Speaker
Description
Active-target time projection chambers (TPCs) have become powerful tools for experimental studies of nuclear reactions. Direct measurements of astrophysically important (α,p) reactions at low center-of-mass energies remain experimentally challenging due to their low cross sections, requiring stable operation under relatively high beam intensities. To overcome these limitations and extend the sensitivity in the astrophysically relevant energy region, an upgrade of the Texas Active Target TPC was undertaken.
The system was upgraded to the TexAT_v2 configuration with the primary goal of enhancing the detection efficiency for low-energy protons and improving overall acceptance. The upgrade included modifications of the field cage structure, implementation of additional silicon–CsI(Tl) detector arrays, and optimization of the detector geometry. The upgraded setup was combined with the LILAK analysis framework, which provides pulse-shape analysis and track reconstruction tailored to active-target experiments, enabling reliable identification of reaction protons and extraction of reaction cross sections.
In this presentation, we describe the upgrade of TexAT to the TexAT_v2 configuration and its performance. The improvements in detector configuration and data analysis will be discussed, and the 14O(α,p)17F measurement will be introduced as an example demonstrating the capabilities of the upgraded system.