R&D Toward a Forward Electromagnetic Calorimeter Prototype at the EIC

The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), which will be built at Brookhaven National Laboratory, will provide greater understanding of nuclear structure by facilitating collisions between high energy electrons and ions. These collisions can result in the production of rare isotopes. These isotopes come from the fragmentation and decay products of the remnants of a struck ion, and travel down the beam-pipe in the very forward region after formation. Rare isotopes have extensive applications in fields ranging from energy generation to life-saving medical isotopes. Measuring the properties of these rare isotopes will require new detector. The purpose of this study is to develop a prototype electromagnetic calorimeter detector. The design and optimization of the calorimeter will be simulated using Geant4 (version 11.2.2), with a focus on improving the energy resolution of the prototype. Additionally, scintillating materials will be tested with silicon photomultipliers to determine their efficiency as detector components. For the moment, testing will focus on low-energy sources, such as cosmic rays and the gamma lines from exempt radioactive sources such as Co-60 and Cs-137 to validate the performance of the prototype. It is anticipated that the calorimeter will ultimately provide insights into de-excition gamma rays produced by rare isotopes in the forward region at the EIC significantly contributing to our understanding of the nuclear structure and reactions of these exotic species.