Resistive Plate Chambers for Imaging Calorimetry - the DHCAL

TL;DR

The DHCAL is a prototype digital hadron calorimeter using RPCs with high segmentation for improved imaging and particle flow algorithm application, tested extensively at Fermilab and CERN.

Contribution

This work introduces a novel digital calorimeter prototype with high segmentation and extensive testing for particle flow applications.

Findings

Successful operation of the prototype in test beams

High segmentation enables detailed imaging of particle showers

Preliminary data shows promising performance for hadron detection

Abstract

The DHCAL, the Digital Hadron Calorimeter, is a prototype calorimeter based on Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). The design emphasizes the imaging capabilities of the detector in an effort to optimize the calorimeter for the application of Particle Flow Algorithms (PFAs) to the reconstruction of hadronic jet energies in a colliding beam environment. The readout of the chambers is segmented into 1 x 1 cm2 pads, each read out with a 1-bit (single threshold) resolution. The prototype with approximately 500,000 readout channels underwent extensive testing in both the Fermilab and CERN test beams. This talk presents preliminary findings from the analysis of data collected at the test beams.