Precision Muon Tracking Detectors for High-Energy Hadron Colliders

TL;DR

This paper discusses the development and testing of small-diameter muon drift tube chambers that offer high-precision muon tracking capabilities suitable for future high-energy hadron colliders like FCC-hh, with enhanced rate capability and cost-effectiveness.

Contribution

It introduces optimized design and construction procedures for sMDT chambers with improved rate capability and sense wire accuracy, suitable for large-area muon detection at future colliders.

Findings

Sense wire positioning accuracy better than 10 μm.

Rate capability exceeds current MDT chambers by an order of magnitude.

Operational experience from ATLAS upgrades supports deployment.

Abstract

Small-diameter muon drift tube (sMDT) chambers with 15 mm tube diameter are a cost-effective technology for high-precision muon tracking over large areas at high background rates as expected at future high-energy hadron colliders including HL-LHC. The chamber design and construction procedures have been optimized for mass production and provide sense wire positioning accuracy of better than 10 ?m. The rate capability of the sMDT chambers has been extensively tested at the CERN Gamma Irradiation Facility. It exceeds the one of the ATLAS muon drift tube (MDT) chambers, which are operated at unprecedentedly high background rates of neutrons and gamma-rays, by an order of magnitude, which is sufficient for almost the whole muon detector acceptance at FCC-hh at maximum luminosity. sMDT operational and construction experience exists from ATLAS muon spectrometer upgrades which are in progress or under preparation for LHC Phase 1 and 2.