The tracking detector of the FASER experiment

TL;DR

The paper details the design, construction, and testing of the silicon microstrip tracking detector for the FASER experiment, aimed at detecting long-lived particles and neutrino interactions at the LHC.

Contribution

It introduces the novel design and implementation of the FASER tracking spectrometer, including its mechanics, electronics, and cooling systems, tailored for LHC forward physics.

Findings

Successful construction and testing of the tracking spectrometer

Installation of the detector in the LHC complex completed

Ready for physics data taking in early 2022

Abstract

FASER is a new experiment designed to search for new light weakly-interacting long-lived particles (LLPs) and study high-energy neutrino interactions in the very forward region of the LHC collisions at CERN. The experimental apparatus is situated 480 m downstream of the ATLAS interaction-point aligned with the beam collision axis. The FASER detector includes four identical tracker stations constructed from silicon microstrip detectors. Three of the tracker stations form a tracking spectrometer, and enable FASER to detect the decay products of LLPs decaying inside the apparatus, whereas the fourth station is used for the neutrino analysis. The spectrometer has been installed in the LHC complex since March 2021, while the fourth station is not yet installed. FASER will start physics data taking when the LHC resumes operation in early 2022. This paper describes the design, construction and testing of the tracking spectrometer, including the associated components such as the mechanics, readout electronics, power supplies and cooling system.