Using prototype modules of the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector we
investigate space charge effects and the dependence of the pion rejection
performance on the incident angle of the ionizing particle. The average pulse
height distributions in the drift chambers operated with the Xe,CO2(15%)
mixture provide quantitative information on the gas gain reduction due to space
charge accumulating during the drift of the primary ionization. Our results
demonstrate that the pion rejection performance of a TRD is better for tracks
which are not at normal incidence to the anode wires. We present detailed
simulations of detector signals, which reproduce the measurements and lend
strong support to our interpretation of the measurements in terms of space
charge effects.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Nucl.Instrum.Meth.
A. Data files available at http://www-alice.gsi.de/tr