Cosmic ray physics with the ALEPH detector

ALEPH is one of the four detectors at the Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP) at a depth of about 320 m.w.e. Its hadron calorimeter and scintillator arrays installed at distances up to about 1 km away from ALEPH are used to measure cosmic muon induced time coincidences over large distances. The aim of this experiment (CosmoALEPH) is (I) to study the muon component above 70 GeV of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) and (2) to test the feasibility of searching for time correlations over even larger distances (up to 8 km) between the four LEP detectors. Layout and first results of CosmoALEPH are presented demonstrating the potential for cosmic ray physics in the LEP tunnel. The multiplicity distribution of muons in cosmic events recorded in ALEPH's tracking detector is presented. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.