From Analog Inputs to Physics Results: A Case Study in Using Digital Electronics in Physics Research

COFFEE_KLATCH · Invited

Abstract

Particle collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) can range from grazing collisions to head on collisions and can result in a wide range of physical interactions between the colliding particles. Signals from the full detector suite at a collision point cannot be readout quickly enough to record the full 10 MHz crossing rate. Therefore, to make physics conclusions from these collisions, signatures of specific interactions must be identified using a subset of the full detector to reduce the data acquisition rate to a manageable volume. These signatures must be encoded into a real-time digital pattern recognition system to choose the interactions needed to achieve physics results. This is accomplished using custom built electronics arranged in a tree structure to form a digital trigger system composed of analog-to-digital conversion electronics at the tree inputs and digital electronics throughout the rest of the tree. The trigger system developed for the Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC (STAR) is able to identify a wide array of configurable patterns among thousands of individual detectors at a rate of 10 MHz. The system can be easily programmed to identify new patterns and can be used to look for many different patterns simultaneously. The flexibility of this system allows for a wide range of physical interactions to be explored. This system was recently ported for use at a new experiment at RHIC called AnDY, exhibiting the system's general utility as a trigger and data acquisition system for physics experiments.

–

Authors

  • Chris Perkins

    Univ. of California at Berkeley, North Carolina Central U. (NCCU), Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, SJSU, LLNL, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, USA, University of Dallas, USA, University of Kentucky, USA, ASU, UNC/TUNL, Univ. Tennessee, ORNL/ORAU, ORNL, ORNL/ORAU/Warsaw Univ., Mississippi State Univ., Louisiana State Univ., ORNL/Warsaw Univ., Vanderbilt Univ., UNRIB/ORAU, Vanderbilt Univ./LBNL, Univ. Tennessee/Warsaw Univ., GANIL, CENBG/CNRS/IN2P3, ANL, U. Jyv\"alsky\"a, CENPA, U. Washington, TRIUMF, IFIC, CSIC-Univ. Valencia, Argonne Nat. Lab., The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Dept. of Physics (TUNL), Duke University, USA, Wright Nucl. Structure Lab., Yale University, USA, Dept. of Nucl. Physics, Australian National University (ANU), Australia, Dept. Chemistry, University of Kentucky, USA, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, USA, Dept. of Physics \& Astronomy and Chemistry, University of Kentucky, USA, Yale University, Bonn University, Germany, Rutgers University, Millsaps College, Texas A\&M University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oregon State University, UC Berkeley, NSCL/MSU, TA\&MU, RIKEN, Japan, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, BHSU, Sanford Lab, UMass Lowell, LSU, UTK, UTK, ORNL, ORNL, ORAU, ORNL, ORAU, UW, Michigan State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Chicago, Osaka U., Tokyo Inst. of Tech., UND, Konan U, Kyoto U., Konan U., Tohoku U., KVI, University of Stuttgart, IFIN-HH, TUNL, University of Kentucky, TU-Darmstadt, Yale, Surrey, Istituto Nazionale Fisica Nucleare Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Florida State University, University of Jyv\"askyla, NSCL / MSU, Hope College, Central Michigan University, Gettysburg College, Concordia College, Argonne National Laboratory and University of Chicago and JINA, Hebrew University, Argonne National Laboratory and Western Michigan University, Argonne National Laboratory and JINA, Western Michigan University, Argonne National Laboratory, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, State Univ. of New York at Oswego, Department of Physics, State University of New York at Oswego, Physics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, CNRS, Indiana University, LANL, CEA-Saclay, FRIB/MSU, Surrey, Mississippi State University, Technische Universitat Munchen, Univ. of Notre Dame, Univ. of Wisconsin - La Crosse, Kocaeli University, Turkey, RIKEN, NSCL, University of Notre Dame, ATOMKI, Hungary, The University of Alabama, Arizona State University, SUNY Stony Brook, United States Naval Research Laboratory, Ruhr-Universit\"at Bochum, UNC-Wilmington, Tulane U., MIT, Waterloo U., NIST, U. Tennessee, Warsaw Univ., U. Tennessee, ORNL, ORAU, Warsaw University, Mississippi State, Louisiana State, ORNL, Warsaw Univ., Vanderbilt, LBNL, JINR, Tsinghua Univ., University of Massachusetts Lowell, Tsinghua University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Peking University, Vanderbilt University, Niewodniczanski Institute for Nuclear Physics, University of Maryland, University of Sofia, University of Washington, University Of Notre Dame, LBNL/Vanderbilt University, Argonne National Lab, U. Mass. Lowell, Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc., RMD Inc., IKP, University of Cologne, DSM/Irfu/SPhN, CEA-Saclay, McGill U., U. of Manitoba, U. of Chicago, Northwestern U., Universitat Giessen, GSI, TU M\"unchen, Michigan State Univ., Univ. Mainz, National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Lund Univ., Univ. of Edinburgh, Universitat Mainz, Technische Universitat Muenchen, Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), University of Keele, NCSU and TUNL, Duke U. and TUNL, GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany, George Washington University, Duke University and TUNL, U. Massachusetts Lowell, Argonne National Lab., Australian National Univ., Oak Ridge Associated Universities, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Center for Theoretical Physics, Sloane Physics Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8120, USA, Rice University, Department of Physics, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, School of Physics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Cyclotron Institute, Texas A\&M University, Texas, United States, INFN-LNS, JAEA, Kyushu U., CNS, U of Tokyo, Hoseo U., Chonbuk Natl. U., Hanyang U., Seoul Natl. U., Chung-Ang U., Univ. of Stellenbosch, iThemba LABS, Univ. of Witwatersrand, iThema LABS, Univ. of Cape Town, Univ. of Witwatersand, KVI Univ. of Groningen, NSCL, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA, Helmholtz-Insitut Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg-Universit\"at Mainz, D-55128 Mainz, Germany, KVI Groningen, U S Naval Academy, University of Surrey, Cyclotron Institute, Texas A\&M University, JIHIR, UNIRIB, ICN-UNAM, FSU, U. of Surrey, NSCL, MSU, Departments of Chemistry and Physics \& Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, Dept. of Physics, University of Guelph, Canada, Dept. of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, USA, Depts. of Physics \& Astronomy and Chemistry, University of Kentucky, USA, UNIRIB/ORAU, ORAU, U Richmond, WNSL Yale, IKP Univ. Cologne, Univ. York, Cyclotron Institute at Texas A\&M University, FRIB, MSU, UTK, UW, Department of Physics and Applied Physics, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Nuclear Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Universite Paris Sud, University of Michigan, National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, Tennessee Technological University, University of Tennessee, Colorado School Of Mines, Louisiana State University, O.R.A.U., Oak Ridge Nat. Lab, Louisiana St. U., Col. Sch. of Mines, Ohio U., Rutgers, U. Tenn., Dept. of Physics \& Astronomy, Texas A\&M University, Rutgers U., U. Tenn.-Knoxville, Tenn. Tech. U., U of TN, ORNL, U of TN, TTU, CO School of Mines, University of Colorado, Muhlenberg College, Indiana Univ. South Bend, Cyclotron Institute A\&M University, Westmont College, Oak Ridge National Lab, Kyoto University, Texas A\&M University Cyclotron Institute, NSCL, Michigan State University, Collider-Accelerator Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Institut f\"ur Physik, Universit\"at Mainz, Lousiana State University Baton Rouge, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, Ohio University, Athens, OH, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, University of Tennesse Knoxville, WFU and TUNL, UNC and TUNL, Iowa State University, University of Arizona, University of Toronto, Universita di Napoli, Universita degli Studi di Napoli ``Frederico II'' and INFN, University of Toronto, University of Notre Dame, Lousiana State University, University of Rochester, Institut fur Kernphysik, Darmstadt, WNSL-Yale U., U. of M., ANL/U. of M., Manchester, (Miss S.U.), (ORNL), (K.U. Leuven), (LLBL), (UT), (NSCL/MSU), ICNM, Krakow, U. of Maryland, U. of Maryland/ANL, Washington University, Ganil, INFN, Catania, Italy, NCSL/MSU, WU, IU, WMU, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, MSU / NSCL, INFN, Cyclotron Institute Texas A\&M University, Colorado School of Mines, ANL/University of Chicago/JINA, Argonne National Lab, JINA, Western Michigan University, ANL, Khalifa University of Science, Technology \& Research, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, NSCL, JINA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, Physics Department, Kalamazoo College, Niigata University, KUSTAR, UAE, Osaka University, Kalamazoo College, Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, UGC-DAE Consortium for Science Research, Kolkata, India, STARS-LIBERACE Collaboration, University of Richmond, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - Berkeley, CA 94720, U. of Rochester, Texas A$\&$M Cyclotron Institute, ANL/WMU, ANL/JINA, U of Manchester