DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: The ALICE Transition Radiation Detector: Construction, operation, and performance

Abstract

The Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) was designed and built to enhance the capabilities of the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). While aimed at providing electron identification and triggering, the TRD also contributes significantly to the track reconstruction and calibration in the central barrel of ALICE. In this paper the design, construction, operation, and performance of this detector are discussed. A pion rejection factor of up to 410 is achieved at a momentum of 1 GeV/ in p–Pb collisions and the resolution at high transverse momentum improves by about 40% when including the TRD information in track reconstruction. The triggering capability is demonstrated both for jet, light nuclei, and electron selection.

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; « less
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
Contributing Org.:
Alice Collaboration
OSTI Identifier:
1436174
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1480609
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231; AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 881; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0168-9002
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; 43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS; Transition radiation detector; Multi-wire proportional drift chamber; Fibre/foam sandwich radiator; Xenon-based gas mixture; Tracking; Ionisation energy loss; dE/dx; TR; Electron-pion identification; Neural network; Trigger

Citation Formats

Acharya, S, Adam, J, Adamova, D, Adler, C, Adolfsson, J, Aggarwal, MM, Aglieri Rinella, G, Agnello, M, Agrawal, N, Ahammed, Z, Ahmad, N, Ahn, SU, Aiola, S, Akindinov, A, Al-Turany, M, Alam, SN, Antonczyk, D, Arend, A, Alba, JLB, Albuquerque, DSD, Aleksandrov, D, Alessandro, B, Alfaro Molina, R, Alici, A, Alkin, A, Alme, J, Alt, T, Altenkamper, L, Altsybeev, I, Alves Garcia Prado, C, Andrei, C, Andreou, D, Andrews, HA, Andronic, A, Anguelov, V, Anson, C, Antičić, T, Antinori, F, Antonioli, P, Anwar, R, Aphecetche, L, Appelshauser, H, Arcelli, S, Arnaldi, R, Arnold, OW, Arsene, IC, Arslandok, M, Audurier, B, Augustinus, A, Averbeck, R, Azmi, MD, Badala, A, Baek, YW, Bagnasco, S, Bailhache, R, Bala, R, Baldisseri, A, Ball, M, Baral, RC, Barbano, AM, Barbera, R, Barile, F, Barioglio, L, Barnafoldi, GG, Barnby, LS, Barret, V, Bartalini, P, Barth, K, Bartos, D, Bartsch, E, Basile, M, Bastid, N, Basu, S, Bathen, B, Batigne, G, Batyunya, B, Batzing, PC, Baumann, C, Bearden, IG, Beck, H, Bedda, C, Behera, NK, Belikov, I, Bellini, F, Bello Martinez, H, Bellwied, R, Beltran, LGE, Belyaev, V, Bencedi, G, Beole, S, Berceanu, I, Bercuci, A, Berdnikov, Y, and Berenyi, D. The ALICE Transition Radiation Detector: Construction, operation, and performance. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2017.09.028.
Acharya, S, Adam, J, Adamova, D, Adler, C, Adolfsson, J, Aggarwal, MM, Aglieri Rinella, G, Agnello, M, Agrawal, N, Ahammed, Z, Ahmad, N, Ahn, SU, Aiola, S, Akindinov, A, Al-Turany, M, Alam, SN, Antonczyk, D, Arend, A, Alba, JLB, Albuquerque, DSD, Aleksandrov, D, Alessandro, B, Alfaro Molina, R, Alici, A, Alkin, A, Alme, J, Alt, T, Altenkamper, L, Altsybeev, I, Alves Garcia Prado, C, Andrei, C, Andreou, D, Andrews, HA, Andronic, A, Anguelov, V, Anson, C, Antičić, T, Antinori, F, Antonioli, P, Anwar, R, Aphecetche, L, Appelshauser, H, Arcelli, S, Arnaldi, R, Arnold, OW, Arsene, IC, Arslandok, M, Audurier, B, Augustinus, A, Averbeck, R, Azmi, MD, Badala, A, Baek, YW, Bagnasco, S, Bailhache, R, Bala, R, Baldisseri, A, Ball, M, Baral, RC, Barbano, AM, Barbera, R, Barile, F, Barioglio, L, Barnafoldi, GG, Barnby, LS, Barret, V, Bartalini, P, Barth, K, Bartos, D, Bartsch, E, Basile, M, Bastid, N, Basu, S, Bathen, B, Batigne, G, Batyunya, B, Batzing, PC, Baumann, C, Bearden, IG, Beck, H, Bedda, C, Behera, NK, Belikov, I, Bellini, F, Bello Martinez, H, Bellwied, R, Beltran, LGE, Belyaev, V, Bencedi, G, Beole, S, Berceanu, I, Bercuci, A, Berdnikov, Y, & Berenyi, D. The ALICE Transition Radiation Detector: Construction, operation, and performance. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.09.028
Acharya, S, Adam, J, Adamova, D, Adler, C, Adolfsson, J, Aggarwal, MM, Aglieri Rinella, G, Agnello, M, Agrawal, N, Ahammed, Z, Ahmad, N, Ahn, SU, Aiola, S, Akindinov, A, Al-Turany, M, Alam, SN, Antonczyk, D, Arend, A, Alba, JLB, Albuquerque, DSD, Aleksandrov, D, Alessandro, B, Alfaro Molina, R, Alici, A, Alkin, A, Alme, J, Alt, T, Altenkamper, L, Altsybeev, I, Alves Garcia Prado, C, Andrei, C, Andreou, D, Andrews, HA, Andronic, A, Anguelov, V, Anson, C, Antičić, T, Antinori, F, Antonioli, P, Anwar, R, Aphecetche, L, Appelshauser, H, Arcelli, S, Arnaldi, R, Arnold, OW, Arsene, IC, Arslandok, M, Audurier, B, Augustinus, A, Averbeck, R, Azmi, MD, Badala, A, Baek, YW, Bagnasco, S, Bailhache, R, Bala, R, Baldisseri, A, Ball, M, Baral, RC, Barbano, AM, Barbera, R, Barile, F, Barioglio, L, Barnafoldi, GG, Barnby, LS, Barret, V, Bartalini, P, Barth, K, Bartos, D, Bartsch, E, Basile, M, Bastid, N, Basu, S, Bathen, B, Batigne, G, Batyunya, B, Batzing, PC, Baumann, C, Bearden, IG, Beck, H, Bedda, C, Behera, NK, Belikov, I, Bellini, F, Bello Martinez, H, Bellwied, R, Beltran, LGE, Belyaev, V, Bencedi, G, Beole, S, Berceanu, I, Bercuci, A, Berdnikov, Y, and Berenyi, D. Thu . "The ALICE Transition Radiation Detector: Construction, operation, and performance". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.09.028. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1436174.
@article{osti_1436174,
title = {The ALICE Transition Radiation Detector: Construction, operation, and performance},
author = {Acharya, S and Adam, J and Adamova, D and Adler, C and Adolfsson, J and Aggarwal, MM and Aglieri Rinella, G and Agnello, M and Agrawal, N and Ahammed, Z and Ahmad, N and Ahn, SU and Aiola, S and Akindinov, A and Al-Turany, M and Alam, SN and Antonczyk, D and Arend, A and Alba, JLB and Albuquerque, DSD and Aleksandrov, D and Alessandro, B and Alfaro Molina, R and Alici, A and Alkin, A and Alme, J and Alt, T and Altenkamper, L and Altsybeev, I and Alves Garcia Prado, C and Andrei, C and Andreou, D and Andrews, HA and Andronic, A and Anguelov, V and Anson, C and Antičić, T and Antinori, F and Antonioli, P and Anwar, R and Aphecetche, L and Appelshauser, H and Arcelli, S and Arnaldi, R and Arnold, OW and Arsene, IC and Arslandok, M and Audurier, B and Augustinus, A and Averbeck, R and Azmi, MD and Badala, A and Baek, YW and Bagnasco, S and Bailhache, R and Bala, R and Baldisseri, A and Ball, M and Baral, RC and Barbano, AM and Barbera, R and Barile, F and Barioglio, L and Barnafoldi, GG and Barnby, LS and Barret, V and Bartalini, P and Barth, K and Bartos, D and Bartsch, E and Basile, M and Bastid, N and Basu, S and Bathen, B and Batigne, G and Batyunya, B and Batzing, PC and Baumann, C and Bearden, IG and Beck, H and Bedda, C and Behera, NK and Belikov, I and Bellini, F and Bello Martinez, H and Bellwied, R and Beltran, LGE and Belyaev, V and Bencedi, G and Beole, S and Berceanu, I and Bercuci, A and Berdnikov, Y and Berenyi, D},
abstractNote = {The Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) was designed and built to enhance the capabilities of the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). While aimed at providing electron identification and triggering, the TRD also contributes significantly to the track reconstruction and calibration in the central barrel of ALICE. In this paper the design, construction, operation, and performance of this detector are discussed. A pion rejection factor of up to 410 is achieved at a momentum of 1 GeV/ in p–Pb collisions and the resolution at high transverse momentum improves by about 40% when including the TRD information in track reconstruction. The triggering capability is demonstrated both for jet, light nuclei, and electron selection.},
doi = {10.1016/j.nima.2017.09.028},
journal = {Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment},
number = C,
volume = 881,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Sep 21 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Thu Sep 21 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 22 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Performance of the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC
journal, September 2014


Is there still any T c mystery in lattice QCD? Results with physical masses in the continuum limit III
journal, September 2010

  • Borsányi, Szabolcs; Fodor, Zoltán; Hoelbling, Christian
  • Journal of High Energy Physics, Vol. 2010, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1007/JHEP09(2010)073

Equation of state in ( 2 + 1 )-flavor QCD
journal, November 2014


The quest for the quark–gluon plasma
journal, July 2007

  • Braun-Munzinger, Peter; Stachel, Johanna
  • Nature, Vol. 448, Issue 7151
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature06080

Transition radiation detectors
journal, March 1993

  • Dolgoshein, Boris
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 326, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1016/0168-9002(93)90846-A

Transition radiation from relativistic electrons in periodic radiators
journal, December 1974

  • Cherry, Michael L.; Hartmann, Gernot; Müller, Dietrich
  • Physical Review D, Vol. 10, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.10.3594

Transition radiators for electron identification at the CERN ISR
journal, February 1977


Transition radiation detectors for electron identification beyond 1 GeV/c
journal, January 1988

  • Appuhn, R. D.; Heinloth, K.; Lange, E.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 263, Issue 2-3
  • DOI: 10.1016/0168-9002(88)90965-5

Status of the transition radiation detector for the Dø experiment
journal, July 1989

  • Detœuf, J. F.; Ducros, Y.; Feinstein, F.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 279, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/0168-9002(89)91099-1

e± identification using the drift chambers and transition radiators of the H1 forward track detector
journal, December 1995

  • Beck, G. A.; Cormack, C.; Dainton, J. B.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 367, Issue 1-3
  • DOI: 10.1016/0168-9002(95)00744-X

Transition radiation detector in the D0 colliding beam experiment at Fermilab
journal, December 1995

  • Piekarz, Henryk
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 367, Issue 1-3
  • DOI: 10.1016/0168-9002(95)00747-4

The HERMES Spectrometer
journal, November 1998

  • Ackerstaff, K.; Airapetian, A.; Akopov, N.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 417, Issue 2-3
  • DOI: 10.1016/S0168-9002(98)00769-4

Performance of the AMS-02 transition radiation detector
journal, March 2006

  • Doetinchem, Ph. v.; Fopp, S.; Karpinski, W.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 558, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2005.12.187

The TRACER instrument: A balloon-borne cosmic-ray detector
journal, October 2011

  • Ave, M.; Boyle, P. J.; Brannon, E.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 654, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2011.05.050

Particle identification by electron cluster detection of transition radiation photons
journal, April 1981


A test of transition radiation detectors for a colliding beam experiment
journal, August 1986

  • Watase, Yoshiyuki; Suzuki, Yoichiro; Kurihara, Yoshimasa
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 248, Issue 2-3
  • DOI: 10.1016/0168-9002(86)91022-3

Separation of electrons and pions by a transition radiation detector using flash ADCs
journal, January 1988

  • Holder, M.; Suhr, H.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 263, Issue 2-3
  • DOI: 10.1016/0168-9002(88)90966-7

Electron identification in the PHENIX experiment using a tracking TRD
journal, January 1994


Transition radiation detectors
journal, February 2012

  • Andronic, A.; Wessels, J. P.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 666
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2011.09.041

Review of Particle Physics
journal, August 2014


The ALICE TPC, a large 3-dimensional tracking device with fast readout for ultra-high multiplicity events
journal, October 2010

  • Alme, J.; Andres, Y.; Appelshäuser, H.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 622, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2010.04.042

Performance of the ALICE VZERO system
journal, October 2013


Determination of the event collision time with the ALICE detector at the LHC
journal, February 2017


Centrality determination of Pb-Pb collisions at s N N = 2.76 TeV with ALICE
journal, October 2013


Position reconstruction in drift chambers operated with Xe, (15%)
journal, March 2005

  • Adler, C.; Andronic, A.; Appelshäuser, H.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 540, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2004.11.016

Electron identification performance with ALICE TRD prototypes
journal, April 2004

  • Andronic, A.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 522, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2004.01.015

Energy loss of pions and electrons of 1– in drift chambers operated with Xe,CO2(15%)
journal, March 2004

  • Andronic, A.; Appelshäuser, H.; Blume, C.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 519, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2003.11.036

Transition radiation spectra of electrons from 1 to 10GeV/c in regular and irregular radiators
journal, March 2006

  • Andronic, A.; Appelshäuser, H.; Bailhache, R.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 558, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2005.12.188

The CERES/NA45 radial drift Time Projection Chamber
journal, August 2008

  • Adamová, D.; Agakichiev, G.; Antończyk, D.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 593, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2008.04.056

The PreAmplifier ShAper for the ALICE TPC detector
journal, June 2012

  • Soltveit, H. K.; Stachel, J.; Braun-Munzinger, P.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 676
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2012.02.012

Design and performance of the ALICE TRD front-end electronics
journal, July 2006

  • Angelov, Venelin
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 563, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2006.02.169

DIM, a portable, light weight package for information publishing, data transfer and inter-process communication
journal, October 2001


Drift velocity and gain in argon- and xenon-based mixtures
journal, May 2004

  • Andronic, A.; Biagi, S.; Braun-Munzinger, P.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 523, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2003.11.426

FLUKA: A Multi-Particle Transport Code
report, December 2005


Charged-particle multiplicity measurement in proton–proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$ and 2.36 TeV with ALICE at LHC
journal, June 2010


Pseudorapidity Density of Charged Particles in p + Pb Collisions at s N N = 5.02 TeV
journal, January 2013


Charged-Particle Multiplicity Density at Midrapidity in Central Pb-Pb Collisions at s N N = 2.76 TeV
journal, December 2010


Charged-particle multiplicities in proton–proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s} = 0.9$$ s = 0.9 to 8 TeV
journal, January 2017


Multiplicity and transverse momentum evolution of charge-dependent correlations in pp, p–Pb, and Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC
journal, February 2016


The ALICE Data Quality Monitoring: qualitative and quantitative review of three years of operations
journal, June 2014

  • Haller, Barthélémy von; Bellini, Francesca; Telesca, Adriana
  • Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Vol. 513, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/513/1/012038

Track fitting with multiple scattering: A new method
journal, August 1984


Online processing in the ALICE DAQ The detector algorithms
journal, April 2010


ALEPH: A detector for electron-positron annihilations at LEP
journal, September 1990

  • Decamp, D.; Deschizeaux, B.; Lees, J. -P.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 294, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/0168-9002(90)91831-U

Performance of the HPC calorimeter in DELPHI
journal, January 1995

  • Chan, A.; Crawley, H. B.; Edsall, D. M.
  • IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 42, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1109/23.467923

New test beam results with prototypes of the ALICE TRD
journal, July 2006

  • Bailhache, R.; Lippmann, C.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 563, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2006.02.157

Energy loss signals in the ALICETRD
journal, April 2013

  • Lu, Xian-Guo
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 706
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2012.05.015

Electron/pion identification with ALICE TRD prototypes using a neural network algorithm
journal, November 2005

  • Adler, C.; Andronic, A.; Angelov, V.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 552, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2005.07.006

Measurement of electrons from semileptonic heavy-flavor hadron decays in p p collisions at s = 7 TeV
journal, December 2012


Particle identification in ALICE: a Bayesian approach
journal, May 2016


FastJet user manual: (for version 3.0.2)
journal, March 2012


The calculation of X-ray transition radiation generated in regular- and irregular-layered media
journal, March 1975


Track fitting with multiple scattering: A new method
journal, August 1984


Electron identification performance with ALICE TRD prototypes
journal, April 2004

  • Andronic, A.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 522, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2004.01.015

New test beam results with prototypes of the ALICE TRD
journal, July 2006

  • Bailhache, R.; Lippmann, C.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 563, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2006.02.157

The ALICE online-offline framework for the extraction of conditions data
journal, April 2010

  • Grosse-Oetringhaus, Jan Fiete; Zampolli, Chiara; Colla, Alberto
  • Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Vol. 219, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/219/2/022010

A flexible and reliable embedded system for detector control in a high energy physics experiment
conference, January 2008

  • Tobias Krawutschke,
  • 2008 International Conference on Field Programmable Logic and Applications
  • DOI: 10.1109/fpl.2008.4629924

Common tools for large experiment controls-a common approach for deployment, maintenance, and support
journal, June 2006


Construction and Performance of the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector
text, January 2010


A New Method for the High-Precision Alignment of Track Detectors
preprint, January 2002


Works referencing / citing this record:

Calibration of the photon spectrometer PHOS of the ALICE experiment
journal, May 2019