Controlling Cherenkov angles with resonance transition radiation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method using photonic crystals to control Cherenkov angles via resonance transition radiation, overcoming material limitations and enhancing particle detection sensitivity at high energies.

Contribution

It proposes a new mechanism leveraging photonic crystals to manipulate Cherenkov radiation angles, expanding the capabilities of high-energy particle detectors.

Findings

Resonance transition radiation can generate both forward and backward Cherenkov radiation.

Photonic crystals enable flexible control of Cherenkov angles independent of material permittivity.

Enhanced sensitivity in particle identification at high energies is achievable.

Abstract

Cherenkov radiation provides a valuable way to identify high energy particles in a wide momentum range, through the relation between the particle velocity and the Cherenkov angle. However, since the Cherenkov angle depends only on material's permittivity, the material unavoidably sets a fundamental limit to the momentum coverage and sensitivity of Cherenkov detectors. For example, Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors must employ materials transparent to the frequency of interest as well as possessing permittivities close to unity to identify particles in the multi GeV range, and thus are often limited to large gas chambers. It would be extremely important albeit challenging to lift this fundamental limit and control Cherenkov angles as preferred. Here we propose a new mechanism that uses constructive interference of resonance transition radiation from photonic crystals to generate both forward and backward Cherenkov radiation. This mechanism can control Cherenkov angles in a flexible way with high sensitivity to any desired range of velocities. Photonic crystals thus overcome the severe material limit for Cherenkov detectors, enabling the use of transparent materials with arbitrary values of permittivity, and provide a promising option suited for identification of particles at high energy with enhanced sensitivity.