Speaker
Description
The mini Time Projection Chamber (mini-TPC) is an active target detector where the gas acts as a target for the nuclear reaction, as well as the detection medium. It was designed primarily to study $^{16}$O($\gamma$,$\alpha$) reaction. The detector can be used to investigate the multi alpha-particle decay of light nuclei, such as $^{12}$C and $^{16}$O, and the cross section of photo-dissociation reactions ($\gamma$,$p$) or ($\gamma$,$\alpha$). The mini-TPC employs Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) foils for electron charge amplification. It has an active volume of 10$\times$10$\times$10~cm and 256 readout channels. Tests runs with an $\alpha$ source have been conducted with CO$_2$ gas at 100~mb pressure. In the future, the mini-TPC will be operated with different gasses. Feasibility studies of 3D track reconstruction are being carried out, and the algorithms used in the process will be reported in this work. In-beam tests with reactions like $^{12}$C($n$,$\alpha$), $^{16}$O($n$,$\alpha$) are under preparation and will be carried out in the next month or so. As a next step, the ELI-TPC detector is under construction with a larger working volume and 1024 readout channels for more precise measurements. In this work, we discuss the performance tests of the mini-TPC and our future plans with the detector system.