A time projection chamber to study two-proton radioactivity

Abstract

Commune avec MECA, INSTRU et ELECInternational audienceTwo-proton radioactivity was observed in two experiments in 2002 in the decay of 45Fe. However, these experiments did not allow the observation of the two protons directly. In the present paper, we present a new setup based on the principle of a time projection chamber which enabled us for the first time to identify directly the two protons. The new setup permits the observation and reconstruction in three dimensions of the traces of the protons. We will discuss the setup and describe its performances