Distributed drift chamber design for rare particle detection in relativistic heavy ion collisions

Abstract

This report describes a multi-plane drift chamber that was designed and constructed to function as a topological detector for the BNL AGS E896 rare particle experiment. The chamber was optimized for good spatial resolution, two track separation, and a high uniform efficiency while operating in a 1.6 Tesla magnetic field and subjected to long term exposure from a 11.6 GeV/nucleon beam of 10 6 Au ions per second.