The ALICE High Momentum Particle IDentification (HMPID) apparatus and its deuteron detection capability

Abstract

The Particle IDentification (PID) capabilities of the High Momentum Particle IDentification detector (HMPID) was analyzed for a seven-year period. Installed on A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the HMPID has excellent PID performance for pions, 7f and kaons, Kin the transverse momentum range 1< PT <3 GeV /c and for protons, p up to 5 GeV /c. The detector is thus suited to measure (anti-) deuterons in the momentum interval 3-8 GeV /c. The HMPID uses seven Ring Imaging Cherenkov counters with 10.3m2 of active photosensitive area for the PID. The Cherenkov photon detection is achieved by CsI-coated, pad segmented photo-cathodes installed within a multi-wire proportional chamber (MWPC). The first objective was to establish the detector's stability during LHC Runl and part of Run2, in order to confirm and forecast its further operation and performance in future runs. The second objective was to analyze the PID capabilities in proton-proton and heavy ion collisions, whereby the particle mass spectrum produced with the HMPID is presented, with emphasis on the identification of (anti-) deuteron nuclei in the most central (0-103) Pb-Pb collisions.