Data acquisition schemes for continuous two-particle time-of-flight coincidence experiments

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Particle Physics
• Experimental Physics

Background:

• Two-particle coincidence experiments are crucial for studying particle interactions.
• Existing data acquisition techniques face limitations at high count rates and large time-of-flight ranges.
• Continuous sources present unique challenges for coincidence measurements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and compare three distinct data acquisition schemes for two-particle coincidence experiments.
• To introduce and validate a novel multistart/multistop data acquisition setup.
• To provide analytical and numerical tools for characterizing the performance of these techniques.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of single-start/single-stop and single-start/multiple-stop techniques using time-to-pulse-height and time-to-digital converters.
• Development and implementation of a multistart/multistop data acquisition system.
• Derivation of analytical formulas and numerical simulations to assess performance metrics.
• Generation of computer simulated spectra to visualize time-of-flight distributions.

Main Results:

• The single-start/single-stop method exhibits spectral complexity and poor performance at high count rates.
• The single-start/multiple-stop method shows improvement but is limited by large time-of-flight ranges and variable backgrounds.
• The proposed multistart/multistop setup demonstrates enhanced signal-to-noise ratio, constant background, and high-speed data acquisition.
• Analytical and simulation results confirm the predicted performance characteristics of each technique.

Conclusions:

• The multistart/multistop data acquisition scheme is the most effective for two-particle coincidence experiments with continuous sources.
• This new technique overcomes limitations of previous methods, offering superior data quality and acquisition speed.
• The proposed setup is readily achievable with commercially available time-to-digital converters, facilitating wider adoption.