The Ultra-Low material budget GEM based TPC for tracking with VMM3a readout

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel ultra-low material budget GEM-based TPC with TWIN configuration, tested with VMM3a readout electronics at CERN, demonstrating excellent tracking performance and reduced multiple scattering for particle detection.

Contribution

Introduction of an ultra-low material budget GEM-TPC with TWIN configuration and VMM3a readout, tested at CERN, showcasing improved tracking capabilities and reduced scattering.

Findings

Achieved material budget of 0.28% X/X$_0$

Demonstrated effective tracking with VMM3a electronics

Compared spatial resolution across different gas mixtures

Abstract

The Gaseous Electron Multiplier-based Time Projection Chamber (GEM-TPC) in TWIN configuration for particle tracking has been consolidated after extensive investigations in different facilities to study its tracking performance. The most attractive feature of this detector is its ultra-low material budget, which is 0.28\% X/X$_0$ and can be further reduced by decreasing the thickness of the gas traversed by the incident particles. Thus, it provides excellent position reconstruction and reduced multi-scattering. This detector consists of two GEM-TPCs with drift fields in opposite directions, achieved by rotating one 180 degrees in the middle plane with respect to the other. These two GEM-TPCs share the same gas volume, i.e., inside a single vessel. This configuration is called a TWIN configuration. The results presented in this work were measured using the newly integrated VMM3a/SRS readout electronics, an important milestone in improving overall performance and capabilities. In 2024, this detector was tested at the H4 beamline of the SPS at CERN, using muons and pions and with different gas mixtures like, for instance: Ar/CO$_2$ (70/30 \%), He/CO$_2$ (70/30 \%) and He/CO$_2$ (90/10 \%). The helium-based mixtures were used to commission the detector to track low momenta muons required in the PSI muon-induced X-ray emission (MIXE) experiment. The results obtained from these measurements, a brief discussion of the methodology used for the data analysis, and a comparison of the spatial resolution for different gas mixtures will be presented.