Enhancing Energy Resolution and Particle Identification via Chromatic Calorimetry: A Concept Validation Study

TL;DR

This study validates a novel chromatic calorimetry approach that improves energy resolution and particle identification by analyzing emission spectra from layered scintillators with different wavelengths.

Contribution

It introduces and experimentally validates the concept of layered chromatic calorimetry using inorganic scintillators with decreasing emission wavelengths.

Findings

Successful discrimination of electrons and pions up to 100 GeV

Effective measurement of longitudinal shower development

Potential for enhanced particle identification

Abstract

In particle physics, homogeneous calorimeters are used to measure the energy of particles as they interact with the detector material. Although not as precise as trackers or muon detectors, these calorimeters provide valuable insights into the properties of particles by analyzing their energy deposition patterns. Recent advances in material science, notably in nanomaterial scintillators with tunable emission bandwidths, have led to the proposal of the chromatic calorimetry concept. This proposed concept aims to track electromagnetic or hadronic shower progression within a module, enhancing particle identification and energy resolution by layering scintillators with different emission wavelengths. The idea is to use the emission spectra of the inorganic scintillators to reconstruct the shower progression. Our study validates this proposed concept using inorganic scintillators strategically stacked by decreasing emission wavelength. Using electrons and pions with up to 100 GeV, we achieved analytical discrimination and longitudinal shower measurement. This proof of concept underscores chromatic calorimetry's potential for broader applications.