Time-projection chamber

Article By:

Nygren, David R. Physics Department, College of Science, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas.

Pfützner, Marek Faculty of Physics, Institute of Experimental Physics, Division of Nuclear Physics, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.

Last reviewed:January 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.697725

Show previous versions

• Time-projection chamber, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

An advanced particle detector for the study of ultrahigh-energy collisions of positrons and electrons, developed originally at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. The underlying physics of the scattering process can be studied through precise measurements of the momenta, directions, particle species, and correlations of the collision products. The time-projection chamber (TPC) provides a unique combination of capabilities for these studies and other problems in elementary particle physics by offering particle identification over a wide momentum range, and by offering high resolution of intrinsically three-dimensional spatial information for accurate reconstruction of events. The TPC is also used in nuclear physics to observe and characterize very rare events, and in particular, for studies of exotic nuclear decay modes with radioactive beams.

The content above is only an excerpt.