Outer Detector of Hyper-Kamiokande

Abstract

Hyper-Kamiokande (HK) is the world's largest water Cherenkov ring-imaging detector, planning to start data taking in 2028. The Outer Detector (OD) surrounds the Inner Detector and plays a critical role in rejecting background events entering from outside, particularly cosmic-ray muons. We report on the selection of $8\mathrm{cm}$ diameter photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) for the OD, comparing Hamamatsu R14374 and NNVT N2031 candidates, and present the evaluation of cosmic-ray muon background reduction performance using a full detector simulation. Hamamatsu PMTs were adopted for their superior in-water detection efficiency in deep-UV and stability. The cosmic-ray muon reduction inefficiency reaches $O(10^{-6})$ with OD-based cuts alone, and $O(10^{-9})$ is expected when combined with fiducial volume cuts, which is sufficiently negligible for nucleon decay and atmospheric neutrino analyses.

4 pages, contribution to the 2026 Electroweak session of the 60th Rencontres de Moriond