experiments is documented in ink −A summary of your reading and study on the experimental background −Experiment design −Preliminary calculations and error studies, e.g., what will be the most significant error? −Description and characteristics of the instruments used and their calibration Keep your notebook as a research journal in chronological order with each entry dated. Include: −Analysis of the procedure and first data taking to check feasibility Learning to keep a research journal is an important skill as a scientist and essential to doing good experiments! −Detailed recording of final data with enough detail of gains, equipment, etc.

16. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Experiment documentation (10%) The purpose of doing the experiment should be to obtain the best possible result subject to the constraints of time and equipment Example: it makes little sense to devote a great deal of time and effort to measure a value to 1 part in 10 4 if you know the calibration is no better than 1%!

17. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Experiments (70%) 1 st experiment (30%) 2 nd experiment (40%) −Proposal (5%) −In-lab work and lab notebook (10%) −Paper (15%) −Proposal (5%) −In-lab work and lab notebook (10%) −Paper (25%)

18. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Seminar You will give this 10 minute talk at the end of the semester −Subject can be either your 1 st or 2 nd experiment Level and format of the talk should be similar to contributed papers at an APS meeting This is an opportunity for you to get experience in giving scientific presentations! Attendance at and giving a talk in these seminars is required to pass the course

19. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Course Goals and Feedback Feedback and suggestions are welcome! −Don’t wait until the end of the semester. This would be a waste of everyone’s time −Your input will help shape this class −Suggestions on topics you are interested in and would like to see covered are very welcome. Leaving feedback −I prefer you come and see me, or email me with feedback

20. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Textbooks There is no single good textbook for this course. This is research! −Don’t wait until the end of the semester. This would be a waste of everyone’s time −Your input will help shape this class −Suggestions on topics you are interested in and would like to see covered are very welcome. As a researcher I recommend that you own at least one experimental methods and one statistics book −Bevington, “Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences” −Melissinos, “Experiments in Modern Physics” or −Leo, “Techniques for Nuclear and Particle Physics Experiments”

21. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Course Schedule See our class website: http://faculty.cua.edu/hornt/Phys575_675 The first three weeks Intro today Introductions to different experimental techniques

22. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 List of experiments NP-1 Cosmic Rays NP-2 Lifetime of the Cosmic Ray Muon Check out lectures next week for availability NP-3 Characterization of Photo-Sensors NP-4 Optical properties of aerogel NS-1 Characterization of Electrical Transport Properties NS-2 Fabrication of nanowires/thin films NS-3 Characterization of nanowires/thin films DAQ Development of Data Acquisition Techniques BP-1 Single Molecule Properties Let the fun begin!!

23. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Comments & Questions Email me (Tanja Horn) with any questions of concerns: hornt@cua.edu

24. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Two short excercises….

25. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Course Goals What are your fields of interest? Nuclear physics? Astro/cosmology? Nanoscience Condensed matter Biophysics Astro-/particle physics?

26. Tanja Horn, CUA Phys 575/675, Spring 2012 Course Goals What do you hope to get out of the course? What are your expectations for PHY 575/675? Can be general or specific What would you like to learn Please take 2 minutes to write down some personal goals on a piece of paper