Extensive beam test study of prototype MRPCs for the T0 detector at the CSR external-target experiment

TL;DR

This paper reports on extensive beam tests of prototype MRPCs designed for the T0 detector in the CSR external-target experiment, demonstrating their high time resolution and suitability for precise timing measurements in heavy-ion collisions.

Contribution

It presents the first large-scale beam test results of MRPC prototypes for the CEE T0 detector, validating their performance against simulations.

Findings

Time resolution of ~50 ps or better

Timing performance meets CEE requirements

Validated detector performance with hadron and heavy-ion beams

Abstract

The CSR External-target Experiment (CEE) will be the first large-scale nuclear physics experiment device at the Cooling Storage Ring (CSR) of the Heavy-Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) in China. A new T0 detector has been proposed to measure the multiplicity, angular distribution and timing information of charged particles produced in heavy-ion collisions at the target region. Multi-gap resistive plate chamber (MRPC) technology was chosen as part of the construction of the T0 detector, which provides precision event collision times (T0) and collision geometry information. The prototype was tested with hadron and heavy-ion beams to study its performance. By comparing the experimental results with a Monte Carlo simulation, the time resolution of the MRPCs are found to be $\sim$ 50 ps or better. The timing performance of the T0 detector, including both detector and readout electronics, we found to fulfil the requirements of the CEE.