Construction of a Cosmic Ray Telescope for the hpDIRC of the Electron-Ion Collider

Nuclear physics pertains to the understanding of the structure and dynamics of the nuclei of atoms, accounting for almost all of the visible matter in the universe. The future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) will play a crucial role in discovering elusive properties of the strong nuclear force. A pivotal aspect of the EIC is exceptional particle identification (PID). Identifying charged hadrons in their final state can be done with special types of Cherenkov Detectors. One type of detector utilizes the Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov light (DIRC) technique. Able to provide precise PID separation up to relatively high momentum, DIRC radiators, made of synthetic fused silica, produce Cherenkov radiation when hit by high-energy electromagnetically charged particles. The Cherenkov photons make their way to an electronic readout on one end of the radiator via total internal reflection where their hit location and propagation time can be analyzed for PID. We are in the process of constructing a cosmic ray telescope (CRT) to utilize high energy muons from cosmic rays to test DIRC radiators and study related focusing optics, photon detectors, and readout electronics. DIRC radiators will be used for the high-performance DIRC (hpDIRC) to be used in the ePIC detector in the future EIC, and the CRT will act as a vertical slice of the hpDIRC detector. The CRT construction and implementation of all of its components will be complete before 2025 when cosmic ray data can be taken.