Detector hardware

The envisaged physics program of the PANDA (antiProton ANnihilation at Darmstadt) experiment at the future Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) requires excellent particle identification over the full solid angle. The Endcap Disc DIRC (EDD) will cover forward polar angles between 5 and 22◦ and is one of three dedicated subdetectors for the identification of charged hadrons and the separation of pions and kaons in particular. DIRC stands for Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov light and implies that the emitted Cherenkov photons are trapped inside the radiator by total internal reflection.
The central part of each DIRC detector is its optical system which is responsible for a lowloss and angle-preserving transport of the Cherenkov photons. The work at hand experimentally addresses several objectives in connection with the optical components and the system as a whole. Radiator prototypes were evaluated with high precision and adapted specifications were identified based on the results. The imaging performance of the Focusing Elements (FELs) was verified and different options regarding the coupling of the individual components were evaluated. In addition a radiation hardness study of a new fused silica material provided an insight into the long term behavior of induced defects and confirmed the material to be suitable for high energy physics experiments.
A conceptual design for the mechanical integration was developed featuring a rigid optical system which is mounted into a cross-like structure. In this context the spatial constrains for the holding structure and the FELs were identified and an assembly procedure was developed. The existing prototype was revised and newly developed concepts were integrated and tested.
Furthermore a data analysis of an earlier prototype test at a mixed hadron beam at CERN was carried out. It was the first evaluation of an EDD prototype which consisted of optical components made of fused silica only and had highly segmented MCP-PMTs (Micro-Channel Plate PhotoMultiplier Tubes) for the photon detection. A single photon resolution down to 5.68 mrad could be achieved and a good agreement with Monte-Carlo predictions was reached. At 3 GeV/c a 5σ separation of pions and protons was accomplished using a single MCP-PMT column.

Reworked rules 2017/06

PANDA is the main experiment of the future FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) center at Darmstadt, Germany, addressing hadron physics. Located at the HESR antiproton storage ring the PANDA detector is optimized for physics of the weak and strong interactions in the charm sector, that is search for new and exotic states of matter, precise determination of quantum numbers and masses of hadronic resonances and deeper insights in the structure of hadrons.
The detector consists of a target spectrometer build around the interaction region of the 1.5-15 GeV antiprotons with a fixed hydrogen target and a forward spectrometer in beam direction. Its design is based on compactness, low weight and cost saving while achieving high resolution, rate capability and physics selectivity.
The presentation will cover the different vertexing, tracking, particle identification, and calorimetry subsystems as well as detector control and data aquisition.

The Technical Status of PANDA is presented with an emphasis of systems with opportunities for a visible French contribution.

This document presents the technical layout
and the expected performance of the For-
ward Tracker (FT), a tracking detector for
the PANDA Forward Spectrometer (FS). The
FT consists of a set of planar tracking sta-
tions measuring deflection of particle trajec-
tories in the magnetic field of the FS dipole
magnet, providing the information about the
particle momenta. The design of the stations
is based on self-supporting straw tube detec-
tors which will be also used in the PANDA
central Straw Tube Tracker (STT) described
in a separate TDR, submitted and accepted
earlier.

Talk given at the GlueX Meeting at Jefferson Lab, Newport News, USA als introduction for a meeting with US groups interested in PANDA

The PANDA detector will be one of the central experimental installations
at the FAIR facility. The setup of PANDA will be presented and the status
of all components planned to be installed will be discussed. Selected
details of test experiments and custom developments will be presented.