This was my first research project which ended up being more about learning C++ than producing meaningful results. The program I wrote never fully worked because the project was abandoned for the sonic crystal project mid Spring 2003.
| Date | Spring 2003 |
|---|---|
| Primary Goals | To simulate the fiber tracker of the DØ detector |
| Software | gcc, emacs, IGOR |
| Hardware | N/A |
The fiber tracker of the DØ detector consists of eight concentric carbon fiber
cylinders lined with scintillating optical fibers. Lighting up when a charged
particles passes through them, these fibers allow the position of the particle
to be measured as it. Tracking the particle's circular trajectory in the
detector's strong magnetic field reveals its momentum.
The design of the fiber tracker contains an inherent limitation in that if two
particles pass through the same scintillating fiber at nearly the same time,
only one particle will be recorded by the detector. Since many collisions contain
conically shaped 'jets' of particles, it is possible that this limitation could
result in the loss of a significant amount of data.
I learned a great deal about C++ programming through this project. A poster presentation was created for the STARS Symposium which was awarded 'Runner Up' by the Sigma Xi judges.
