PrimusCode

A Simulation Pipeline for Cosmic Ray Paleo-Detectors

This repository contains the Python-based analysis framework for the PRImuS (Paleo-astroparticles Reconstructed with the Interactions of MUons in Stone) project. The code is designed to perform phenomenological studies on paleo-detectors, specifically by simulating the expected rate of nuclear recoil tracks induced by cosmic ray muons in natural minerals. The primary scientific application of this code is detailed in our paper, available on arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.04908

The Analysis Workflow

The analysis pipeline is structured around a single Jupyter Notebook (Primus_analysis.ipynb) that interacts with a core utility module (mineral_utils.py). All parameters for a given analysis run are defined in a central configuration dictionary at the beginning of the notebook. This includes:

• The mineral to be analyzed (e.g., Halite, Olivine).
• The geological history of the sample (age, exposure time, deposition rate).
• The astrophysical scenarios for the cosmic ray flux (e.g., standard flux, enhanced flux from a nearby supernova).

To run this analysis pipeline, you will need a Python environment with the following packages installed. You can install them using pip:

pip install numpy scipy matplotlib mendeleev

To run the analysis, clone the Repository:

git clone https://github.com/cgalelli/PrimusCode.git
cd PrimusCode

Citation

If you use this work or the associated data in your research, please cite our paper:

@article{Caccianiga:2024,
    author        = {Caccianiga, Lorenzo and Apollonio, Lorenzo and Mariani, Federico Maria and Magnani, Paolo and Galelli, Claudio and Veutro, Alessandro},
    title         = {{Sedimentary rocks from Mediterranean drought in the Messinian age as a probe of the past cosmic ray flux}},
    journal       = {Phys. Rev. D},
    volume        = {110},
    issue         = {12},
    pages         = {L121301},
    year          = {2024},
    doi           = {10.1103/PhysRevD.110.L121301}
}

Or the associated proceedings from ICRC 2025

@article{Galelli:2025,
    author        = {Galelli, Claudio and Caccianiga, Lorenzo and Apollonio, Lorenzo and Magnani, Paolo},
    title         = {{Probing Ancient Cosmic Ray Flux with Paleo-Detectors and the Launch of the PRImuS Project}},
    journal       = {Proceedings of the 39th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC 2025},
    year          = {2025},
}

Contact

For questions, please contact: Claudio Galelli – [email protected]