ABSTRACT
Particle identification for a charged particle is in general synonymous with a measurement of the particle’s mass. Particle identification will require a measure of the energy, which may be made most precisely with a semiconductor detector. Cherenkov counters may be used for particle identification only over a restricted range of momenta. A ring imaging cherenkov is essentially a differential cherenkov counter and is subject to the same errors from dispersion in the radiator material, aberrations of the optical system and the limited precision with which the photon positions may be measured. Although appreciable light is emitted from an avalanche the acceptance of an optical imaging system is limited and the noise level of the charge coupled device will be equivalent to several hundred photons. The transition radiation photon will convert at one point in the chamber and give a very localized cluster of charge.
