Beam particles. Linear and circular accelerators. Luminosity. Measurement of beam energy and luminosity. Particle-matter interaction. Momentum measurement and tracking of charged particles in gas and silicon detectors. Scintillators. Photomultipliers. Energy measurement. Electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters. Velocity measurement (dE/dx, TOF, Cherenkov detectors). Particle identification. Data acquisition. Data processing. Examples of experimental apparatuses for high energy physics.
Lecture Notes, slides, articles on specific subjects.
Learning Objectives
Educational aims:
Principles of acceleration of charged particles, of interaction between radiation and matter, of the detection of radiation and particles, and of data acquisition.
Learning outcome:
Global view and detailed knowledge of particle accelerators, particle detectors and large detector systems. Design concepts of high energy experiments with respect to the processes and variables to be measured.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of classical physics
(mainly electrodynamics) and
modern physics, with specific reference to special relativity, quantum theory and structure of matter.
Teaching Methods
Class lectures
Further information
Office hours
By appointment.
Type of Assessment
Oral exam.
Presentation of a high energy physics experimental apparatus or of a measurement done using such an apparatus.
General questions about the presentation and about the program of the course.
Course program
ACCELERATORS.
Principles of charged particle acceleration. Beam optics. Linear and circular accelerators. Storage rings. Synchrotron radiation. Luminosity. Secondary beams of mesons and neutrinos. Measurement of the beam energy and luminosity.
INTERACTION BETWEEN RADIATION AND MATTER.
Electromagnetic interactions of charge particles and photons. Multiple scattering. Nuclear and neutron interactions. Neutrino interactions. Electromagnetic and hadronic showers.
PARTICLE AND RADIATION DETECTORS.
Tracking of charged particles. Momentum measurement and track reconstruction. Gas detector for position measurement: MWPC; drift chambers; Time Projection Chamber. Silicon detectors: strip and pixel configurations. Time measurement. Scintillators. Photomultipliers. Energy measurement. Electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters. Velocity measurement. dE/dx, Time-of-flight, proportional Cerenkov counters, RICH. Particle identification.
Data acquisition. Data processing. Trigger.
LARGE DETECTOR SYSTEMS. Examples of high energy particle physics experiments.