D. della Volpe

New results on ATLAS RPC's aging at CERN's GIF

In order to ensure that the resistive plate chambers used in the ATLAS experiment will not show, during their operation, any abnormal aging effect which could degrade their performances, an aging test is being performed at X5-GIF, CERNs gamma irradiation facility. In this paper, the latest results are presented, together with an example of successful damage recovery technique.

Long-term performance of the L3 RPC system

Abstract Started in 1994 the L3 experiment has been equipped with a forward–backward muon spectrometer triggered by an RPC system. Made of 192 double-gap RPCs, it has been working for six years in streamer mode and it will continue to run at least one year more. We monitored the behaviour of the system during the L3 run periods and in this paper we report on its present status and long-term performance.

Characterization of New Hexagonal Large Area MPPCs

Photomultipliers (PMTs) are the standard detector for construction of the current generation of imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs). Despite impressive improvements in Quantum Efficiency (QE) and reliability in the last years, these devices suffer from the limitation of being unable to operate in the partially illuminated sky (during full or partial moon periods) as the excess light leads to a significant increase in the rate of ageing of the devices themselves and consequently limit the camera life. Large area Multi-Pixel Photon Counters (MPPCs) - also known as Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (G-APDs) or Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) - are a viable alternative and are commercially available from different producers in various types and dimensions. The maturity of this technology for application to Cherenkov Astronomy has already been demonstrated by the FACT telescope. The Small Size Telescopes (SSTs) of Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory foresee the usage of MPPCs. One of the designs for a 4 m-diameter dish Davies-Cotton telescope engages custom designed large-area hexagonal MPPCs. This is the first time that an hexagonal device with area of 95 mm2 divided in 4 channels is made available. These photosensors, coupled with open non imaging light concentrators with a 24 degrees cut-off angle, offer a performing alternative to standard PMTs. In this paper we show the results of their characterization together with the comparison with other commercially available devices such as the Hamamatsu S10985-050C (2×2 array of 3 mm ×3 mm MPPCs) and the SensLμSB30035-X13-E15.

Characterization of new hexagonal large area geiger avalanche photodiodes

Photomultipliers (PMTs) are the standard detector for construction of the current generation of imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs). Despite impressive improvements in QE and reliability in the last years, these devices suffer from the limitation of being unable to operate in the partially illuminated sky (during full or partial moon periods) as the excess light leads to a significant increase in the rate of ageing of the devices themselves and consequently limit the life of the camera. A viable alternative is the large area Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (G-APDs also known as Silicon PhotoMultipliers or SiPMs) that are commercially available from different producers in various types and dimensions. The sufficiency of the maturity of this technology for application to Cherenkov Astronomy has already been demonstrated by the FACT telescope. One of the camera designs under study for the 4m Davies Cotton Telescope foresees the utilization of a large area G-APDs coupled to non imaging light concentrators. In collaboration with Hamamatsu and deriving from their current technology, we have designed a new hexagonal shaped large area G-APD which when coupled to a Winston cone of 24 degrees cutting angle allows for a pixel angular resolution of 0.25 degrees for a f/D 1.4 telescope with a diameter of 4 m. The device, available in 2 different cell size configurations (50 micrometers and 100 micrometers cell pitch), is divided into 4 different channels powered in common cathode mode. A temperature sensor was included for a better temperature evaluation in the characterization phase. The first 3 prototypes were fully characterized and the results are compared to the larger area devices commercially available such as the S10985-050C (2×2 array of 3×3 mm2 G-APDs). The photo-detection efficiency is measured applying the Poisson statistics method using pulsed LED at 7 different wavelengths from 355 to 670 nm and for different bias over-voltages (Vov).

Test beam results and integration of the ATLAS level-1 muon barrel trigger

The ATLAS level-1 muon trigger will be crucial for the online selection of events with high transverse momentum muons and for its correct association to the bunch-crossing corresponding to the detected events. This system uses dedicated coarse granularity and fast detectors capable of providing measurements in two orthogonal projections. The resistive plate chambers (RPCs) are used in the barrel region (|/spl eta/| < 1). The associated trigger electronics is based on a custom chip, the coincidence matrix, that performs space coincidences within programmable roads and time gates. The system is highly redundant and communicates with the ATLAS level-1 trigger processor with the MUCTPI interface. The trigger electronics provides also the readout of the RPCs. Preliminary results achieved with a full trigger tower with production detectors in the H8 test beam at CERN will be shown, in particular preliminary results on the integration of the barrel muon trigger electronics with the MUCTPI interface and with the ATLAS DAQ system will be discussed.

The RPC LVL1 trigger system of the muon spectrometer of the ATLAS experiment at LHC

The Atlas Trigger System has been designed to reduce the LHC interaction rate of about 1 GHz to the foreseen storage rate of about 100 Hz. Three trigger levels are applied in order to fulfill such a requirement. A detailed simulation of the ATLAS experiment including the hardware components and the logic of the Level-1 Muon trigger in the barrel of the muon spectrometer has been performed. This simulation has been used not only to evaluate the performances of the system but also to optimize the trigger logic design. In the barrel of the muon spectrometer the trigger will be given by means of resistive plate chambers (RPCs) working in avalanche mode. Before being mounted on the experiment, accurate quality tests with cosmic rays are carried out on each RPC chamber using the test station facility of the INFN and University laboratory of Napoli. All working parameters are measured and the uniformity of the efficiency on the whole RPC surface is required. A summary of the Napoli cosmic rays tests, together with a brief description of the Atlas Trigger, in particular of the Level-1 Muon Trigger in the barrel, and the results of the trigger simulation will be given.

Cosmic ray test station for ATLAS RPC

Abstract We describe the facility for RPC test with cosmic rays, designed and built at the laboratory of INFN and University of Naples. Trigger and tracking systems consist of a scintillator hodoscope and two drift chambers with track reconstruction resolution of ∼400 μm . Trigger is provided by the twofold coincidence of scintillators covering a surface of 1 m 2 . Two step motors move chambers synchronously along the station for RPC scanning. Up to eight RPCs can be tested simultaneously.

The ATLAS level-1 barrel muon trigger performances

The level-1 muon trigger of ATLAS is expected to select events with high transverse momentum muons and associate them the correct bunch-crossing. For these purposes, dedicated fast detectors provide coarse measurement of the muon transverse momentum and high efficiency in its discrimination, giving also tracking measurements in two orthogonal views. In the barrel region (|eta|<1) it makes use of resistive plate chambers (RPCs) as active detectors. The trigger and readout chain is based on custom ASIC chips, which perform both the time and spatial coincidence with programmable roads and signal time shaping, and the readout, with a time resolution of 1/8 of a bunch crossing. A calibration procedure will allow to align signals in time and improve the background rejection of the system. The trigger system performances have been studied, testing multiple trigger configurations, on a cosmics test-stand using a full trigger tower of the ATLAS muon barrel spectrometer and the complete ATLAS trigger chain

Development of an optical system for the SST-1M telescope of the Cherenkov Telescope Array observatory

The prototype of a Davies-Cotton small size telescope (SST-1M) has been designed and developed by a consortium of Polish and Swiss institutions and proposed for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory. The main purpose of the optical system is to focus the Cherenkov light emitted by extensive air showers in the atmosphere onto the focal plane detectors. The main component of the system is a dish consisting of 18 hexagonal mirrors with a total effective collection area of 6.47 m 2 (including the shadowing and estimated mirror reflectivity). Such a solution was chosen taking into account the analysis of the Cherenkov light propagation and based on optical simulations. The proper curvature and stability of the dish is ensured by the mirror alignment system and the isostatic interface to the telescope structure. Here we present the design of the optical subsystem together with the performance measurements of its components.

The single mirror small size telescope (SST-1M) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Small Size Telescope with Single Mirror (SST-1M) is one of the proposed types of Small Size Telescopes (SST) for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The CTA south array will be composed of about 100 telescopes, out of which about 70 are of SST class, which are optimized for the detection of gamma rays in the energy range from 5 TeV to 300 TeV. The SST-1M implements a Davies-Cotton optics with a 4 m dish diameter with a field of view of 9°. The Cherenkov light produced in atmospheric showers is focused onto a 88 cm wide hexagonal photo-detection plane, composed of 1296 custom designed large area hexagonal silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) and a fully digital readout and trigger system. The SST-1M camera has been designed to provide high performance in a robust as well as compact and lightweight design. In this contribution, we review the different steps that led to the realization of the telescope prototype and its innovative camera.