Single-cell prototype drift chambers were built at TRIUMF and tested with a ∼\unit[210]MeV/c beam of positrons, muons, and pions. A cluster-counting technique is implemented which improves the ability to distinguish muons and pions when combined with a traditional truncated-mean charge measurement. Several cluster-counting algorithms and equipment variations are tested, all showing significant improvement when combined with the traditional method. The results show that cluster counting is a feasible option for any particle physics experiment using drift chambers for particle identification. The technique does not require electronics with an overly high sampling rate. Optimal results are found with a signal smoothing time of ∼\unit[5]ns corresponding to a ∼\unit[100]MHz Nyquist frequency.
@article{arxiv.1307.8101,
title = {Improved Particle Identification Using Cluster Counting in a Full-Length Drift Chamber Prototype},
author = {Jean-François Caron and Christopher Hearty and Philip Lu and Rocky So and Racha Cheaib and Jean-Pierre Martin and Wayne Faszer and Alexandre Beaulieu and Samuel de Jong and Michael Roney and Riccardo de Sangro and Giulietto Felici and Giuseppe Finocchiaro and Marcello Piccolo},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1307.8101},
year = {2013}
}