Jim McCann, Carnegie Mellon University / Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (CEBAF)

Title: Calibrating a Prototype Aerogel Cherenkov Detector and Evaluating Its Design

Authors: J. McCann, B. Wojtsekhowski, L. Taub

Abstract: The use of aerogels for Cherenkov particle identification is discussed, in particular Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator facility (CEBAF)'s Hall A Aerogel Cherenkov Detector, under development for an electroproduction of K-meson experiment to run in the year 2000. The use of cosmic rays to calibrate a prototype of the detector is also described, including the derivation of a correction factor to compute the average number of photons collected in a highly relativistic beam (with little distribution in particle velocities) from the cosmic ray data. The prototype detector is a one-meter box containing six 5" BURLE 8854 phototubes, horizontally placed, and a 40 cm cube central chamber, where the removable aerogel (n=1.015) mount is placed. The inside of this chamber is coated with a reflective surface.