The purpose of this talk is to describe the evolution of the standard RPC concept as it was formulated at the very beginning. In spite of its conceptual simplicity, the RPC can be adapted to fulfill very different tasks ranging from muon triggering-tracking at collider experiments, to the detection of Extensive Air Showers for ground based cosmic ray experiments. This talk tries to focus on...
Resistive Plate Chambers are used in the ATLAS experiment for triggering muons in the barrel region. These detectors use a Freon-based gas mixture containing C2H2F4 and SF6, high global warming potential greenhouse gases. To reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and cost, it is crucial to search for new environmentally friendly gas mixtures. In August 2023, at the end of the proton-proton...
The CMS experiment has collected more than 74 fb^-1 of proton-proton collision data at a 13.6 TeV center-of-mass energy in Run 3 data taking (2022, 2023 and early 2024). The CMS RPC system faces the challenge of the LHC expected delivered instantaneous luminosity of up to 7.5 x 10^34 cm^-2s^-1, providing redundant information for robust muon triggering, reconstruction and identification. To...
ALICE stands for "A Large Ion Collider Experiment", and it is designed to study proton–proton and heavy-ion collisions at ultra-relativistic energies at the LHC. The main goal of ALICE is to assess the properties of quark gluon plasma (QGP), a state of matter reached in extreme conditions of temperature and energy density where quarks and gluons are deconfined.
One of the main observables...
The ALICE Time Of Flight (TOF) detector, composed of 1593 Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) with a gas mixture of Freon (93%) and SF6 (7%), covers an active area of approximately 140 m² and includes over 150000 readout channels. During the LHC long shutdown in 2018-2022, the detector underwent a major upgrade of its readout, allowing for continuous data taking and, therefore, to handle...
RPC detectors play a crucial role in triggering events containing muons in the central region of ATLAS. In view of the HL-LHC program, the existing RPC system, consisting of six independent concentric cylindrical detector layers each providing a full space time localization of hits, is currently facing a significant upgrade. In the next few years, 306 triplets of new generation RPCs will be...
The CMS RPC system has been upgraded for Phase-2 with two major projects. First is the comprehensive redesign of the Link System connecting the Front-End Boards (FEBs) of existing CMS RPC chambers to the trigger processors, which leads to fully exploit the intrinsic time resolution of 1.6 ns. Second is the extension of the pseudorapidity coverage by adding new chambers from |η| = 1.9 to 2.4....
This paper introduces a novel framework designed to process and analyze raw condition data retrieved from the non-physics event bus of the CERN Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment in real time. Utilizing advanced data streaming techniques, the framework aims to explore correlations between key operational parameters of the Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detector at the CMS experiment,...
The High Luminosity phase of LHC will require a vast improvement of the ATLAS detector in terms of performance, since the entire apparatus will be operated in much harsher conditions. The BI project is one of the ATLAS Phase-2 upgrades, ensuring the demands coming from the physics for the next 20 years. In this framework, a novel dedicated Front-End electronics has been developed, which...
Advanced front-end electronics are designed for the new improved RPCs of CMS experiment to cope with the HL-LHC era challenges. The front-end electronics (FEB) are equipped with a new ASIC, iRPCROC, which reads the strips and digitises incoming signals, triggering the Cyclone V FPGA to stamp the time of each signal accurately. This electronics was developed to read out the RPC detectors from...
In view of the Phase-2 of the LHC physics program, called High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), the CMS muon system will be upgraded to maintain a robust muon triggering and reconstruction performance. Therefore RE3/1 and RE4/1 stations of the forward muon system will be equipped with new improved Resistive Plate Chambers (iRPC) as dedicated detectors for muon triggering in CMS. The new iRPC detectors...
The ATLAS Muon Spectrometer is set for a significant upgrade as part of the High-Luminosity LHC (HL- LHC) program, which includes the installation of three additional full coverage layers of new generation thin-gap Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) in the inner barrel region. These RPCs feature a reduced gas gap thickness of 1 mm between high-pressure phenolic laminate (HPL) electrodes,...
A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) is one of the four large experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and it is designed to study the physics of Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) using ultra-relativistic Pb-Pb collisions. To study the muonic decays of heavy quarks, ALICE is equipped with a Muon Spectrometer located at forward rapidity, which includes the Muon IDentifier (MID), a system...
Multi-gap resistive plate chamber (MRPC) has been adopted to construct the inner Time-of-Flight (TOF) detector for the CEE experiment at HLEF. Its mass production started in May 2024. The production procedure and related quality control (QC) are described. A preliminary status of the MRPC production and the test results with cosmic rays is given. The inner TOF covers a total area of...
The current RPC system is undergoing a major upgrade, consisting in the installation of approximately 1000 RPC detector units of new generation in the innermost barrel layer of the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer. The goal of the project is to increase the detector coverage, currently limited to approximately 80%, and improve the trigger robustness and efficiency. The production of the gas volumes...
In order to cope with the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider, the current ATLAS Muon system foresees a significant upgrade during the Long Shutdown-3.
For the muon trigger, three layers of thin-gap Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) will be added to the BI (Barrel Inner) region.
This new generation of RPC benefits from the thin-gap structure to achieve the required higher rate capability....
A new generation of Resistive Plate Chambers have been developed for the ATLAS phase-2 upgrade in sight of the High-Luminosity phase of the Large Hadron Collider. These RPCs consist in three independent 1 mm gas gaps(singlets) equipped with a newly low-threshold Front-End electronics, assembled in the same mechanical structure(triplet). During 2024 the production of the phase-2 RPCs started...
The field of particle physics is currently in unknown territory, facing the question of how to further explore the frontier represented by the standard model of particle physics. With several questions left unanswered and a plethora of models for physics beyond the standard model, a very broad program of exploration for new phenomena and particles, with masses ranging over several tens of...
In order to provide an excellent particle identification (PID) of charged hadrons at the future high-rate Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment the CBM-TOF group has developed a concept of a 120 m$^2$ large Time-of-Flight (ToF) wall (about 90000 channels) with a system time resolution below 80 ps based on Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC). Prior to its destined operation at the...
The Multi-Strip, Multi-Gap Resistive Plate Chambers (MSMGRPCs) developed to fulfill the high counting rate and granularity requirements of the low polar angle region of the CBM-TOF wall showed very good performances in time resolution (50 ps) and efficiency (>90%), up to 30 kHz/ cm$^2$ counting rate, exposed on the whole active area. Considering that CBM will run in the average 2 months/year...
The CALICE technological RPC-based SDHCAL prototype that fulfils all the requirements of compactness, hermeticity and power budget of the future lepton accelerator experiments, has been extensively tested and has provided excellent results in terms of the energy resolution and shower separation.
New phase of R&D to validate completely the SDHCAL option for the International Linear...
The RPC chambers are the only detector in the muon system of the CMS experiment that covers the barrel and the endcap. During the entire time of operation in CMS, they have demonstrated their robustness, exceeding the ten-year limit for which they were originally designed. Moreover, for the high luminosity LHC period, an upgrade of the electronic boards will be performed to exploit the full...
The COmpact DEtector for EXotics at LHCb (CODEX-b) is a particle physics detector dedicated to displaced decays of exotic long-lived particles (LLPs), compelling signatures of dark sectors Beyond the Standard Model, which arise in theories containing a hierarchy of scales and small parameters. The CODEX-b detector is a cube with 10m per side with two internal sections, planned to be installed...
An important potential large-scale application of RPC detectors in the near future is the ANUBIS detector at the HL-LHC, with a total gas gap area of about 8,000 m^2. The primary physics goal for the ANUBIS detector is searching for new long-lived particles (LLP) that are predicted in many extensions of the Standard Model with Dark Matter candidates. The ANUBIS detector will provide...
The proposed AN Underground Belayed In-Shaft (ANUBIS) experiment aims to search for long-lived particles (LLPs) within CERN's ATLAS underground cavern. Recent efforts to realise this experiment include the installation and commissioning of a prototype detector, proANUBIS, which has been collecting LHC collision data since in 2024. The key point physics programme of the proANUBIS demonstrator...
Besides High Energy Physics experiments, RPCs have been successfully employed also in cosmic ray physics, as demonstrated by ARGO experiment.
The detector readout is however very different from that used for particle tracking in collider experiments, based on strips behaving as transmission lines with non-negligible signal propagation time.
Cosmic ray detection with ground-based apparatuses...
Over the last two decades, the possibility of using RPCs in outdoors systems has increased considerably. Our group has participated in this effort having installed several systems and continues to work on their optimization, while simultaneously studying and developing new approaches that can to use of RPCs in outdoor applications.
In particular, some detectors were deployed in the field at...
The Trasgo detectors were proposed a few years ago for the measurement of cosmic rays at ground level with a very high angular resolution, with the ability to measure bundles of particles and with an electron/muon PID carried out by software. Now a new generation of detectors, the miniTrasgos, of only 0.1m2 of surface, has been launched and several of them have already been built and...
This talk delves into the crucial enhancements of the RPC system as part of the comprehensive upgrades to the CMS Level-1 Тrigger, tailored to address the increased luminosity challenges at the HL-LHC. The revised Level-1 architecture maximizes the integration and utility of the muon subsystems—CSC, DT, and particularly the RPC—to ensure superior performance and reliability under extreme...
One of the upgrades of CMS RPC system is the installation of new chambers - the improved RPC - with a new readout technology, achieving a space resolution along the strip of about ~2cm, enabling the inclusion of the RPC hit in the CMS muon reconstruction. The main characteristic of the iRPC is the two side strip readout which makes a new clusterization algorithm necessary. The algorithm was...
This poster introduces an extension to the Analytical Method clustering algorithm designed for the Barrel Muon Track Finder Layer 1 (BMTL1) for HL-LHC. The new extension leverages the enhanced timing capabilities of the CMS RPC system. The new algorithm significantly reduces the prefiring of muons. This method addresses challenges associated with high particle flux environments, ensuring...
This poster presents the development of RPC L1 Trigger clustering within the CMS software framework, CMSSW, incorporating the improved timing capabilities of RPC chambers. The integration of these upgrades significantly enhances the resolution and reliability of the L1 Trigger emulator, enabling more precise trigger responses. The presentation will detail the technical advancements in...
The CMS experiment is collecting proton-proton collisions at the center-of-mass energy of 13.6TeV in LHC Run 3. RPC detector is one of the sub-detectors of the CMS muon system which is capable of triggering and reconstruction of muons. In this poster, efficiency of the CMS RPC detector during the Run 3 data taking period is presented. The Tag-and-Probe method with the decay of the Z boson to...
The HV scan is a crucial sequence of calibration runs typically conducted at the onset of each data-taking year with the initial collisions of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at nominal luminosity. This procedure ensures the proper functioning of the Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detectors at the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at CERN by establishing correct working points. In the...
The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is a general purpose experiment to explore the physics of the TeV scale in pp-collisions provided by the CERN LHC. Muons constitute an important signature of new physics and their detection, triggering, reconstruction and identification is guaranteed by various sub-detectors using different detection systems: Drift Tubes (DT) and Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC)...
The timing Resistive Plate Chambers (tRPCs) detectors are generally
characterized by a multi-gap structure with multiples floating high resistivity
glass electrodes. These features restrict their field of application to medium sized
areas experiments. In this presentation we show the performance of two
single thin-gap RPCs prototypes designed to work as an intermediate solution
between...
The resistive well (R-WELL) and the resistive plate well (RP-WELL) are resistive-protected gaseous detectors, capable of operation in a harsh accelerator environment in discharge-free mode. Among current room-temperature applications are digital hadron calorimetry and muon tomography. These detectors also present a potential solution for operation in cryogenic conditions, with adequate...
MRPC detectors, known for their excellent time resolution, are widely used in Time of Flight (TOF) systems for high-energy physics experiments. The CBM experiment requires detectors that can handle an intensity greater than 20 kHz/cm². MRPCs with low-resistance glass and pad spacers meet these requirements. Tsinghua University undertook the development and production of the CBM-TOF MRPC2. This...
The MARQ (Multi-Purpose Analyzer for Resonance and Quark dynamics Spectrometer) experiment, a future experiment in Japan, involves the construction of two types of Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs): Time-Of-Flight RPCs and tracking RPCs. The former will be utilized for π/K/p separation below 1.7 GeV/c, while the latter will serve for muon identification downstream. However, the...
The phase-out of Hydro-fluorocarbons, due to their high Global Warming Power, affecting the main gas used in Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs), tetrafluorethane C2H2F4, has increased pressure on existing systems and imposes strong restrictions on its use in new systems. A possible solution to the problem is the substitution of this gas by others with a much lower Global Warming...
GIF++ irradiation facility at CERN is a unique infrastructure for performance test and long term characterization of gaseous detectors under severe gamma background conditions. Also, a muon beam line is available to ensure precise detector studies. The gamma flux is originated by a 14 TBq 137 Cs source and can be modulated in a wide range by means of various absorption filters which can...
The current operation of the Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) system within the CMS experiment involves approximately 95% tetrafluoroethane (C2H2F4, TFE). However, in response to climate change concerns, the European Union has instituted a ban on TFE owing to its elevated Global Warming Potential (GWP), resulting in an associated increase in market prices. In this framework, shared endeavors...
The RPCs employed at the LHC experiments are currently operated in avalanche mode, with a mixture containing a large fraction of C2H2F4 (> 90%) with the addition of i-C4H10 and SF6 in slightly different concentrations (depending on the experiments). However, C2H2F4 and SF6 are fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) with GWP of ~1400 and ~22800 respectively. EU regulations imposed a progressive...
Glass Multigap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) detectors are primarily used for their excellent time resolution properties in High Energy Physics and Tomography application. Typically, they are operated with a freon-based gas mixture containing C2H2F4 (R134a) and SF6, both greenhouse gases (GHG) with high global warming potential.
This study focuses on the construction and characterization...
The standard gas mixture for the Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC), composed of $\rm{C_{2}H_{2}F_{4}}$/i-$\rm{C_{4}H_{10}/SF_{6}}$, allows the detector operation in avalanche mode, as required by the high-luminosity collider experiments. The gas density, the low current and the comfortable avalanche-streamer separation guarantee high detection efficiency, rate capability and slow detector...
RPCs have traditionally used a gas mixture with a high Global Warming Potential (GWP). To reduce the environmental impact, promising low-GWP gases and the addition of CO2 to the standard mixture have been explored on small 50 x 50 cm^2 RPC prototypes using a 1 mm single-gap HPL-based technology. Preliminary measurements of key performance metrics like efficiency, streamer probability, induced...
In High Energy Physics Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detectors are typically operated in avalanche mode, making use of a high-performance gas mixture which main component, Tetrafluoroethane (C2H2F4), is classified as a fluorinated high Global Warming Potential greenhouse gas.
The RPC EcoGas@GIF++ Collaboration is pursuing an intensive R&D on new gas mixtures for RPC detectors to explore...
Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detectors at CERN's LHC experiments traditionally use a Freon-based gas mixture containing C2H2F4 (R-134a) and SF6, both of which are high global warming potential (GWP) gases. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, operational costs, and optimize RPC performance, the best compromise is the gas mixture with a substitution of 30% of R-134a with CO2 in the standard gas...
Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detectors in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment operate with a gas mixture comprised of 95.2% of C2H2F4, that provides a high number of ion-electron pairs, 4.5% of iC4H10, that ensures the suppression of photon-feedback effects and 0.3% of SF6, used as an electron quencher to further operate the detector in streamer-free mode. C2H2F4 is known to be a...
ALICE MID system consists of 72 single-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detectors, operated with a gas mixture composed of C2H2F4 (R134a)/iC4H10/SF6 - 89.7%/10%/0.3%, along with about 40% of relative humidity. The combined effects of background irradiation and the electric field within the detector’s gas result in the production of F- ions and F-based impurities, also due to the high...
The CMS Experiment utilizes advanced muon detection systems comprising various gas-based technologies, such as Drift Tubes, Cathode Strip Chambers, and Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). RPCs are notable for their rapid response, which is crucial for the system’s triggering mechanism. The CMS RPC system features a 2 mm gas gap filled with a mixture of 95.2% C2H2F4, 4.5% iC4H10, and 0.3% SF6....
The Phase II upgrade of the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer plans to install approximately 1000 new-generation Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). This upgrade will enhance detector coverage, increase hit efficiency and timing precision, improving the trigger precision and robustness.
The chamber production is ongoing and gas volumes are commercially produced in Italy. To investigate and improve the...
Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) at the CMS experiment are operated with a gas mixture containing around 95% Tetrafluoroethane (C2H2F4), commonly known as R-134a, which has a global warming potential (GWP) of 1430. In the framework of the CMS Upgrade project for the High Luminosity phase, new improved RPC detectors (iRPC) have been developed to enhance the legacy performances in the most RPC...
In preparation for the Phase II Upgrade for the HL-LHC program, 72 improved Resistive Plate Chambers (iRPCs) will be installed in the third and fourth endcap disks of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) during the next year-end technical stop (YETS). These new generation RPC detectors will operate in a low-angle momentum (extending RPC coverage from |η| = 1.9 to 2.4), in a high radiation...
In view of the High Luminosity upgrade of CERN LHC, the forward CMS Muon spectrometer will be extended with two new stations of improved Resistive Plate Chambers (iRPC), covering the pseudorapidity range from 1.8 to 2.4. A new Front-End-Board (FEB) is designed to readout iRPC signals with a very low threshold and a Time Digital Converter (TDC) embedded into a Cyclone V INTEL FPGA. In contrast...
During LHC Long Shutdown 3, the new RPC Link System will be installed. The new Link System will allow us to exploit the high time resolution of the detector from the current 25 ns, due to a limitation in the electronics of the existing system, to the order of 1 to 2 ns with the upgrade. Utilizing the performance of the new electronics will require a low attenuation loss fiber optic...
The history of gas discharge physics dates back to the early 1800s when V.V. Petrov discovered arc discharge. Since then, the physics of gas discharges is presumably one of the best-studied fields in modern science. Yet, after more than two hundred years of experience, the fundamental questions about discharge phenomena are still vivid, especially within the gaseous particle detector...
One of the key challenges in R&D strategies for RPCs is the replacement of currently used C$_2$H$_2$F$_4$ and SF$_6$ with environmentally friendly alternatives. Usually, the C$_2$H$_2$F$_4$ is replaced by a proper mixture of C$_3$H$_2$F$_4$ and CO$_2$, while CF$_3$I, C$_4$F$_7$N and C$_5$F$_{10}$O were considered as alternatives to SF$_6$. In the first part of this work, we propose complete...
F-gas regulations foresee restrictions and bans of highly potent greenhouse gases such as R134a and SF6 used in RPCs. Current research is dedicated to finding an environmentally friendly gas mixture replacement for RPCs. Simulations of RPCs are crucial in supporting and extending the mostly experimental-based research of identifying suitable eco-friendly alternatives.
To date, there is no...
An investigation of avalanche formation in Resistive Chambers with a cylindrical geometry is presented in this report. Resistive Cylindrical Chambers (RCC) were proposed in the last decade with the purpose of improving conventional Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC). The new geometry allows for the increase of gas pressure in the gas gap, leading to an increase in efficiency as well as a slightly...
We present a 2.5D Particle-in-Cell Monte Carlo collision (PIC/MCC) and a 2D fluid model of RPCs. The PIC/MCC model uses a Monte Carlo technique and a 2D numerical grid coupled with Poisson equation solver to track individual electrons and their collisions with the background gas in 3D. The fluid model is based on drift-diffusion-reaction equation and local field approximation. Both models rely...
The quest for optimal time resolution remains one of the most intense areas of current research on Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). Achieving superior time resolution is crucial for a wide range of applications, from high-energy physics experiments to medical imaging technologies. Various technological solutions are proposed, each aiming to enhance the performance of RPCs, whose actual...
The current operation of the Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) system within the CMS experiment involves tetrafluoroethane (C2H2F4, TFE) and SF6. However, in response to climate change concerns, the European Union has instituted a ban on these molecules due to their high Global Warming Potential (GWP).
As a result, researchers have been dedicated to investigating novel ecological gas mixtures...
Muon scattering tomography (MST), which has gained significant attention in recent years, is a novel radiation imaging technique evolving into two research directions: rapid inspection and detailed imaging. Increasing research shows that fully utilizing the momentum information of muons is essential to achieve satisfactory results for both two directions. MRPC (Multi-gap Resistive Plate...
Muography is a non-invasive technique that exploits the absorption and scattering features of cosmic-ray muons and produces projectional image of a target volume. We are studying different muon telescope configurations for use in tomography applications such as imaging the spent nuclear fuel dry cask, border controls of transport, and radiography applications such as to investigate...
A novel readout technique was designed for applications covering large surfaces, such as the muon scattering tomography. Knowing that the FEE is often the driving cost of RPCs, the new codification was developed with the initial intention of significantly reducing the dependence of the number of electronic channels on the detector area, without substantial decrease of its performance.
The...
Since their discovery in 1912, cosmic rays have been an invaluable source of information about the distant universe, constituting one of the pillars of the so-called multi-messenger astronomy. Also, they act as a penetrating radiation providing information about near-Earth space and the solar activity. In order to deepen our knowledge in cosmic rays, a new family of detectors called Trasgos...
In the Hadron Hall of J-PARC, we plan to measure the cross sections for exclusive Drell-Yan reaction ($π^- p→μ^+ μ^- n$) aiming to determine the generalized parton distribution functions (GPDs) of nucleons. The experiment will be conducted in the π20 beamline and MRPCs will be utilized for muon identification. An area of 1.8 m × 2.4 m will be covered by a MRPC that is designed to identify a...
Next generation high energy physics experiments will feature high-granularity detectors with thousands of readout channels, thus requiring ASICs (low power and dimension).
CAEN FrontEnd Readout System (FERS) integrates ASICs on small, synchronizable and distributable systems with Front and Back Ends. The A5203 FERS houses the recently released CERN picoTDC ASIC and provides high-resolution...
The Resistive Cylinrical Chamber (RCC) is a new gaseous detector designed
to overcome some limitations of Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC), broadening
their application range and performance. The RCC consists of two concentric
cylinders made of resistive material which define a gas gap whose thickness is
almost negligible with respect to the cylinder radii. The cylinder surfaces not
facing...
The idea of using gaseous detectors to amplify photo-electrons emitted by an embedded photocathode has been declined in may ways in the last decades, using different gaseous detector structures, including RPCs. Moreover, coupling such structures with a radiator element, enables these devices to detect charged particles, though the radiated photons.
There are at least two main challenges in...
In order to meet the requirements of high-rate and high time resolution in future high energy physics experiments, a prototype of gaseous photodetector with RPC structure was developed in this paper. The performance of the detector was simulated in Garfield++, and the single-photoelectron performance in different gases was tested using ultraviolet laser. The detector useed a low resistivity (~...
Building upon our prior work on the development of the neutron RPC detection technology [1, 2], we have recently introduced the nRPC-4D detector concept. It provides high cold/ thermal neutron detection efficiency and the capability to simultaneously readout the XYZ-position of each detected neutron and its time-of-flight (nToF). For the simplicity of construction and maintenance, the...
