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Dietrich Muller

Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute, and the College, University of Chicago

Ph.D., Bonn, 1964
 
Contact Information
Location: ERC 471
Email: mullerkicp.uchicago.edu

 
Research
Muller heads the TRACER (Transition Radiation Array for Cosmic Energetic Radiation) project, designed for balloon-borne measurements of heavy cosmic-ray nuclei. TRACER is currently the world's largest instrument for cosmic-ray observations above the atmosphere. It flew successfully for 14 days on a 5,000-mile orbit around the South Pole in Antarctica in 2003, collecting more than 50 million heavy cosmic rays at an altitude of 125,000 feet, and in 2006 is preparing for another long-duration flight along the Polar circle in the Northern Hemisphere. These experiments, which were begun in the 1980s with a detector onboard the space shuttle Challenger, and which are funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, provide the most detailed current information on the cosmic-ray composition at extreme energies. Muller also was the leader of the HEAT (High Energy Anti-matter Telescope) collaboration for the detection of anti-matter particles in the cosmic rays, and he is a collaborator in the CREST (Cosmic Ray Electron Synchrotron Telescope) program to search for cosmic-ray electrons at extremely high energies.

 
KICP Publications
2019 | 2017 | 2012 | 2009 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002


Latest Journal Publications
  1. "Progress towards a measurement of the UHE cosmic ray electron flux using the CREST Instrument", 39th COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 14-22 July 2012, in Mysore, India. Abstract E1.17-27-12, p.1309 (Jul 2012)
  2. "A Survey of Unidentified EGRET Sources at Very High Energies", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 624, Issue 2, pp. 638-655 (May 2005)
  3. "A Search for TeV Gamma-Ray Emission from High-peaked Flat-Spectrum Radio Quasars Using the Whipple Air Cerenkov Telescope", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 613, Issue 2, pp. 710-715 (Oct 2004)
  4. "TeV Gamma-Ray Observations of the Galactic Center", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 608, Issue 2, pp. L97-L100 (Jun 2004)
  5. "Constraints on the Very High Energy Emission from BL Lacertae Objects", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 603, Issue 1, pp. 51-61 (Mar 2004)
  6. "Search for TeV Emissions from Pulsars in Binary Systems", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 583, Issue 2, pp. 853-860 (Feb 2003)
  7. "The composition of cosmic rays at the knee", Astroparticle Physics, Volume 18, Issue 2, p. 129-150 (Oct 2002)

Latest Conference Proceedings
  1. "Production of Silica Aerogel Radiator Tiles for the HELIX RICH Detector", 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2019), held July 24th-August 1st, 2019 in Madison, WI, U.S.A. Online at https://pos.sissa.it/cgi-bin/reader/conf.cgi?confid=358, id.139 (Jul 2019)
  2. "Calibration of the Aerogel Tiles for the HELIX RICH", 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2019), held July 24th-August 1st, 2019 in Madison, WI, U.S.A. Online at https://pos.sissa.it/cgi-bin/reader/conf.cgi?confid=358, id.133 (Jul 2019)
  3. "Cosmic-ray Isotope Measurements with HELIX", 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2019), held July 24th-August 1st, 2019 in Madison, WI, U.S.A. Online at https://pos.sissa.it/cgi-bin/reader/conf.cgi?confid=358, id.121 (Jul 2019)
  4. "Cosmic-ray isotope measurements with HELIX", 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference. 10-20 July, 2017. Bexco, Busan, Korea, Proceedings of Science, Vol. 301. Online at https://pos.sissa.it/cgi-bin/reader/conf.cgi?confid=301, id.226 (Jan 2017)
  5. "Crest: A Balloon-borne Instrument to Measure Cosmic-ray Electrons above TeV Energies", American Physical Society, 2009 APS April Meeting, May 2-5, 2009, abstract #Q8.006 (May 2009)
  6. "Future Cosmic-ray Observations On Balloons - Challenges And Requirements", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #213, #475.16; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.438; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.438 (Jan 2009)
  7. "Measuring TeV Cosmic-Ray Electrons with CREST", American Astronomical Society, HEAD meeting #8, #23.04 (Aug 2004)
  8. "Energy Spectra and Charge Ratios of Atmospheric Muons", American Physical Society, Ohio Section Spring 2004, April 16-17, 2004, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, MEETING ID: OSS04, abstract #B9.001 (Apr 2004)