Eco-friendly resistive plate chamber detectors for HEP applications

Abstract

Resistive Plate Chamber detectors are largely employed in current High Energy Physics experiments, thanks to their relatively low cost and good spatial/time resolution. They are typically operated in avalanche mode with large fractions of Tetrafluoroethane (C2H2F4), a gas recently banned by the European Union due to its high Global Warming Potential (GWP). An intense R&D activity is ongoing to improve RPC technology in view of present and future High Energy Particle Physics (HEP) applications. Since a few years, a joint effort among the ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, LHCb/SHiP and CERN Detector Technology (EP-DT) Communities is in place to search for potential eco-friendly gas mixtures and assess the performance of RPCs under different irradiation conditions. Tests are in progress at the CERN Gamma Irradiation Facility (GIF++). In this paper, a review on the promising results of these studies and future plans will be given.