Specialists from the Institute of Scintillation Materials of the NAS of Ukraine, together with researchers from CERN, develop new scintillation materials for future generations of elementary particle detectors. This is reported by Accelerating News in an article about the Ukrainian-European research project aimed at developing innovative electromagnetic calorimeters for future accelerators – "CERN teams up with Ukrainian lab to develop scintillation for future innovative electromagnetic calorimeters".
Scintillation materials are used in detectors to detect high-energy particles. When a charged particle passes through them, the material emits a flash of light, which allows determining its characteristics. Therefore, the properties of such materials largely determine the effectiveness of modern experiments in high-energy physics.
Within the joint project, Ukrainian scientists work on creating new scintillation crystals and fibers based on rare-earth garnets, which have increased radiation resistance and can operate under extremely high loads. Such characteristics are critically important for future accelerator complexes and modernized CERN experiments, where the radiation level will be significantly higher than today.
Some of the samples created at the Institute of Scintillation Materials are already undergoing testing on detector prototypes at CERN. Among them are new scintillation crystals for the calorimeters of the LHCb experiment, as well as materials for dual-readout detectors that simultaneously register scintillation and Cherenkov radiation, allowing for increased measurement accuracy.
It is especially noteworthy that a significant part of the work was carried out during the full-scale war. The project started in 2022, when Kharkiv was under continuous Russian shelling. Despite the severe circumstances, the institute's team managed to continue research and fulfill international commitments to partners.
The Institute of Scintillation Materials of the NAS of Ukraine is one of the world’s leading centers for the development of scintillation materials and detectors based on them. The institution has participated for many years in CERN projects and the international Crystal Clear collaboration, which focuses on creating new scintillators for high-energy physics and medical applications.
Source: Accelerating News