CAN TRACK-ETCH DETECTOR CR-39 RECORD LOW-VELOCITY GUT MAGNETIC MONOPOLES

A set of new data on the response of the CR-39 detector to low-energy heavy ions, collected with a recently developed technique based on ato mic force microscopy, was used to evaluate the effectiveness of nuclea r stopping in producing etchable tracks relative to electronic stoppin g. The results for two types of CR-39 are found to be significantly di fferent from those obtained previously with other methods. I discuss t he implications of the use of CR-39 for detecting particles with low i onization rates such as supermassive magnetic monopoles in cosmic rays as cosmological relies.