AN EXPERIMENTAL SEARCH FOR A TIME-MODULATED MUON FLUX FROM THE DIRECTION OF CYGNUS X-3 (ASTROPHYSICS, BINARY X-RAY SOURCES)

Two underground experiments have recently reported detection of an anomalously large muon flux from the direction of the binary X-ray source Cygnus X-3, with the 4.8-hour period characteristic of this source. A muon flux of the claimed magnitude, combined with constraints from surface observations, is inconsistent with the production of these muons by photons from Cygnus X-3 in normal air showers. This flux would require either unexpected photon interactions at very high energy (>5 TeV) or a new type of neutral particle in the flux from Cygnus X-3.;This thesis documents measurements with the HPW (Harvard-Purdue-Wisconsin) large underground water Cerenkov detector which do not confirm the claimed muon flux. We place an upper limit on the flux of time-modulated muons from the direction of Cygnus X-3 of 5 x 10('-11) muons-cm('-2)-sec('-1) at a vertical depth of 1450 MWE (meters of water equivalent), with 90% confidence. This upper limit may be compared with a flux of 7 x 10('-11) muons-cm('-2)-sec('-1) at a vertical depth of 1800 MWE which was claimed by another experiment. The HPW measurements are consistent with no anomalous muon flux from Cygnus X-3.