Time Projection Chamber Development for the International Linear Collider

国际直线对撞机(ILC)是下一个被提议的在能源前沿研究亚原子物理的世界设施。加拿大加入国际粒子物理委员会将使我国在推进粒子物理知识的世界舞台上保持领先地位。ILC是一台电子-正电子对撞机，最初的碰撞能量为500GeV，以后可能升级到1000GeV。强有力的科学依据是，ILC将补充大型强子对撞机(LHC)，因为它将更多地揭示最近发现的希格斯玻色子，以及物理学家可能在未来几年内在那里做出的新发现。像ILC这样的加速器将使我们能够在后大型强子对撞机时代解开我们宇宙的秘密。日本目前正在考虑主办国际法委员会的实验室。目前正处于规划阶段，国际法委员会已于2013年6月12日发布了一份五卷本的技术设计报告(TDR)，其中包括多年来为建造国际法委员会的加速器和探测器而进行的全球协调研发工作。加拿大积极参与了TDR的筹备工作。TDR包含向全球合作政府提出国际法委员会所需的所有要素，包括技术设计和实施计划，这些都是现实的，并已针对性能、成本和风险进行了优化。在将在日本主办的国际法委员会的背景下，积极的建议最早可能在2016年提出，不久之后就会呼吁开展国际法委员会的试验。加拿大在为国际法委员会发展仪器方面一直走在前列。加拿大物理学家在开发新型微型气体探测器(MPGD)方面一直处于领先地位，目的是在加拿大境内保留和带来新型仪器设计和建造方面的新专业知识。事实上，来自卡尔顿大学、维多利亚大学和TRIUMF国家实验室的研究人员一直在设计和建造一个4.7米长的长时间投影室(TPC)，配备了MPGD，将作为其中一个ILC探测器的主跟踪器。支持者开发了新的电荷分散MPGD读数，这使得带有电阻层的Micromegas模块成为TDR中ILC TPC的一种选择。在最近的授权周期中，已经证明配备电阻层读出的MPGD TPC可以达到前所未有的空间分辨率，从而可以满足TRD的性能目标。拟议的两年期拨款将使我们能够及时加强和敲定我们对国际劳工组织TPC的现有承诺，以便国际劳工组织获得批准。拨款申请包括对学生和一名博士后研究助理的支持，以及光束测试、会议和研讨会的旅费。在该项目的现阶段，维持和加强TPC努力对于确保加拿大积极参与国际法委员会至关重要。

The International Linear Collider (ILC) is the next proposed world facility to study subatomic physics at the energy frontier. Participation of Canada in the ILC will keep our Nation in a leading position on the world-wide scene for the advancement of knowledge in particle physics. The ILC is an electron-positron collider with collision energy of 500 GeV initially, with the possibility for a later upgrade to 1000 GeV. The strong scientific justification is that the ILC would complement the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as it would shed more light on the recent discovery of the Higgs boson and new findings that physicists are likely to make there in the coming years. An accelerator like the ILC will enable us to unlock secrets of our Universe in the post-LHC era. Japan is presently considering hosting the ILC laboratory. Currently in the planning stage, the ILC community has published on 12 June 2013 a five-volume Technical Design Report (TDR) that encompasses many years of globally coordinated R&D effort for the construction of both the accelerator and detectors for the ILC. Canada has been an active participant in the preparation of the TDR. The TDR contains all the elements needed to propose the ILC to collaborating governments around the planet, including a technical design and implementation plan, that are realistic and have been optimized for performance, cost and risk. In the context of the ILC to be hosted in Japan, positive recommendation could be as early as 2016 with a call for ILC experiments shortly thereafter. Canada has been at the forefront for the development of instrumentation for the ILC. Canadian physicists have been a leader in the development of novel Micro Pattern Gas Detectors (MPGDs), with the objective to keep and bring new expertise within Canada for the design and construction of novel instrumentation. In fact, researchers from Carleton University, the University of Victoria and the TRIUMF national laboratory have been engaged in the design and construction of a 4.7-meter long Time Projection Chamber (TPC), equipped with MPGDs, that will serve as the main tracker for one of the ILC detectors. The development of new charge dispersion MPGD readouts by the proponents has led the Micromegas modules instrumented with a resistive layer to become one option for the ILC TPC in the TDR. During recent grant cycles it has been demonstrated that the MPGD TPC equipped with the resistive layer readout could reach unprecedented spatial resolution and could then meet the performance goals of the TRD. The proposed two-year grant will enable us to boost and finalize our existing commitments for the ILC TPC in time for the ILC approval. The grant request includes support for students and one postdoctoral research associate, as well as travel for beam tests, meetings and workshops. At this stage of the project, maintenance and reinforcement of the TPC effort are vital to insure an active participation of Canada in the ILC.