Construction of the Digital Hadron Calorimeter

TL;DR

This paper details the design, construction, and testing of a highly segmented digital hadron calorimeter prototype using Resistive Plate Chambers, aimed at improving particle flow algorithms for future collider detectors.

Contribution

It presents the development and commissioning of a large-scale digital hadron calorimeter prototype with high granularity and digital readout, advancing detector technology for particle physics experiments.

Findings

Successfully constructed and commissioned the DHCAL prototype.

Collected test beam data for performance evaluation.

Demonstrated feasibility of high-granularity digital calorimetry.

Abstract

Particle Flow Algorithms (PFAs) have been proposed as a method of improving the jet energy resolution of future colliding beam detectors. PFAs require calorimeters with high granularity to enable three-dimensional imaging of events. The Calorimeter for the Linear Collider Collaboration (CALICE) is developing and testing prototypes of such highly segmented calorimeters. In this context, a large prototype of a Digital Hadron Calorimeter (DHCAL) was developed and constructed by a group led by Argonne National Laboratory. The DHCAL consists of 52 layers, instrumented with Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) and interleaved with steel absorber plates. The RPCs are read out by 1 x 1 cm2 pads with a 1-bit resolution (digital readout). The DHCAL prototype has approximately 480,000 readout channels. This talk reports on the design, construction and commissioning of the DHCAL. The DHCAL was installed at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility in fall 2010 and data was collected through the summer 2011.