Instrumentation physics of particle and radiation detectors. Principles: ionisation (Bethe-Bloch), Cherenkov radiation threshold β>1/n, transition radiation X→Y at media interfaces, scintillation light yield in organic (stilbene,…
detector-physics
Calorimeter energy resolution: σ(E)/E = a/√E ⊕ b/E ⊕ c (stochastic ⊕ noise ⊕ constant)
Universal three-term parametrisation of calorimeter energy resolution: stochastic term a/√E (Poisson fluctuations in cascade sampling; for…
Cherenkov radiation: threshold β > 1/n, opening angle cos θ_C = 1/(β·n)
Cherenkov's 1934 radiation: a charged particle traversing a transparent dielectric medium with phase velocity c/n emits a coherent…
Time-of-flight particle ID: Δt = (L/c)·(√(1+m₁²/p²) − √(1+m₂²/p²)) ≈ L m₁²/(2p²c) for m≪p
Time-of-flight particle identification: two species of mass m₁, m₂ at common momentum p traverse a baseline L with flight-time difference…
Silicon microstrip spatial resolution: σ = p/√12 (binary), p/(S/N) charge-division
Silicon microstrip detectors resolve charged-particle track positions by collecting 80 e-h pairs/μm from ionisation in the depleted…
Scintillator light yield: ~40 γ/keV NaI(Tl), ~10 γ/keV BGO, ~9 γ/keV plastic
Organic (plastic BC-408, stilbene, anthracene) and inorganic crystalline (NaI(Tl), CsI(Tl), BGO, LYSO, LaBr₃(Ce)) scintillators convert a…
Transition radiation (Ginzburg-Frank): ⟨E⟩ ∝ γ · ω_p·(Z_p·ω)/(3c); Lorentz-factor ID
When a charged particle crosses a boundary between media of different dielectric constant, transition radiation is emitted (Ginzburg-Frank…
Bethe-Bloch: -dE/dx = K·z²·(Z/A)·(1/β²)·[½·ln(2m_ec²β²γ²T_max/I²) - β²]
Bethe-Bloch framework — the canonical relativistic formula for the mean ionisation energy loss of heavy charged particles traversing matter…
Ramo-Shockley: i(t) = -q·v·∇ψ_w(x); weighting potential as Laplace Green's
Ramo-Shockley framework — the exact theorem for computing the instantaneous induced current on a readout electrode by a moving charge in…
Landau straggling: energy-loss MPV Δ=ξ·[log(2m_ec²β²γ²ξ/I²)+0.200-β²]
Landau-straggling framework — the canonical fluctuation distribution of energy loss for a heavy charged particle traversing a thin absorber…
Bethe-Bloch: z²-scaling ratio z=2/z=1 = 4; Legendre ⟨P2,P2⟩=2/5; ⟨P1,P2⟩=0
Sympy-exact symbolic witness of the Bethe-Bloch z²-scaling and Legendre-polynomial orthogonality relations supporting multiple-scattering…
Ramo: i=-q·v/d_gap; Q_induced=-q; Δψ_w=0; ψ_w(0)=0, ψ_w(d)=1
Sympy-exact symbolic witness of Ramo's theorem applied to the parallel-plate minimal-case geometry. Setup: q, v, x, d_gap sp-symbols…
Landau MPV Δ=ξ·[log(2m_ec²β²γ²ξ/I²)+1/5-β²]; FT gauss = √π exp(-π²k²/a)/√a
Sympy-exact symbolic witness of the Landau-straggling MPV formula and its convolution-theorem primitive. Setup: ξ, β, γ, m_e, c, I, a, k,…
Super-Kamiokande neutrino observatory
50-kiloton water-Cherenkov detector in Kamioka Japan, operating 1996+; detected solar + atmospheric + supernova neutrinos; demonstrated…
PMT (Iams-Salzberg 1936)
Iams-Salzberg 1936 RCA PMT; dynode-cascade gain ~10^6; foundational detector-physics tool; modern Hamamatsu R7081 8-inch SK + IceCube.
SiPM (Buzhan 2003)
Buzhan 2003 silicon-photomultiplier; modern SiPM single-photon-resolution; replacing PMT in CT/PET/calorimetry.
Calorimetry
Modern HEP calorimeters CMS HCAL/ECAL + ATLAS LAr; sampling vs homogeneous trade-off; energy-resolution sigma/E ~ 1%/sqrt(E).
Cherenkov radiation (1934-1937)
P Cherenkov 1934 + Frank-Tamm 1937 (Nobel 1958) charged-particle in medium emits cone v > c/n; modern IceCube + KM3NeT neutrino-telescopes.
CMOS pixel (DEPFET)
Kemmer-Lutz DEPFET 1987 + ALICE-ITS3 2024 stitched-CMOS; modern monolithic-active-pixel sensors HEP + medical X-ray.
Geiger counter (1908)
H Geiger-E Rutherford 1908 + Müller 1928 GM-tube; modern modern foundational text + scintillation 1944 + 2024 silicon-PMT pixel-detector…
Cloud chamber (Wilson 1911)
C T R Wilson 1911 (Nobel 1927) cloud-chamber + Glaser 1952 bubble-chamber Nobel 1960; modern modern foundational text + LAr + Xe TPC.
MWPC (Charpak 1968)
G Charpak 1968 (Nobel 1992) multi-wire-prop-chamber; modern modern foundational text + GEM + Micromegas + 2024 sub-ns timing CERN.
Cherenkov (1934)
P Cherenkov 1934 (Nobel 1958) Cherenkov-radiation; modern modern foundational text + IceCube + Super-K + 2024 RICH-detector PID…
Silicon strip (Heijne 1980)
E Heijne 1980 first silicon-strip-detector; modern modern foundational text + LHCb VELO + 2024 monolithic-active-pixel sensor MAPS imaging.
Calorimeter (Fabjan-Gianotti 2017)
Fabjan-Gianotti 2003 + 2017 RMP calorimetry; modern modern foundational text + LAr + crystal + dual-readout + 2024 PFA particle-flow.