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A Micro-Channel Plate (MCP) is a widely used component for counting particles in space. Using the background counts of MCPs on Mars Express and Venus Express orbiters operated over 17 years and 8 years, respectively, we investigate the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) characteristics in the inner solar system. The MCP background counts at Mars and Venus on a solar cycle time scale exhibit clear anti-correlation to the sunspot number. We conclude that the measured MCP background contain the GCR information. The GCR characteristics measured using the MCP background at Mars show features that are consistent with the ground-based measurement in solar cycle 24. The time lag between the sunspot number and the MCP background at Mars is found ~9 months. The shorter-term background data recorded along the orbits (with a time scale of several hours) also show evident depletion of the background counts due to the absorption of the GCR particles by the planets. Thanks to the visible planetary size change along an orbit, the GCR contribution to the MCP background can be separated from the internal contribution due to the \b{eta}-decay. Our statistical analysis of the GCR absorption signatures at Mars implies that the effective absorption size of Mars for the GCR particles have a >100 km larger radius than the solid Martian body., Comment: Submitted to ApJ (2022-03-19)

Point of colsest Approche algorithm (PoCA) based on the formalism of muon radiogra- phy using Multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS) as information source is previously used to obtain the reconstruction image of high Z material. The low accuracy of reconstruction image is caused by two factors: the flux of natural muon and the assumption of single scattering in PoCA algo- rithm. In this paper, the maximum likelihood method based on the characteristics of Gaussian-like distribution of muon tracks by MCS is used to predict the optimal track of outgoing muon. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and the localization ROC (LROC) are used as two analysis methods to evaluate the quality of reconstruction image. From the results of simulation, the perfect discrimination of longitudinal materials could be well achieved by maximum likelihood algorithm and the discriminate ratio that is predicted by the maximum likelihood method is about 15% higher than that of predicted by PoCA algorithm method. It is seen that the maximum likelihood method can greatly improve the accuracy of reconstruction image., Comment: 12 pages,11 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1608.01160

Muon tomography is developing as a promising system to detect high-Z (atomic number) material for ensuring homeland security. In the present work, three kinds of spatial locations of materials which are made of aluminum, iron, lead and uranium are simulated with GEANT4 codes, which are horizontal, diagonal and vertical objects, respectively. Two statistical algorithms are used with MATLAB software to reconstruct the image of detected objects, which are the Point of Closet Approach (PoCA) and Maximum Likelihood Scattering-Expectation Maximization iterative algorithm (MLS-EM), respectively. Two analysis methods are used to evaluate the quality of reconstruction image, which are the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) and the localization ROC (LROC) curves, respectively. The reconstructed results show that, compared with PoCA algorithm, MLS-EM can achieve a better image quality in both edge preserving and noise reduction. And according to the analysis of ROC (LROC) curves, it shows that MLS-EM algorithm can discriminate and exclude the presence and location of high-Z object with a high efficiency, which is more flexible with an different EM algorithm employed than prior work. Furthermore the MLS-EM iterative algorithm will be modified and ran in parallel executive way for improving the reconstruction speed.

A new empirical, analytical model of cold plasma (< 10 keV) in the Jovian inner magnetosphere is constructed. Plasmas in this energy range impact surface charging. A new feature of this model is predicting each plasma parameter for a specified probability (percentile). The new model was produced as follows. We start from a reference model for each plasma parameter, which was scaled to fit the data of Galileo plasma spectrometer. The scaled model was then represented as a function of radial distance, magnetic local time, and magnetic latitude, presumably describing the mean states. Then, the deviation of the observed values from the model were attribute to the variability in the environment, which was accounted for by the percentile at a given location.The input parameters for this model are the spacecraft position and the percentile. The model is inteded to be used for the JUICE mission analysis., Comment: Proceedings of 14th Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference, ESA/ESTEC, Noordwijk, NL, 04-08 APRIL 2016

Looking at the Mars-solar wind interaction on a larger spatial scale than the near Mars region, the planet can be seen as an ion source interacting with the solar wind, in many ways like a comet, but with a smaller ion source region. Here we study the interaction between Mars and the solar wind using a hybrid model (particle ions and fluid electrons). We find that the solar wind is disturbed by Mars out to 100 Mars radii downstream of the planet, and beyond. On this large scale it is clear that the escaping ions can be classified into two different populations. A polar plume of ions picked-up by the solar wind, and a more fluid outflow of ions behind the planet. The outflow increases linear with the production up to levels of observed outflow rates, then the escape levels off for higher production rates.

A high-efficiency fast neutron detector prototype based on a triple Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector, which coupled with a novel multi-layered High-Density PolyEthylene (HDPE) as a neutron-to-proton converter for improving the neutron detection efficiency, is introduced and tested with the Am-Be neutron source in Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) at Lanzhou in present work. Firstly, the developed triple GEM detector is tested by measuring its effective gain and energy resolution with $^{55}$Fe X-ray source to ensure that it has a good performance. The effective gain and obtained energy resolution is 5.0$\times$10$^{4}$ and around of 19.2\%, respectively. And secondly, the novel multi-layered HDPE converter is coupled with the cathode of the triple GEM detector make it a high-effective fast neutron detector. And its effective neutron response is four times higher than that of the traditional single-layered conversion technique when the converter layer number is 38., Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures

We demonstrate a photon-counting optical time-domain reflectometry with 42.19 dB dynamic range using an ultra-low noise up-conversion single photon detector. By employing the long wave pump technique and a volume Bragg grating, we reduce the noise of our up-conversion single photon detector, and achieve a noise equivalent power of -139.7 dBm/sqrt(Hz). We perform the OTDR experiments using a fiber of length 216.95 km, and show that our system can identify defects along the entire fiber length with a distance resolution better than 10 cm in a measurement time of 13 minutes., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

In this paper, the performances of a type of the domestic THGEM (THick Gaseous Electron Multiplier) working in the Ar/CO2 mixtures are reported in details. This kind of single THGEM can provide the gain range from 100 to 1000, which is very suitable for the application in the neutron detection. In order to study its basic characteristics as the references for the development of THGEM based neutron detector, the counting rate plateau, the energy resolution and the gain of the THGEM have been measured in the different Ar/CO2 mixtures with the change of the electrical fields. For the Ar/CO2(90%/10%) gas mixture, a wide counting rate plateau is got from 720V to 770V with the plateau slope of 2.4% / 100 V and the excellent energy resolution about 22% is obtained at the 5.9keV full energy peak of the 55Fe X-ray source., Comment: 7 pages,6 figures

We demonstrate upconversion single-photon detection for the 1550-nm band using a PPLN waveguide, long-wavelength pump, and narrowband filtering using a volume Bragg grating. We achieve total-system detection efficiency of around 30% with noise at the dark-count level of a silicon APD. Based on the new detector, a single-pixel up-conversion infrared spectrometer with a noise equivalent power of -142 dBm was demonstrated, which was better than liquid nitrogen cooled InGaAs arrary., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures