Development of an Endcap DIRC for PANDA

Abstract

The aim of this research is to develop a planar DIRC detector showing advantages and performance similar to a classical, barrel shaped DIRC, but at smaller polar angles which cannot be accessed using a cylindrical geometry. The device will complement the PANDA Barrel DIRC by covering polar angles from 5° to 22°. The envisaged π/K-separation is ≥3σ up to 4GeV/c.A major challenge is the adaption of the device to the PANDA environment including a magnetic field of ~1–2T, high rates and radiation, limited space for optics and sensors as well as the lack of a common first-level trigger. This paper discusses a detector design which forms a compromise between these constraints and available hardware, a specific analytic reconstruction method, a performance estimation based on Geant4 simulations and finally the successful particle identification using a recent R&D prototype.