2010/01/12 by J. Alme, Y. Andres, H. Appelshäuser +96 · 697 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Alice (programming language) #Calibration #Computer hardware #Computer science #Detector #High-Energy Particle Collisions Research #Large Hadron Collider #Nuclear electronics #Nuclear physics #Operating system #Optics #Particle Detector Development and Performance #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Physics #Software #Time projection chamber #Tracking (education) #Tracking system #physics.ins-det
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.nima.2010.04.042
published in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment 622(1), 316-367 (Elsevier BV) · 55 pages, 82 figures
arxiv created 2010/01/12 · openalex publication_date 2010/07/08 · arxiv updated 2014/11/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The design, construction, and commissioning of the ALICE Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) is described. It is the main device for pattern recognition, tracking, and identification of charged particles in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. The TPC is cylindrical in shape with a volume close to 90 m3 and is operated in a 0.5 T solenoidal magnetic field parallel to its axis. In this paper we describe in detail the design considerations for this detector for operation in the extreme multiplicity environment of central Pb–Pb collisions at LHC energy. The implementation of the resulting requirements into hardware (field cage, read-out chambers, electronics), infrastructure (gas and cooling system, laser-calibration system), and software led to many technical innovations which are described along with a presentation of all the major components of the detector, as currently realized. We also report on the performance achieved after completion of the first round of stand-alone calibration runs and demonstrate results close to those specified in the TPC Technical Design Report.