Grant: Subatomic Physics Envelope - Project

An electron-positron Linear Collider (LC) is the next proposed world facility for particle physics after the CERN proton-proton collider LHC. Two different LC concepts presently exist; the 0.5-1.0 TeV International Linear Collider (ILC), and the 1-3 TeV Compact Linear Collider (CLIC). A ready to build ILC Technical Design Report will be released by 2012 yearend. The CLIC option is less developed and a design is expected later this decade. LHC results will guide the way to deciding which LC option to build and hence its time scale.Detector R&D has so far been for experiments at ILC, and we have worked since 2000 on the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) R&D for the ILD detector at ILC. Preliminary studies for ILD at CLIC indicate that it would meet CLIC requirements with minor modifications.The transverse resolution goal for the 2-m drift ILD TPC in a 3.5 T magnet, 100-µm for all tracks, has never been achieved before. Canadians have been at the leading edge of TPC R&D and have developed novel techniques to calibrate and to achieve the TPC resolution goal. The new charge dispersion Micro Pattern Gas Detector (MPGD) readout concept developed by us led directly to Micromegas development as a readout option for ILD-TPC. The LCTPC collaboration built the 80cm diameter Large Prototype LP TPC in 2008 for beam tests at DESY. Our collaborators from Saclay France built a series of LP TPC charge dispersion Micromegas modules. Analyses of these data sets indicate that the ILD TPC single hit resolution goals could be achieved. To measure momentum resolution, the LP TPC was recently outfitted and tested with the first of the seven planned Micromegas modules with integrated electronics to be constructed at Saclay. We are principally responsible for simulation, analysis and calibration. A three-year grant is requested to meet existing commitments and to plan the future course of LP TPC R&D based on LHC results.