Attenuation study for Tibet Water Cherenkov Muon Detector Array-A

Abstract: This work aims at online calibrating the signal attenuation of the long cable used in Tibet Water Cherenkov Muon detector array-A (Tibet MD-A) under the 37 000 m2 Tibet air shower array. Based on the waterproof connection of the PMT (R3600_06) with the signal cable, and the characters of the high voltage divider, terminal reflection method is explored and used for measuring the signal attenuation with a practical way to eliminate the contribution of the pulse baseline (pedestal). Comparison measurement between it and QDC (Charge-to-Digital Conversion) data taking method are carried out by using open-ended cables, confirming that terminal reflection method is a fast and convenient method, and suitable to online calibrate the signal attenuation for Tibet MD-A. At 26\degree C, the measured attenuation coefficient with the 250-m cable, permanently connected to the PMT, is ~13.9%. Also, the cable frequency response is measured by using the sinusoidal signals, which could be used to study the time dispersion of the real signal produced with Tibet MD-A detector via Fourier analysis.