Response of the DHCAL to Hadrons and Positrons

Abstract

We have constructed a prototype Digital Hadron Calorimeter (DHCAL) using Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) as the active elements. The RPCs are read out digitally (1-bit) by 1 x 1 cm 2 pads. The DHCAL consists of 38 alternating layers of steel and RPCs followed by a 14 layer tail catcher (TCMT), also read out using RPCs. With each layer consisting of 9,216 channels, the entire detector contains 350,208 (DHCAL) + 129,024 (TMCT) = 479,232 readout channels (world record in calorimetry). Each active layer contains three 32 x 96 cm 2 RPCs. In this paper we report on results from a first look at the DHCAL data to assess the calorimetric properties of the DHCAL. We present preliminary results from the analysis of both positron and pion events of momenta between 2 and 60 GeV/c. These results are considered to be a first validation of the viability of the DHCAL concept.