Book Description

The 20th century saw the development of particle physics research field, with the fundationof the famous Standard Model of particle physics. More specifically during the past 70 years numerous particles have been detected and studied. Alongside those discoveries, the experimental means and detectors has greatly evolved. From the simple Gargamel bubble chamber, which lay the first brick to the Standard Model theory, to the nowadays complex detectors such as the LHC. In the development of newer particles detector, one can distinguish two big categories:the solid state detectors et the gaseous detectors. The former encompass detectors suchas Cherenkov and scintillator counters while the later make use of gases as detection medium. The gaseous detectors have also greatly evolved during the past century from theGeiger-Muller tube to the spark or Pestov chambers, which can cope with the increasing detection rate of particles accelerator. The Parallel Plate Avalanche Chamber is a similar gaseous detector but operates in avalanche mode, where the detected signal is producedby a controlled multiplication of electrons in the gas. The aforementioned detectors were operated in spark mode, where the detection is made through a spark discharge in the gas.The avalanche mode allows even greater detection rates at the expense of signal amplitude. In early 80s a new gaseous detector design began to emerge: the Resistive Plate Chambers.This detector has the particularity to operates in spark or avalanche mode depending on its design. Operated in avalanche mode, they present an impressing detection rates at the expense of very small electric signals, requiring dedicated amplification circuitries. Nowadays the Resistive Plate Chambers are widely used in numerous experiments worldwide,because of their interesting performances and relatively small price. Despite their widespread usage, the Resistive Plate Chambers have not been extensively studied from a simulation and modelisation point of view. Simulation of a detectoris an essential tool for its development and construction, as it allows to test a design and predict the performances one may get. In this work we focused on the description of the physics phenomenons occuring during an electronic avalanche inside a Resistive Plate Chambers operated in avalanche mode, in order to properly modelise and simulate them. We review a detailed model of the ionisation process, which is the fundamental event in any gaseous particle detector, alongside theRiegler-Lippmann-Veenhof model for the electronic avalanche. A C++ simulation has been produced in the context of this work and some results are presented.