Speaker
Description
Particle identification plays a critical role in the core physics program of the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). A dual-radiator Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector (dRICH) will provide hadron identification over a momentum range from a 3 GeV/c up to 50 GeV/c in the forward region of the ePIC experiment. The ePIC dRICH will also perform pion rejection to identify electrons in order to reconstruct DIS events.
The detector employs aerogel and C$_2$F$_6$ radiators to produce Cherenkov photons, which are focused by six spherical mirrors and subsequently detected by six matrixes of SiPM (Silicon Photomultiplier) sensors. Advanced simulation studies are central to the optimization of the dRICH design.
Currently, significant effort is being dedicated to ensuring a realistic geometrical description of the detector, including the mechanical constraints and integration within the overall detector system. Additionally, realistic parameterizations of the optical components and photo-sensors are being implemented.
A particular challenge arises from the intrinsic dark count rate of SiPMs, which can impact the particle identification capabilities of the detector. Therefore, extensive simulation studies have been conducted to evaluate the identification limits under varying dark count conditions.
In this contribution, we present the simulation framework, the reconstruction algorithm, and the performance evaluation of the dRICH under different SiPM noise rates. The impact on the dRICH performance when applying timing cuts to mitigate noise effects has also been studied.
