We have built and tested a transition radiation detector of about 76 X 80 cm(2) active surface to discriminate positrons from protons in an experiment performed on a balloon flight to search for primordial antimatter. The TRD is made of ten modules each consisting of a carbon fiber radiator followed by a multiwire proportional chamber. In order to achieve a proton-electron rejection factor of the order of 10(-3) with a strict limitation on power consumption to about 40 mW per chamber channel, as required by experimental constraints, we have developed a low power consumption ''cluster counting'' electronics. Different analysis procedures of calibration data are shown. In addition, comparisons of the performances of this detector are also made with a previous similar prototype equipped with standard fast electronics and similar detectors from other authors.
A TRANSITION RADIATION DETECTOR FOR POSITRON IDENTIFICATION IN A BALLOON-BORNE PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS EXPERIMENT
BELLOTTI R;SPINELLI, Paolo;FUSCO, Piergiorgio;
1995-01-01
Abstract
We have built and tested a transition radiation detector of about 76 X 80 cm(2) active surface to discriminate positrons from protons in an experiment performed on a balloon flight to search for primordial antimatter. The TRD is made of ten modules each consisting of a carbon fiber radiator followed by a multiwire proportional chamber. In order to achieve a proton-electron rejection factor of the order of 10(-3) with a strict limitation on power consumption to about 40 mW per chamber channel, as required by experimental constraints, we have developed a low power consumption ''cluster counting'' electronics. Different analysis procedures of calibration data are shown. In addition, comparisons of the performances of this detector are also made with a previous similar prototype equipped with standard fast electronics and similar detectors from other authors.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
