A time projection chamber for the three-dimensional reconstruction of two-proton radioactivity events

Bertram Blank (1) , L. Hay (1) , J. Huikari (1) , S. Leblanc (1) , S. List (1) , J.-L. Pedroza (1) , P. Ascher (1) , L. Audirac (1) , C. Borcea (2) , G. Canchel (1) , F. Delalee (1) , C.E. Demonchy (1) , C. Dossat (3) , J. Giovinazzo (1) , P. Hellmuth (1) , C. Marchand (1) , I. Matea (4) , R. de Oliveira (5) , J. Pibernat (1) , A. Rebii (1) , L. Serani (1) , J.C. Thomas (6)

1 CENBG - Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan
2 NIPNE - National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering
3 IRFU - Institut de Recherches sur les lois Fondamentales de l'Univers
4 IPNO - Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay
5 CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research
6 GANIL - Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds

Two-proton radioactivity was observed in 2002 in the decay of 45Fe. However, the experiments performed at that time did not allow the observation of the two protons directly. We present here a new setup based on the principle of a time-projection chamber that enabled us for the first time to identify directly the two protons. The new setup permits the observation and reconstruction in three dimensions of the traces of the protons and to determine thus their individual energies and their relative angle. We will discuss the setup in all necessary details and describe its performances in the context of two-proton radioactivity and β-delayed two-proton emission studies.

Mots clés: Two-proton radioactivity; Time projection chamber; ASIC electronics

Domaines: Instrumentations et Détecteurs [physics.ins-det]

Bertram Blank, L. Hay, J. Huikari, S. Leblanc, S. List, et al.. A time projection chamber for the three-dimensional reconstruction of two-proton radioactivity events. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 2010, 613, pp.65-78. ⟨10.1016/j.nima.2009.10.140⟩. ⟨in2p3-00429237⟩