Novel scintillation detectors for precision particle physics experiments

Duration: 1.7.2014 - 30.06.2017
Project type: ARRS research project

Project leader: Peter Križan
Coworkers: Samo Korpar, Peter Križan, Rok Pestotnik, Samo Stanič, Marko Starič, Andrej Studen, Anže Zupanc
Partners: Jožef Stefan Institute; University of Maribor, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; University of Nova Gorica

In the next decade, the research in elementary particle physics will concentrate on searches for extensions of the Standard Model (SM), popularly known as New Physics. An important part of these searches are precision measurements of rare processes in decays of heavy quarks and leptons at the SuperKEKB collider at KEK in Tsukuba, Japan. In studies for rare decays of B and D mesons, the electromagnetic calorimeter will remain one of the most important tools. For this next generation of experiments in heavy flavour physics, a novel calorimeter type has to be developed that would reliably operate in a high hit rate environment of the forward region of the Belle II spectrometer. In the proposed project, we will investigate new scintillator materials with fast response and high radiation resistance. Based on the results of this research, the forward calorimeter of the Belle II experiment will be designed and optimized.