Track Finding for the PANDA Detector Based on Hough Transformations

The PANDA experiment at FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) in Darmstadt is currently under construction. In order to reduce the amount of data collected during operation, it is essential to find as many true tracks as possible and to be able to distinguish them from false tracks. Part of the preparation for the experiment is the development of a fast online track finder. This work presents an online track finding algorithm based on Hough transformations, which is comparable in quality and performance to the currently best offline track finder in PANDA. In contrast to most track finders the algorithm can handle the challenge of extended hits delivered by PANDA’s central Straw Tube Tracker and thus benefit from its precise spatial resolution. Furthermore, optimization methods are presented that improved the ghost ratio as well as the speed of the algorithm by 70 %. Due to further development potential in terms of track finding for secondary particles and speed optimization on GPUs, this algorithm promises to exceed the quality and speed of other track finders developed for PANDA.

Study of pp → 𝚵+ ΛK- with the PANDA Detector

For a deeper insight into the mechanisms of non-perturbative QCD it is essential to understand the excitation pattern of baryons. Up to now only the nucleon excitation spectrum has been subject to systematic experimental studies, while very little is known on excited states of double or triple strange baryons. In studies of antiproton-proton collisions the PANDA experiment is well-suited for a comprehensive baryon spectroscopy program in the multi-strange sector. A large fraction of the inelastic pp cross section is associated to final states with a baryon-antibaryon pair together with additional mesons, giving access to excited states both in the baryon and the antibaryon channel. For final states containing a 𝚵+ 𝚵- pair, cross sections up to µb are expected, corresponding to production rates of ~ 106/d at a luminosity L = 1031 cm-2 s-1. This study focuses on excited 𝚵- states decaying into ΛK-. A strategy to reconstruct the reaction pp → 𝚵+ 𝚵* and its charge conjugate channel with the PANDA detector will be presented.

The PANDA Detector at FAIR

PANDA is a fixed-target experiment that is going to address a wide range of open questions in the hadron physics sector by studying the interactions between antiprotons with high momenta and a stationary proton target. The PANDA detector is currently under construction and will be situated in the HESR that is a part of the future FAIR accelerator complex on the area of the GSI Helmholtzzentrum f¨ur Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt. The key features of the detector are: the precise tracking in strong magnetic fields, excellent particle identification, and high-resolution calorimeters.