The ALICE EMCal L1 trigger first year of operation experience

TL;DR

This paper discusses the first year of operation, hardware, algorithms, and upgrades of the ALICE EMCal L1 trigger system, highlighting its role in enhancing jet, photon, and electron measurements at the LHC.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of the EMCal L1 trigger's commissioning, operational experience, and upgrades after initial deployment in 2011.

Findings

Successful commissioning and operation in proton and heavy ion beams

Effective triggering on jets and photons with energy thresholds

Implementation of upgrades to improve performance

Abstract

The ALICE experiment at the LHC is equipped with an electromagnetic calorimeter (EMCal) designed to enhance its capabilities for jet, photon and electron measurement. In addition, the EMCal enables triggering on jets and photons with a centrality dependent energy threshold. After its commissioning in 2010, the EMCal Level 1 (L1) trigger was officially approved for physics data taking in 2011. After describing the L1 hardware and trigger algorithms, the commissioning and the first year of running experience, both in proton and heavy ion beams, are reviewed. Additionally, the upgrades to the original L1 trigger design are detailed.