3.5 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherenkov radiation | 4/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T10:54:47.273838+00:00 | kb-cron |
Cherenkov radiation is commonly used in experimental particle physics for particle identification. One could measure (or put limits on) the velocity of an electrically charged elementary particle by the properties of the Cherenkov light it emits in a certain medium. If the momentum of the particle is measured independently, one could compute the mass of the particle by its momentum and velocity (see four-momentum), and hence identify the particle. The simplest type of particle identification device based on a Cherenkov radiation technique is the threshold counter, which answers whether the velocity of a charged particle is lower or higher than a certain value (
v
0
=
c
/
n
{\displaystyle v_{0}=c/n}
, where
c
{\displaystyle c}
is the speed of light, and
n
{\displaystyle n}
is the refractive index of the medium) by looking at whether this particle emits Cherenkov light in a certain medium. Knowing particle momentum, one can separate particles lighter than a certain threshold from those heavier than the threshold. The most advanced type of a detector is the RICH, or ring-imaging Cherenkov detector, developed in the 1980s. In a RICH detector, a cone of Cherenkov light is produced when a high-speed charged particle traverses a suitable medium, often called radiator. This light cone is detected on a position sensitive planar photon detector, which allows reconstructing a ring or disc, whose radius is a measure for the Cherenkov emission angle. Both focusing and proximity-focusing detectors are in use. In a focusing RICH detector, the photons are collected by a spherical mirror and focused onto the photon detector placed at the focal plane. The result is a circle with a radius independent of the emission point along the particle track. This scheme is suitable for low refractive index radiators—i.e. gases—due to the larger radiator length needed to create enough photons. In the more compact proximity-focusing design, a thin radiator volume emits a cone of Cherenkov light which traverses a small distance—the proximity gap—and is detected on the photon detector plane. The image is a ring of light whose radius is defined by the Cherenkov emission angle and the proximity gap. The ring thickness is determined by the thickness of the radiator. An example of a proximity gap RICH detector is the High Momentum Particle Identification Detector (HMPID), a detector currently under construction for ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment), one of the six experiments at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN.
== See also == Askaryan radiation, similar radiation produced by fast uncharged particles Blue noise Bremsstrahlung, radiation produced when charged particles are decelerated by other charged particles Faster-than-light, about conjectural propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light Frank–Tamm formula, giving the spectrum of Cherenkov radiation Light echo List of light sources Non-radiation condition Radioluminescence Tachyon Transition radiation
== Citations ==
== Sources ==
== External links ==
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