Gadolinium loaded Cherenkov detectors for neutron monitoring in high energy air showers

Monitoring of high energy cosmic ray neutrons is of particular interest for cosmic ray water Cherenkov detectors as intense bundles of delayed neutrons have been found to arrive after the initial passage of a high energy air shower. In this paper we explore the possibility of building large-area high-energy neutron monitors using gadolinium-loaded Water Cherenkov Detectors (WCDs). GEANT4 simulations of photon production in WCDs are used to estimate the maximum detection efficiency for a hypothetical system. Requiring a series of neutron induced gamma ray flashes distributed over an extended period of time (up to 20 μs) was shown to be an effective way to discriminate high energy neutron interactions from other backgrounds. Results suggest that neutron detection efficiencies of 4–15% may be possible using a gadolinium-loaded detection system above 200 MeV. The magnitude of gadolinium loading was also shown to significantly modify the timing response of the simulated detector.