This thesis describes a timing calibration method for the detector array of the ALTO experiment. ALTO is a project currently at the prototype phase that aims to build a gamma-ray astronomical observatory at high-altitude in the Southern hemisphere. ALTO can be assumed as a hybrid system as each detector consists of a Water Cherenkov Detector (WCD) on top of a Scintillator Detector (SD), providing an increased signal to background discrimination compared to other WCD arrays. ALTO is planned to complement the Very-High-Energy (VHE) observations by the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) gamma ray observatory that collects data from the Northern sky. By the time the full array of 1242 detectors is installed to the proposed site, ALTO together with HAWC and the future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will serve as a state-of-the-art detection system for VHE gamma-rays combining the WCD and the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope (IACT) techniques. When a VHE gamma-ray or cosmic-ray enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it initiates an Extensive Air Shower (EAS). These particles are sampled by the detector array and by checking the arrival times of nearby tanks, the method reveals whether a detector suffers from a time-offset. The data analyzed in this thesis derive from CORSIKA (COsmic Ray SImulation for KAscade) and GEANT4 (GEometry ANd Tracking) simulations of cosmic-ray events within the energy range of 1–1:6TeV, which mainly consist of protons. The high flux of this particular type of cosmic-rays, gives us a tool to statistically evaluate the results generated by the proposed timing calibration method. In the framework of this thesis, I have written code in Python programming language in order to develop the timing calibration method. The method identifies detectors that suffer from time-offsets and improves the reconstruction accuracy of the ALTO detector array. Different Python packages were used to execute different tasks: astropy to read filter-present-write large datasets, numpy (Numerical Python) to make datasets comprehensiveto functions, scipy (Scientific Python) to develop our models, sympy (Symbolic Python) to find geometrical correlations and matplotlib (Mathematical Plotting Library) to draw figures and diagrams. The current version of the method achieves sub-nanosecond accuracy. The next stepis to make the timing calibration more intelligent in order to correct itself. This self correction includes an agile adaptation to the data acquired for long periods of time, in order to make different compromises at different time intervals.

La Tomographie par Emission de Positrons (TEP) est une technique d’imagerie médicale utilisée largement dans le traitement du cancer et dans la recherche neurobiologique, afin d’imager l’activité biologique des organes. Il s’agit de détecter deux photons de 511 keV produits par l’annihilation d’un positron dans les tissus, ce qui permet d’en reconstruire la carte 3D. En mesurant avec une très bonne précision la différence de temps de détection des deux photons, il sera possible d’améliorer la qualité d’image (technique du temps de vol). Dans ce manuscrit, nous présentons le développement de deux détecteurs innovants, rapides et efficaces, pour la détection de la lumière Cherenkov produite par la conversion des photons de 511 keV. Le premier, destiné à un scanner clinique (cerveau) et pré-clinique à haute précision spatiale, utilise comme milieu de détection du TriMéthylBismuth. Le second, pouvant être utilisé pour construire un scanner corps entier, met en œuvre un cristal de PbF₂ comme radiateur Cherenkov. Dans les deux configurations, un photomultiplicateur à micro-canaux (MCP-PMT) est utilisé pour détecter les photons Cherenkov. Notre électronique de détection montre une résolution temporelle limitée à 5 ps (RMS). La chaîne de détection est limitée par les performances du MCP-PMT. Après étalonnage, nous avons mesuré une efficacité de 25 % (grande pour un détecteur Cherenkov), et de résolution temporelle de 200 ps (FWHM).Nous exposons les facteurs limitant la résolution temporelle des détecteurs et proposons des développements qui permettront d’en améliorer les performances. / Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a nuclear imaging technique widely used in oncology and neuroscience to observe biological activity in the body. Detection of two gamma quanta with the energy 511 keV emitted by positron annihilation in tissues allows one to reconstruct the tracer activity distribution in the body of the patient. Additional measurement of the difference in time detection between the two photons lets us to improve significantly the quality of the reconstructed image (time-of-flight method).In this manuscript, we present the development of two innovative detectors, fast and efficient, used to detect Cherenkov light produced by electrons from the photo-ionization conversions of 511 keV gamma quanta. The first one, intended for use in a brain PET scanner of a high spatial resolution, uses TriMethylBismuth for the detection medium. The second one, planned to be used to construct a whole-body PET scanner, enforces a PbF₂ crystal as Cherenkov radiator. In both configurations a micro-channel photo-multiplier (MCP-PMT) is used to detect Cherenkov photons. We commissioned an electronic detection chain with a time resolution limited to 5 ps (RMS). Using precise MCP-PMT calibration, we were able to develop simultaneously detectors with high efficiency, up to 25 %, and time resolution as good as 200 ps (FWHM).We highlight the limitations of detectors time resolution and suggest several developments in order to improve performances of Cherenkov light detectors.

ALTO is a project, currently in the research and development phase, with the goal of constructing a Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray observatory in the southern hemisphere. It will detect the particle content reaching the ground from the interactions of either VHE gamma rays or cosmic rays in the atmosphere known as extensive air showers. In this thesis, we use an ALTO prototype built at Linneaus University to estimate the vertical muon intensity in Växjö. The atmospheric muons we detect at ground level come from hadronic showers caused by a cosmic ray entering the atmosphere. Such showers are considered background noise in the context of VHE gamma-ray astronomy, and the presence of muons is an important indicator of the nature of the shower, and thus of the primary particle. The measurement is done by isolating events that produce signals in two small scintillation detectors that are part of the ALTO prototype, and are placed almost directly above each other. This gives us a data set that we assume represents muons travelling along a narrow set of trajectories, and by measuring the rate of such events, we estimate the muon intensity. We estimate the corresponding momentum threshold using two different methods; Monte Carlo simulation and calculation of the mean energy loss. The vertical muon intensity found through this method is about 21% higher than commonly accepted values. We discuss some possible explanations for this discrepancy, and conclude that the most likely explanation is that the isolated data set contains a significant number of “false positives”, i.e., events that do not represent a single muon following the desired trajectory.