Measurements of the charge ratio and polarization of cosmic-ray muons with the Super-Kamiokande detector

Abstract

We present the results of the charge ratio (R) and polarization (P0μ) measurements using decay electron events collected between September 2008 and June 2022 with the Super-Kamiokande detector. Because of its underground location and long operation, we are able to perform high-precision measurements by accumulating cosmic-ray muons. We measured the muon charge ratio to be R=1.32±0.02(stat+syst) at EμcosθZenith=0.7-0.2+0.3 TeV, where Eμ is the muon energy and θZenith is the zenith angle of incoming cosmic-ray muons. This result is consistent with the Honda flux model while indicating a tension with the πK model of 1.9σ. We also measured the muon polarization at the production location to be P0μ=0.52±0.02 (stat+syst) at the muon momentum of 0.9-0.1+0.6 TeV/c at the surface of the mountain; this also suggests a tension with the Honda flux model of 1.5σ. This is the most precise measurement ever to experimentally determine the cosmic-ray muon polarization near 1 TeV/c. These measurement results are useful to improve atmospheric neutrino simulations. © 2024 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.