TPC R&D in Hamburg

What Are We Doing Here?

The next big project in particle physics after the LHC is supposed to be the International Linear Collider (ILC) (see Figure 1). This machine is a linear electron positron collider which will reach energies up to 1 TeV and will run a scientific programme which is complementary to the one of the LHC. Currently, this project is in its planning phase and much development work is being done all over the world.
Besides the work on the accelerator, this work includes research and development for three different detector concepts, which are in their planning status. The ILD concept, one of the three proposed concepts, resulted from an amalgamation of the LDC and the GLD concepts. The FLC group at DESY is involved in the R&D work for the International Large Detector (ILD).

: Figure 1: A schematic layout of the International Linear Collider. This diagram reflects the recommendations of the Reference Design Report, a report published in February 2007 that provides the first detailed technical snapshot of the machine. (Credit ILC Global Design Effort)

The ILD concept includes a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) as the main particle tracker. The TPC allows a three-dimensional reconstruction of trajectories of charged particles in a high track density environment.
Our subgroup (FLC-TPC) is involved in various topics of the R&D being done for the ILD-TPC. This includes testing and studies of gas amplification structures with Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM), the construction of prototypes for the TPC field cage, the development of reconstruction and analysis software as well as the construction and testing of the read-out electronics. A general introduction in the principles of a TPC and GEM amplification can be found on the basics page. The various fields of our work are presented in detail on the projects page.

: Figure 2: A schematic view of the International Large Detector concept (the TPC is the yellow cylinder inside the blue electromagnetic calorimeter).