Collaborative Research: Development of a Particle Tracking System for the Qweak Experiment

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The College of William and Mary will design and build the `Region 3'tracking chambers for the Qweak experiment at Jefferson Lab. Thisgroundbreaking experiment will measure the weak charge of the proton,as a precision test of the energy scale dependence of the weak mixingangle, sin2(theta_W), thus providing a uniquely sensitive probe of physicsbeyond the Standard Model of fundamental physics. The Region 3 wire chambers are an essential component of the particletracking system, which is needed in order to precisely measure the kinematics ofthe elastically scattered electrons, as well as for critical studiesof experimental backgrounds. The chambers will consist of two sets of large (2 m long, 30 cm wide) vertical drift chambers fora total of 4 planes of x,y positions with delay-line readout, providinga position resolution on the order of 100 microns and an angular resolution of about 1.5 milliradians. The Region 3 project will have a substantial educational component,as both undergraduate and graduate students will be intimatelyinvolved in all phases: design, prototyping, construction and testingof the chambers. William & Mary has committed new funding support forthis project for two entry-level graduate students for three years,providing tangible impact on graduate physics education. The projectwill be be ideal for generating topics for senior theses and summerresearch projects for undergraduate students.