Leiden University Student Repository

Campenhout, Emanuel van (2023)

Watershed algorithm applied to Cherenkov radiation due to neutrino interactions in KM3NeT

Bachelor thesis | Natuurkunde (BSc)

KM3NeT is an international collaboration currently engaged in the development of a neutrino detector situated in the Mediterranean Sea. By investigating atmospheric neutrinos, its objective is to explore the fundamental characteristics of neutrinos, while also striving to study astro-particle physics by detecting high-energy neutrinos originating from celestial objects. Neutrinos interacting with seawater surrounding the detector create muons that emit Cherenkov radiation that can be detected. The reconstruction software employed aims to determine the energy and direction of these muons. This thesis briefly studies the underlying model, referred to as the PDF, shedding qualitative light on some of its internal mechanisms. The reconstruction software comprises a prefit stage and a fit of the PDF. In the second part of this thesis, the watershed algorithm is shown to be a promising alternative in the determination of the best distinct solutions of the prefit by effectively discerning...Show moreKM3NeT is an international collaboration currently engaged in the development of a neutrino detector situated in the Mediterranean Sea. By investigating atmospheric neutrinos, its objective is to explore the fundamental characteristics of neutrinos, while also striving to study astro-particle physics by detecting high-energy neutrinos originating from celestial objects. Neutrinos interacting with seawater surrounding the detector create muons that emit Cherenkov radiation that can be detected. The reconstruction software employed aims to determine the energy and direction of these muons. This thesis briefly studies the underlying model, referred to as the PDF, shedding qualitative light on some of its internal mechanisms. The reconstruction software comprises a prefit stage and a fit of the PDF. In the second part of this thesis, the watershed algorithm is shown to be a promising alternative in the determination of the best distinct solutions of the prefit by effectively discerning symmetries among other considerations.Show less

KM3NeT

neutrino

muon

Cherenkov

watershed

Author

Campenhout, Emanuel van

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Specialisation

Physics and Astronomy

Supervisors

Jong, M. de
Sjoert van Velzen

ECTS Credits

24

Language

en