The MuLan Detector Calibration System

The MuLan experiment has been designed to make a precision measurement of the muon lifetime to one part per million. The experiment uses 340 scintillation detectors to detect the positron produced in the muon's decay. Members of the James Madison University Physics department have been responsible for the design and implementation of a calibration system for the MuLan detector. The calibration system that was developed utilizes Light Emitting Diodes and Fiber Optics to simulate the detection of positrons in the scintillators. This system was designed as a real-time diagnostic to calibrate and test the entire detector array both locally and remotely. The completed system was integrated into the detector July 2004. Test performed on the installed system have shown that while some adjustment will be required, the overall design of the system works and the system is capable of producing results beneficial to the experiment.