Topic: Particle Detectors
Learning Objectives
• state examples of • describe the roles of • apply conservation
particle detectors electric and of charge, energy,
and recall ways in magnetic fields in and momentum to
which particles can particle detectors interactions between
be identified based particles
on their tracks • be able to interpret
particle tracks
If we are going to study particles, we need to be able to detect them.
Often the study of particles relies on a fairly, simplistic approach. Modern particle physics
research is focused on subatomic particles, which have less structure than atoms. By
accelerating particles to high speeds and colliding them together they will break into their
constituent.
Given these conditions, what must a particle detector be capable of doing?
If we are going to study particles, we need to be able to detect them.
Often the study of particles relies on a fairly simplistic approach. Modern particle physics
research is focused on subatomic particles, which have less structure than atoms. By
accelerating particles to high speeds and colliding them together they will break into their
constituent.
Given these conditions what must a particle detector be capable of doing?
Detect charge.
Detect momentum.
Detect direction moved.
Detect the above two for uncharged particles!
Detect above for multiple particles in rapid succession.
Capable of long and reliable operation in a very hostile radiation environment.
No particle detectors are perfect, but an ideal detector would do all of the above.
In 1896, Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium salts emitted rays that could
affect a photographic plate.
Marie Curie decided to investigate these uranium rays using an electrometer, a
sensitive device designed by her husband Pierre for measuring electric charge.
So photographic plates and electrometers were our first particle detectors, and we
have been using particle detectors ever since.
The 2 main particle detectors are:
1. Geiger-Muller tube
2. Bubble chamber
The Geiger-Muller Tube
• The tube is filled with Argon gas, and +400
Volts is applied to the thin wire in the middle.
• When a particle enters the tube, it pulls an
electron from an Argon atom.
• The electron is attracted to the central wire,
and as it rushes towards the wire, the
electron will knock other electrons from
Argon atoms, causing an "avalanche".
• Thus, one single incoming particle will
cause many electrons to arrive at the wire,
creating a pulse which can be amplified and
counted. This gives us a very sensitive
detector.
The Bubble Chamber
The bubble chamber consists of a tank of unstable
transparent liquid – often superheated hydrogen. When a
charged particle forces its way through the liquid, the
energy deposited initiates boiling along the path, leaving
a trail of tiny bubbles.
The entire chamber is subject to a constant magnetic
field, which causes charged particles to travel
in helical paths whose radius is determined by
their charge-to-mass ratios and their velocities.
After the particles have passed through the liquid, the
bubbles are allowed to expand until they are a few tenths
of a millimeter across, big enough to be photographed by
flash illumination. To construct a 3D image photographs
from more than one camera are needed.
Give one disadvantage of the G-M tube compared to the other two.
An alpha particle passing through the cloud chamber would leave a
thicker, shorter track of droplets than a beta particle. Why?
A proton will curve differently to a helium nucleus. Explain what the
curvature depends upon.
Give one disadvantage of the G-M tube compared to the other two.
Can only tell you number of particles detected, nothing else.
An alpha particle passing through the cloud chamber would leave a
thicker, shorter track of droplets than a beta particle. Why?
Because the alpha particle is more ionising and larger, so it loses it
energy more rapidly in the chamber.
A proton will curve differently to a helium nucleus. Explain what the
curvature depends upon.
Depends on mass-charge ratio and velocity so if we know the charge
can determine the momentum from the curvature.
Interpreting the tracks
1. The momentum of particle is proportional to the radius of its track.
2. If the field is directed into the paper, negative particles curve clockwise;
positive particles curve anticlockwise. (This follows from Fleming ' s left-
hand rule).
3. Neutral particles do not leave tracks because they produce very little
ionisation. They travel in straight lines and their paths can often be inferred
from the presence of tell-tale gaps between visible tracks.
4. Any change in direction shows a collision.
Example 1
• The two spiralling tracks in this bubble-
chamber diagram were made by an electron
and a positron.
• These particles were created by a high-
energy gamma ray in a collision with the
electron of a hydrogen atom in the bubble
chamber.
• The long slightly curved downward track
was made by the recoiling electron.
Example 2
This bubble chamber was
exposed to an incoming parallel
beam of negative kaons (к-) with
energy of 8.2 GeV, entering from
the bottom of the picture.
There are a number of points we
can deduce:
Point 1
• Beam particles whose tracks do
NOT remain parallel all the way
through the picture must have
collided with a proton in a
hydrogen atom.
• There are two collisions here.
Point 2
A magnetic field will curve the trajectory of
charged particles.
Negatively charged particles are curved in
one direction.
Positive particles in the opposite direction.
The little curly tracks are produced by
electrons which are knocked out of the
atoms by charged particles passing by - so
the magnetic field points into the screen.
Electrons spiral because they are much
lighter than all other charged particles and
lose energy quickly by another process
called bremsstrahlung.
• If any beam particle does NOT continue parallel
Point 3 through the picture, it must have collided with a
proton. (Very occasionally a beam particle may
'decay' )
• The first quantity of interest is the number of
charged particles coming from the collision.
This is clearly 4. The 2 positive ones are
highlighted in red.
• Since we are studying the collisions of K-
particles with protons, p , the total charge of the
initial state is always zero.
Point 4
The track on the left is clearly
a negative particle as it
curves to the right.
The track on the right doesn’t
appear to be curved but
straight.
Since this collision produced
2 positive particles it should
have produced 2 negative
ones so this kinking track
must be negative.
However, it’s momentum
must be very high so the
radius of curvature is so
large we cannot see the
curve.
Point 5
• Neutral particles do NOT leave trails of
bubbles (because bubble formation is
initiated by the ionisation of the
hydrogen atoms by the Coulomb
interaction).
• However, an unstable neutral particle
may decay in the bubble chamber into a
pair of lighter particles - one positive
and one negative - leaving an easily
recognisable letter V (or vee) shape.
Point 6
• If the tracks from the vee happen
to cross again, downstream, the
line joining the crossing position
to the decay position (the V)
points back to the origin of the
neutral particle
• So our neutral decay vee can be
seen to be coming from the
collision and not from the kink.
Point 7
• An unstable charged particle
may also decay - usually into a
charged particle of the same
sign and one or more neutral
particles. This shows up in the
bubble chamber as a kink - a
sudden change into a more
curved track.
Point 8
In most bubble chamber pictures,
there will be some small spirals
caused by knock-on electrons.
These can be used to tell the
direction of the magnetic field.
(Remember: the current is in the
opposite direction to the
direction of motion of the
electron).
There is a magnetic field into the
plane of the diagram.
The image shows the paths of
particles in a bubble chamber.
What can you deduce from this
image?
A+B: same charge, same curve, At A/C and B/D: the offshoot
so same momentum. particles split into two oppositely-
D charged particles, which can be
B seen from their path directions:
Radius of D = 2x radius of C; as
per r = p/Bq, momentum of D = A
2x momentum of C.
C
+
-
The path suddenly changes, possibly due to a
collision; it is suggested that two neutral
E
particles are created as we cannot see the tracks
but particles appear to continue from the point
of ‘collision’.
The particle at F must be charged because we It is in a magnetic field but does not
F
can see the track; it must be ionised as the appear to curve; it must have a
bubble chamber only shows ionised particles. high momentum and the curve
must be gradual.