Astroparticles 2

The course describes the different detectors and the physical processes involved in the detection of particles in high energy physics. In a second step, we will describe the operation of the main particle gas pedals that we find in high energy physics but also in many other fields such as medical, industry, material sciences, archaeology etc...

The course gives a detailed description of the physical processes and experimental techniques involved in the detection of charged and neutral particles in detectors, which are the basis of all physical measurements.

A detailed description of the different radiations and particle-matter interactions will be given.

We will focus on describing the systematics associated with these processes and their statistical treatment.

The first objective of the course is that students will be able to understand and/or define what types of detectors will be needed in their future projects while knowing how to evaluate their future performance, efficiency, cost, etc. The second objective is to make the students aware of the inherent systematics of all detectors when analyzing the data, as these have a definite impact on the physical interpretation of these analyses.

- General training in physics at the M1 level,

- Nuclear and particle physics,

- Mathematics for physics.

Recommended Prerequisites:

Basic knowledge of :

- Special relativity and kinematics relativizes,

- Nuclear physics.

Final written exam without documents of 3 hours.

Course materials/TD and course/correction of exercises in English.
Section 1 "Introduction to detectors"
1/ Interactions of particles with matter for dummies
2/ Examples for major discoveries made possible by detector progress
A/ Discovery of positron by C.Anderson and imaging techniques
B/ First neutral current events and electronic detectors
C/ Discovery of intermediate vector bosons W±,Z0, UA1 and UA2 at CERN in anti-p p interactions
D/ Discovery of neutrino oscillations + detection of neutrinos from SN1987A
E/ Discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN in p p interactions
3/ A very simple detector :
A/ key components of a typical scintillation counter
B/ Scintillators
C/ Photo Multiplier Tubes, Light Collection and Photon Detection
4/ Parameters characterizing detectors
5/ Example of a particle detector in space for gamma-ray astronomy. The Fermi Observatory !

Section 3 : "Interaction of charged particles with matter"
1) Energy loss of heavy charged particles :
A/ Bethe-Bloch Formula
B/ Discussion of Bethe-Bloch formula
C/ δ-Rays
D/ DeltaE - E Telescopes, Particle ID from dE/dx
2) Interaction of electrons with matter
A/ Electron energy loss
B/ Critical energy
C Mean free path
D/ Radiation length
3) Fluctuations :
A/ Fluctuations in energy loss distribution, Landau distribution
B/ Multiple scattering
C/ How does interaction of charged particles with matter impact the science ? Some examples from the LAT
4) Cherenkov radiations
A/ Definition
B/ Cherenkov counters

Section 4: "Interaction of g-rays with matter"
1/ Attenuation of γ-rays: Some definitions
2/ Photoelectric absorption
3/ Compton scattering
4/ Pair production

Section 5 : "Electromagnetic and hadronic showers"
1/ Electromagnetic showers
2/ Interaction of hadrons
3/ Calorimetry

Section 3 : "Accelerators"
1/ History and over view of particle accelerators
A/ Why study particle accelerators ?
B/ Radioactivity
C/ Cosmic rays
D/ Early accelerators
2/ Colliders
A/ Over view
B/ Luminosity
C/ Particle sources
D/ Synchrotron radiations
3/ Main colliders and accelerator
A/ Cyclotrons
B/ Synchrcyclotrons (protons)
C/ Linear accelerators (electrons)