Particle identification by means of channeling radiation in high collimated beams

The channeling radiation is emitted by fast charged particles crossing a crystal target in a direction nearly parallel to the crystal axis or planar directions. The incident particles are trapped in the potential wells due to the crystal lattice, resulting in a coherence effect in the emitted radiation. Since the total energy of the emitted radiation depends on the Lorentz factor as gamma(2), channeling radiation can be applied to discriminate between different particles with the same momentum in a collimated beam. To study this application of the channeling radiation, we have performed a beam test campaign at the CERN PS-T9 and SPS-H4 facilities using a 500 mu m thick 110 silicon crystal. A NaI calorimeter has been used to detect the channeling gamma-rays produced in the crystal. The electron (positron) pion identification performance has been studied. The preliminary results will be shown and the perspectives will be discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved