On the initial approximation of charged particle tracks in detectors with linear sensing elements

Abstract

The search for charged particle tracks in detectors with linear sensing elements, such as wire chambers, strip silicon detectors etc., starts with identification of straight track segments. The latter are deduced by constructing all possible combinations of activated detector elements. In the high multiplicity environment, with many activated detector elements, this causes large combinatorics and significantly reduces the performance of the track finding algorithms. In this report we trace this problem back to determination of the parameters of a straight line build from a number of skew lines (sensing elements of a detector) in space. Based on the intersection points of two hyperbolas, we demonstrate an analytic solution in the case of four skew detector elements.The procedure can also be applied as a first approximation to the more general case of curved track finding.